News - South China Morning Post
· collected 2026-09-06 · by Vincent Tan
Raffly Langi, 33, has taken his family's traditional tuak rice wine recipe to the Klang Valley in Malaysia, where he produces the drink under the brand Tuak Alus and creates modern flavors. Tuak traditionally sells for $5-$7.50 per unlabelled bottle in Sarawak, but premium bottles in the Klang Valley can cost up to $25 or more. Industry players are grappling with how to balance traditional processes with commercial demands as tuak becomes increasingly mainstream. The question remains whether changing the drink too much will erase its cultural significance.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-06,
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Story summary
In Sarawak, a state on Malaysian Borneo, Raffly Langi has taken his family's traditional recipe for tuak, a rice wine, and turned it into a business in the Klang Valley near Kuala Lumpur. Tuak is typically brewed by the Dayak communities to celebrate Gawai, the harvest festival. Raffly's aunt would traditionally brew the drink using steamed glutinous rice and a cake called ragi, but he has modernized the recipe and now offers flavors like pandan and other variations that are not traditional. His brand, Tuak Alus, aims to make tuak a national success in Malaysia.
Written for “Brewing Traditional Drink Success” on 2026-09-07,
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Leaning score -0.35 for article 5497 (high confidence, 1 verified quote) · logged 2026-09-06
Young Malaysians brew goal for traditional tuak drink to become national success
Given the drink’s origins in Sarawak, industry players have to balance between adhering to traditional processes and commercial limitations
At Raffly Langi’s family longhouse in Sarawak, on Malaysian Borneo, the tuak rice wine did not come in a branded bottle or a tasting flight.
asserted
wine → brew → bottle
His aunt has brewed the drink for Gawai, the harvest festival celebrated by Dayak communities, an umbrella term for indigenous groups in Sarawak whose longhouses have long been centres of family, rituals and communal life.
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longhouses → brew → family
She made it from steamed glutinous rice and a cake called ragi, prepared with rice flour, yeast and spices to kick-start fermentation.
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She → make → fermentation
Once ready, the tuak was drawn from a jar and served without flavouring.
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tuak → draw → flavouring
Years later, 33-year-old Raffly has carried that family recipe to the Klang Valley, the urban region around Kuala Lumpur, where he produces tuak under the brand Tuak Alus and develops modern flavours for drinkers who are unfamiliar with the traditional brew.
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who → carry → brew
Tuak traditionally comes in sweeter indu, or female, and drier laki, or male, versions, but artisan brands now also offer flavours derived from pandan, pineapple and roselle.
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brands → come → pandan
The drink can still be bought in Sarawak for US$5 to US$7.50 in an unlabelled plastic or glass bottle, while at Klang Valley pop-ups, producers sell premium bottles and promote brand collaborations and tasting flights, with prices around US$25 or more each.
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producers → buy → prices
But as it moves from longhouses into mainstream markets, brewers are confronting a persistent question: how much can tuak be changed before the culture that gives it meaning fades?
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that → move → meaning
