Bhutanese millet or maize beer, fermented in farmhouses and served warm in bowls to helpers at harvest and house-raising. It sits alongside bangchang and ara as the third form of the same household brewing tradition.
Home brewing of alcohol is licensed or restricted in most of the atlas’s readership, and the starter culture is specific to Bhutanese households.
What goes into it
- finger millet or maize
- a household starter cake of mould and yeast
- water
How it is made
The grain is boiled, cooled and inoculated with a dried starter cake, then left covered in a warm place while a mould breaks the starch down to sugar and wild yeasts ferment it. Hot water is poured over the fermented grain when it is served, and the same mash is often drawn on more than once.
How long it takes: three days to a week, then drawn as needed
How it is eaten
Warm from a bowl or a bamboo vessel, passed around at communal work and festivals.
History
Fermented in Bhutanese farmhouses alongside ara and bangchang and served to helpers at harvest and house-building.
Frequently asked questions
What is Singchang?
Singchang is a wine & spirit from Bhutan: cloudy home-brewed millet or maize beer, drunk warm from a bowl. Fermented in Bhutanese farmhouses alongside ara and bangchang and served to helpers at harvest and house-building.
How is Singchang made?
The grain is boiled, cooled and inoculated with a dried starter cake, then left covered in a warm place while a mould breaks the starch down to sugar and wild yeasts ferment it. Hot water is poured over the fermented grain when it is served, and the same mash is often drawn on more than once. It takes three days to a week, then drawn as needed.
Can I make Singchang at home?
No, and the atlas gives no method for it. Home brewing of alcohol is licensed or restricted in most of the atlas’s readership, and the starter culture is specific to Bhutanese households.
What goes into Singchang?
Finger millet or maize, a household starter cake of mould and yeast, water.
How is Singchang eaten?
Warm from a bowl or a bamboo vessel, passed around at communal work and festivals.
