David Faulk, founding father of Angma Distillery and Brewery, at all times sought a way of belonging. Born and raised in Korea, the place his white U.S. Marine dad met his Korean mom, he was teased by youngsters for not being absolutely Korean. Then, when his household moved to California, the reverse occurred. “In Korea, it’s like: white child, white child, white child, you’re not Korean,” Faulk remembers. “And I get right here and it’s like, ‘Oh, you’re the Asian child, proper?’” It was a need to lastly really feel at house someplace that led the mechanical engineering main turned Marine on the trail to create one of many few American-made makgeolli (MAWK-oh-lee), a Korean rice beer.
Setting His Personal Course
Faulk was initially pulled into homebrewing greater than 15 years in the past. Though the beer-making course of appealed to him as a mechanical engineering scholar, he says that whereas his beer was good, it wasn’t compelling sufficient to provoke a life change. It wasn’t till years later, after becoming a member of and retiring from the Marines and dealing as an engineer, {that a} need to attach together with his Korean heritage took maintain. “I assumed, ‘Why don’t I attempt to make the rice beer that I bear in mind and that even right here in America they promote at each Korean grocery retailer and barbecue restaurant?’” he says.
Faulk schooled himself on the standard manner of brewing makgeolli by studying books and articles, equivalent to this pamphlet from the Nationwide Academy of Agricultural Science in Korea. He tried and failed numerous occasions. His engineering thoughts gave him the drive and endurance to nail down the method, significantly easy methods to make it bubbly. “I used to be tweaking issues right here and there, discovering easy methods to not make a lightbulb for the millionth time,” he says. “That perfected product that took virtually 15 years to reach at, and plenty of flat and conversely explosive merchandise, is on the coronary heart of Angma. I actually consider in our motto of ‘Set your individual fucking course,’ and that’s what I did.”
Making Award-Successful Makgeolli
At his Los Angeles distillery and brewery, Faulk makes use of a two-stage course of the place the juk, a rice porridge, is blended with Angma’s nuruk, a Korean fermentation starter used to make drinks equivalent to makgeolli and soju. The combination ferments, creating flavors. Later, cooled steamed rice and extra nuruk are added and allowed to ferment additional. Afterward, all the pieces is pulled out, the rice is pressed and strained, and the makgeolli is bottled.
America imports most of its makgeolli from Korea with just one different brewer—Hana Makgeolli in Brooklyn—making it in the US. Màkku, additionally based mostly in Brooklyn and credited as being “America’s first craft makgeolli,” brews in Korea. And whereas a majority of Korean-made makgeolli is fizzy, the American variations pour with little to no fizz. Faulk posits that this distinction might be on account of type alternative. For his makgeolli, he prefers it fizzy and candy “like a moscato.”
“The large factor for me was that it was just a little affirmation of identification. ‘Oh man! I am good at this! I am Korean!’ ” —David Faulk
Whereas the rice beer was his first creation, Faulk determined to distill it to make soju. Greg Stark of Pasadena’s Stark Spirits taught him how to do this. A 12 months later, this soju received a silver medal on the 2022 LA Spirits Awards. His makgeolli, which he had submitted on a whim, received gold. “The large factor for me was that it was just a little affirmation of identification,” Faulk laughs. “‘Oh man! I am good at this! I am Korean!’ ”
Soju Seals the Deal
Faulk then sought out cooks/homeowners Katianna and John Hong of Korean American deli/restaurant Yangban in LA’s Arts District. “The whole lot we noticed them doing was one thing we felt mirrored us,” he says. “The delight and talent of their craft, the position in LA, the sturdy core of Korean tradition, and the push to innovate the place it is smart.” He introduced the soju for them to style, solely providing the pattern of makgeolli to point out the place the soju originated. “They then reached out with curiosity for our makgeolli and that drove us to speed up our makgeolli timeline,” Faulk says.
On the time, Yangban collaborated with West LA’s Sawtelle Sake on makgeolli to promote of their minimart. However with the sake brewery seeking to increase and Yangban not desirous to intrude with their progress, it was serendipitous for Faulk and his cooler of soju to point out up on the door. In keeping with Hong, Faulk’s story of “not becoming within the conventional field of being Asian American” and his use of nuruk to make makgeolli sealed the deal. Whereas Sawtelle Sake’s brew makes use of the Japanese starter koji, which is inoculated, nuruk is of course fermented.
“It comes out within the traits of the makgeolli,” explains Hong. “It has just a little extra floral notes. It’s just a little bit fruitier, however it’s additionally actually savory.” That savoriness is the most important distinction between the 2 brews. “Whereas koji could be a little bit extra delicate, nuruk is extra pronounced,” Hong says. “It’s scrumptious, and we’re actually enthusiastic about it.” At the moment, Yangban and Angma are nonetheless creating their makgeolli with plans to promote bottles on the restaurant’s minimart and probably put it on faucet.
Faulk hopes that is just the start as he continues to succeed in out to extra LA eating places about his soju. “I feel we now have the very best soju in the marketplace and may’t wait to get it additional on the market,” he says.
