Yunguna Brewery

Rice winery, Copenhagen, DK

In the middle of Copenhagen, at the heart of New Nordic cuisine, something is being brewed that you would hardly expect here: natural Korean rice wine. Yunguna is a small, experimental brewery working exclusively with rice, water and nuruk, Korea's traditional fermentation starter, carrying centuries-old craftsmanship into the European present.

Natural makgeolli from a European perspective

Yunguna understands its work as a threefold task: to preserve, to transform, to translate. It preserves the classic techniques of Korea, which founder Emily learned from local artisans during her travels through the country, she was especially drawn to gayangju, the old tradition of takju brewed at home, and its original methods. It transforms those recipes in dialogue with the European palate: unpasteurised, gently sparkling, with delicate notes of apple, melon and young cheese. And it translates an entire culture, every bottle tells of what sool, Korean rice wine, can be when approached with curiosity and respect.

Yunguna

a father's name, a Korean identity

The brewery's name carries its Korean roots within it: it comes from the first name of the founder's father. “Yeongeun-a” (영근아), this is how you call someone dear in Korea, affectionately and closely. In this name lies the house's whole self-understanding: the rice wine of Copenhagen remains inseparably tied to family and to Korea, a bridge between origin and chosen home that you can taste.

Copenhagen

a city that lives fermentation

Hardly any place in Europe could be better suited: since the New Nordic movement, Copenhagen has been a world capital of fermentation, its kitchens experimenting with koji, miso and wild yeasts like nowhere else. Here Yunguna finds not only open palates but active support, including collaborations with chefs from Copenhagen's fine-dining scene. Today makgeolli stands beside natural wine on the city's tables: a living tradition, thought anew in Danish.

#2 Yunguna Brewery

Soju Halle
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Yunguna Collection