A Public Palate Grown Accustomed
Most mass-produced makgeolli (Korean rice wine) widely available in Korea contains artificial sweeteners. This suggests that the Korean public's palate has become accustomed to the taste of these additives. While makgeolli is one of Korea's representative traditional alcoholic beverages, adding artificial sweeteners contradicts traditional brewing methods.
Ironically, the alcoholic drinks most beloved by Koreans are diluted soju and makgeolli that contain artificial sweeteners. Some enthusiasts criticize the quality of these non-traditional production methods and question the authenticity of the producers. But why did these representative Korean alcoholic beverages start using artificial sweeteners in the first place?
Why Artificial Sweeteners Are Used to Maintain Flavour Consistency
Makgeolli is a living fermented alcohol containing active yeast. Because of this, it has a short shelf life, and its taste changes from day to day even within that limited time. As time passes, lactic acid bacteria remain active, continuously altering the flavour profile. These bacteria can perform slow but steady metabolic activities even at low temperatures, which means makgeolli's taste subtly changes throughout its distribution period, regardless of refrigeration.
Most commercially available makgeolli has an alcohol percentage of 6-8%. Lactic acid bacteria can survive and remain active at these alcohol levels. As a result, acidity increases over time. While some enthusiasts consider this acidity an important aspect of makgeolli's flavour balance, most consumers prefer sweet and smooth flavours, which led producers to begin sweetening makgeolli.
So why use artificial sweeteners like aspartame, sucralose, or acesulfame potassium instead of natural sweeteners like sugar or oligosaccharides? The answer lies in how lactic acid bacteria behave: they consume sucrose, glucose, and fructose to grow. While yeast converts sugar to alcohol, lactic acid bacteria convert sugar to lactic acid. Artificial sweeteners, however, cannot serve as energy sources for these bacteria, preventing the sweet taste from transforming into sourness.
Of course, since makgeolli contains lactic acid bacteria, its acidity will still increase over time even with artificial sweeteners. However, the sweetness from artificial sweeteners remains stable rather than converting to sourness. This is why manufacturers use artificial sweeteners to maintain flavor consistency throughout the product's shelf life.
Extended Shelf Life and Cost Reduction
As mentioned several times, makgeolli has a short shelf life. While sweeteners alone cannot function as preservatives to extend this shelf life, when used alongside actual preservatives like sulfites and sorbic acid (also used in wine), they can provide additional microbial inhibition effects. This helps reduce ongoing fermentation and acidity increases during distribution, offering a secondary benefit of extended shelf life.
Furthermore, using artificial sweeteners helps producers reduce costs. As we know, rice is the main ingredient in makgeolli. When less rice is used, the natural sweetness of the alcohol decreases because there's less starch available. Enzymes need to break down starch into sugar, so less starch means less sugar production. By using artificial sweeteners, producers can use smaller quantities of rice while still maintaining sufficient sweetness, making artificial sweeteners an economically attractive option for many manufacturers.
The Subjectivity of Taste Sensation
Taste is highly subjective, so it's foolish to simplify it into binary categories of "good" or "bad." Products created by manufacturers target specific markets, and satisfying customers within those markets is the priority. Just because I produce and sell in market A doesn't mean I need to disparage market B.
Adding artificial sweeteners to alcohol is similar to adding artificial flavouring to food. Some restaurants focus more on the natural flavours of ingredients. On the other hand, some focus more on the intense flavours with artificial additives. Consider the differences: a franchise restaurant in a food court serves a different market than an underground wine bar in an entertainment district or a fine dining establishment offering a 10-course meal over three hours. Their markets and customers differ fundamentally.
Producers should dedicate themselves to serving people in their chosen markets with the utmost sincerity. Likewise, as customers, rather than simply judging what's good or bad, we should make an effort to understand the producer's intentions. This mutual understanding and respect will ultimately advance the industry.
