Chicago One Step Closer To Having A Makgeolli Brewery

By Chuck Sudo in Food on Jan 5, 2013 5:00PM

Last February we wrote of plans for the first makgeolli brewery in the United States to be built in Chicago. Our pal Karl Klockars over at Guys Drinking Beer found the liquor license application for Slow City makgeolli (and Slow City Brewing) at the Illinois Liquor Control Commission's website, where it's up for public viewing for a mandatory 45-day period.

A company called Uniko Enterprises based in Niles is behind the brewery, which plans to produce 232,500 gallons—over 8.700 barrels—of makgeolli a year. They've also listed Lincolnwood's Korea Food Corporation as their distributor.

Makgeolli, or Korean rice wine, saw American sales of $1.9 million in 2011 and is slowly gaining popularity for its purported antioxidant benefits. The version expected to be brewed in Chicago, if Slow City is granted its license, is saeng (unsterilized) makgeolli, meaning the yeast is still fermenting and the beverage must be consumed quickly