Abstract: Alcohol is produced in a noncooking system by mixing a ground starchy material with mashing liquor at the range that the weight ratio of mashing liquor to ground starchy material is from 1.8 to 3.4 to form a slurry, without cooking, adding to the slurry at least 3.5 units as a saccharifying power of the enzyme preparation derived from a microorganism source, favorably Rhizopus sp., as a saccharifying agent, further adding an alcoholic fermenting yeast, and fermenting the slurry. Examples of the starchy material are cereals such as maize, sorghum, wheat, barley, rye, rice, barnyard millet, German millet, and common millet, and starchy rootcrops such as sweet potato and cassava.

Abstract: Alcohol or an alcoholic beverage is produced by a process wherein a mash of cereal grains and liquefying enzymes is cooked at a temperature of from 75.degree. C to 85.degree. C which is lower than the temperature of maximum viscosity for the mash and which is higher than the sterilization temperature of undesirable microorganisms in the mash which grow during fermentation with yeast. After cooking, the mash is cooled, saccharifying enzymes are added, the resultant mash is fermented with yeast to produce alcohol and the alcohol is distilled.