Easy-drinking flavours with local Makgeolli distiller VanMak

For a city as diverse as Vancouver, there are still certain types of products which take a while to gain acceptance or popularity with the more traditional — North American — food crowds.

Rarely does anyone ever suggest Korean food like one would Italian. It reflects, what I believe, is a lack of knowledge, experience, and yes, a bit of fear. Fermentation? Cabbage? Blood sausage? Scary!

Places like Zoomak at 52 Alexander St. are slowly changing that. Upscale familiar Western elegance and approachable dishes, playing on traditional and non-traditional ingredients, ease people into a comforting, familiar embrace, giving them space to experiment. Try the tartare with gochujang, and then go further at a new restaurant with the sundae (blood pork sausage).

Drink culture is, from my experience, even more basic. Everyone wants warm sake at the Japanese restaurant, few are willing to understand the complexities of its fermentation, regional variety and local flavours. Compare that to any semi-knowledgable wine lover…

All this rolled around in my head as I sipped downed Korean Makgeolli at Vanmak, over at 82 Keefer Pl. near Chinatown.

The shop is an off-shoot of Lee Bros Winery at 10316 152A St. in Surrey specializing in traditional fermented Korean rice wine using fresh local ingredients. In sake, koji and yeast are added as part of the fermentation process, whereas Makgeolli uses a starter culture called nuruk. The fermentation produces a milky-white drink, sometimes fizzy, and VanMak has many flavours, such as Chestnut, Citron and Green Apple. 

As noted in this excellent video from a local Makgeolli brewery in South Korea, most larger brands you’d find at other restaurants are pasteurized, in order to increase the shelf life and ship overseas. The flavour profile is different, and the video says arguably worse, with unpasteurized having a much more milky and thick texture, compared to the less intense pasteurized version. Luckily VanMak is unpasteurized.

Their shop on Keefer is small, with only around three tables. Be prepared to cram yourself in. To try the Makgeolli, you’ll need to order food. I ordered the Korean pancake. It was a floppy circle, with middling to bland flavours. I’d order something else next time. But that’s not why I came.

The first we tried was Grape ($4.99). The first thing you’ll notice is how smooth it is. Milky in substance, it’s like watered-down milk (in a good way). It had a medium amount of sweetness with huge notes of green grape in each sip. Not a Jolly Rancher, but close, without the cloying sweetness that comes from sweeter canned beverages. 

The problem? It’s easy to drink, almost too easy… This is no strong IPA you have to force down, an overly fizzy canned cocktail building up gas in your stomach, or low-quality throat-burning sake lighting a fire in your mouth.

It’s smooth. So smooth you won’t notice you’ve drank three until you stand up. The creamy texture hides the tough truth — you won’t even realize you’ve drank any alcohol until it’s too late. And at 6-9%, you’ll feel it. 

While Grape was overly sweet, the Citron flavour was more mellow, with a subtle hint of lemon throughout. It’s a good flavour to start with. Chestnut was more creamy, and even I, as someone who despises the very smell of chestnuts, was won over. 

The store itself is teeming with potential. You can order takeout bottles from around $13 per litre online or $10 in store, or from their online store for a minimum order of $35, with additional flavours like Strawberry and Original, and more premium Korean sake options like Takju and Cheonju. It would make a great gift for an adventurous drinker in your life.

Korean food is increasingly having a moment, building momentum as more Westerners discover its complexities. It’s a food I often seek out. Hopefully Korean drinks like Makgeolli get the attention they deserve. 

With VanMak leading the way in Vancouver, I suspect it will.  

Vancouver restaurants serving VanMak rice wine: Zoomak, Soda Korean BBQ, Mapo Pancake Couse, Ma Dang Gul, Damso, Zabu Chicken, BBQ Chicken. 

Dig deeper

• As always, the folks at Serious Eats have a wonderful breakdown of different Korean foods.

• You can’t go wrong with shopping at Korean grocer H-Mart, easily my favourite grocer in Vancouver, with reasonable prices. It’ll open your eyes to a new world of food, especially the fermented kind. They have three locations in town.

• For a better introduction to Makgeolli than I could ever do, this YouTube video from a local Korean brewer is worth watching.

Other restaurants

• I’ve recommended Zoomak a few times. And I won’t apologize. 

• But for something more traditional, this place in Robson Public Market is worth a visit