My guest this week is Alice Jun. Alice is an entrepreneur and founder of Hana Makgeolli, an artisanal korean rice wine, brewed and bottled in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Together with her business partner, John, they are making makgeolli using organic rice, a natural wild fermentation process, and traditional methods, creating a complex and nuanced alcoholic beverage.
Alice learned to brew makgeolli from her father and bringing a longtime family tradition to fruition as a business is not only a labor of love, but a means of staying connected to her family in Korea. She and John are building a unique business that fuses their heritage, traditional brewing, and innovation to a product category that truly has not developed in the United States.
If you're interested in trying Hana Makgeolli, they are shipping nationwide and available for local pickup at the brewery if you're in there NYC area. Their website is https://www.hanamakgeolli.com/
You can connect with them on Instagram @hanamakgeolli
Also, if you're interested in trying Dhamaka, the restaurant I recently visited and discussed in the beginning of this podcast, they can be found at https://www.dhamaka.nyc/