A cloudy, mildly alcoholic Bhutanese farm beer brewed from maize, rice or millet and drunk warm from a bowl. It is the undistilled form of the same mash that becomes ara, and appears wherever a household needs to feed and thank a working party.
Brewing alcohol at home is licensed or restricted in most countries the atlas is read in, and the starter cake is a living local culture with no shop-bought equivalent.
What goes into it
- maize, rice or finger millet
- a starter cake of dried yeast and mould cultures
- water
How it is made
Grain is cooked, spread to cool, and mixed with a locally made starter cake carrying both a mould that converts starch to sugar and yeasts that convert sugar to alcohol. The mash ferments in a covered vessel for several days in a warm corner of the house, then is thinned with water and served without straining, which is why it stays cloudy.
How long it takes: three days to a week of fermentation
How it is eaten
Warm, from a wooden bowl, at harvest, house-building and village gatherings; sometimes with an egg beaten in.
History
Brewed in Bhutanese households from cereal grain and served at village gatherings; ara is the distilled version of the same mash.
Frequently asked questions
What is Bangchang?
Bangchang is a wine & spirit from Bhutan: cloudy home-brewed beer of fermented maize, rice or millet, served warm. Brewed in Bhutanese households from cereal grain and served at village gatherings; ara is the distilled version of the same mash.
How is Bangchang made?
Grain is cooked, spread to cool, and mixed with a locally made starter cake carrying both a mould that converts starch to sugar and yeasts that convert sugar to alcohol. The mash ferments in a covered vessel for several days in a warm corner of the house, then is thinned with water and served without straining, which is why it stays cloudy. It takes three days to a week of fermentation.
Can I make Bangchang at home?
No, and the atlas gives no method for it. Brewing alcohol at home is licensed or restricted in most countries the atlas is read in, and the starter cake is a living local culture with no shop-bought equivalent.
What goes into Bangchang?
Maize, rice or finger millet, a starter cake of dried yeast and mould cultures, water.
How is Bangchang eaten?
Warm, from a wooden bowl, at harvest, house-building and village gatherings; sometimes with an egg beaten in.
