Expansion of distilled liquor brewing techniques (Gaogou liquor brewing techniques) Historical evolution Gaogou liquor brewing began in the Western Han Dynasty. Gaogou Town Chronicles states: During the Chu-Han Contention, Liu Bang was defeated in the Gaogou area, and he went to the Gaogou Distillery to drink to calm his nerves, and left behind the ancient custom of "fine wine relieves worries, and lofty ambitions fill the chest". After he came to power, he sent people to Gaogou to entertain civil and military officials, and listed it as a tribute, so Gaogou liquor became famous in the Central Plains. It can be seen that Gaogou already had a large-scale brewing industry in the early Han Dynasty. In the Ming Dynasty, with the rapid development of commerce, merchants from seven provinces gathered in Gaogou to establish guild halls, most of which were related to the operation of the liquor industry. At that time, there were dozens of brewing lees workshops in Gaogou Town, and the fragrant Gaogou liquor flowed along the Huaihe River to Nanjing, Yangzhou, Kaifeng, Hangzhou, Jiujiang and other places. The couplet written by Changchun Zaofang during the Jiaqing period, "It is sold thousands of miles away in Huaibei, and as far as Huguang and Jiujiang", reflects the prosperous and famous production and sales of Gaogou wine. By the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, there were eight major Gaogou Zaofangs, namely Tianquan, Yuyuan, Gongxing, Yongquan, Juyuan, Guangquan, Yuansheng, and Changchun. In 1944, the Lianshui County Committee of the Communist Party of China used 500 yuan of party fees to establish Jinzhuang Winery in Gaogou Town. In 1949, the county committee merged Jinzhuang Winery with Yuyuan Zaofang, one of the eight famous Zaofangs at that time (other Zaofangs were merged later), and officially established the local state-owned Gaogou Winery on September 30. Before the merger, Yuyuan Zaofang was owned by Wang Yuping (April 5, 1912-December 3, 1954), the fourth-generation inheritor of Gaogou wine and the then mayor of Gaogou Town. In July 1987, the local state-owned Gaogou Distillery was renamed "Jiangsu Gaogou Distillery". In August 1996, Jiangsu Gaogou Distillery successfully launched the "Jinshiyuan" brand series of new mid-to-high-end products with Chinese traditional cultural heritage. On December 23, 1997, after coordination by the Lianshui County Party Committee and the County Government, Lianshui County Commercial Trade Corporation and Lianshui Pharmaceutical Factory jointly funded the establishment of Jiangsu Jinshiyuan Distillery Co., Ltd. in Gaogou Town. Main content and characteristics Gaogou liquor has been passed down for generations and spanned a hundred years. It is well-known far and wide. The key lies in its selection of high-quality raw and auxiliary materials and unique production technology. Gaogou wine has strict regulations and requirements in terms of raw materials, koji making, and brewing. Some processes have been passed down for more than a hundred years and have not changed to this day, and they have distinct originality. Raw sorghum is the high-quality main ingredient for brewing koji wine. When Gaogou wine uses sorghum, it is required to have full grains, uniform grains, no insects, no mildew, and impurity content below 0.5%. After grinding, sorghum is required to have 46 petals in summer and 68 petals in other seasons, with the powder surface not exceeding 20%, the surface membrane ruptured, and the starch granules exposed. After mixing, after cooking, the starch granules absorb water rapidly and expand, the volume increases rapidly, the starch chains relax and unfold, and a considerable part of the starch turns into dextrin and sugar, which is conducive to cooking gelatinization. Barley, wheat, and peas are important raw materials used in brewing Gaogou wine. Proper proportions will make the wine moderate in viscosity, rich in nutrition, and have the special aroma of wheat and peas. Rice husks are used as auxiliary materials for brewing after high-temperature cooking, mainly to loosen the mash and facilitate distillation; private distilleries used sorghum husks in the past. Gaogou brews mostly use groundwater, which is a unique resource. Geological data from the provincial hydrogeological drilling team show that Gaogou groundwater contains a variety of microorganisms and minerals. In particular, the red clay in the Gaogou area contains fragrant fungus components, which provides a natural high-quality water source for brewing. In the early days, Xiaoqu was used for brewing wine in Zaofang. During the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty, Gaogou Tianquan Zaofang changed Xiaoqu to Daqu, which was made in summer and used for one year. After the establishment of the local state-owned Gaogou Distillery, it gradually developed from manual koji making to mechanized koji making, making high-temperature koji in summer and medium-temperature koji in winter. Koji making generally goes through complex processes such as crushing, batching, stepping, cultivation, and storage. Cultivation must go through stages such as enzyme application, tide fire, high fire, post-fire, and leaving the room. Medium-temperature koji requires a temperature of 45 and a cultivation cycle of 30 days; high-temperature koji requires a temperature of 60 and a cultivation cycle of 45 days. The early Zaofang process was simple. Generally, cooked sorghum was put into a vat for fermentation, and Xiaoqu was used as a fermentation agent. After fermentation, it was dug out and put into a pot and distilled to extract wine. After the establishment of Gaogou Distillery, while continuing the traditional process of "Old Five-Zeng Continued Hawthorn Method", it continued to innovate, integrated modern science and technology, and gradually established a scientific process flow and basic rules and important indicators for each link. The brewing of Qujiu is subject to complex production processes such as regular fermentation, layered distillation, cutting off the head and tail, quantity and quality wine, graded storage, and careful blending. After 1980, a series of production processes such as crushing, koji making, ingredients, steaming, distillation, unsteaming, testing, canning, and storage have gradually realized mechanization, automation, and microcomputerization. After entering the 21st century, Jinshiyuan Liquor combines traditional brewing technology with modern science, using red yeast compound fermentation, double-layer bottom steaming and other process technologies, and brewing through layered fermentation, quantity and quality wine, graded storage and other procedures. Traditional Gaogou Liquor has a clear taste, mellow throat, and long aftertaste. The Guoyuan Liquor launched by Jinshiyuan perfectly combines the elegance of the sauce-flavored type with the rich and mellow characteristics of the strong-flavored type, reflecting the fullness, elegance, and elegance of high-end liquor. Gaogou Liquor has won many honors. In 1956, Gaogou Liquor won the Jiangsu "First Brewing" award flag; in 1984, at the National Fourth Liquor Evaluation Conference, it ranked second in the country's Luzhou-flavor liquor with a score of 95.13; in 1989, at the National Fifth Liquor Evaluation Conference, it won the title of "China's Famous and Excellent Liquor" for two consecutive years; in 1995, it was recognized by the State Bureau of Technical Supervision as the national standard sample of Luzhou-flavor liquor. In 1996, Gaogou Liquor Factory jumped out of the brand's regional boundaries and successfully launched the "Jinshiyuan" brand liquor with great cultural heritage, which became popular all over the country and was rated as a famous brand product in Jiangsu Province for 6 consecutive times. In 2006, the Jinshiyuan brand was awarded the title of "Top Ten Innovative Brands in China's Liquor Industry" by the China Food Industry Association and the National Bureau of Statistics.