This study was performed to elucidate the fermentation and sensory characteristics of Korean traditional rice wine, makgeolli, made from GABA rice, which has a high content of GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid). GABA rice is a brown rice that is not easily fermented by general makgeolli manufacturing methods. Thus, the Geupchungju method, which is a Korean traditional manufacturing method for makgeolli using a fermentation starter and additional malt, was considered for making makgeolli from GABA rice. We confirmed that Geupchungju method showed a high saccharification and stable alcohol fermentation ability in the early stages of fermentation. However, malt addition more than 2% resulted in a lower score in the sensory evaluation of the final product. It was also confirmed that GABA content of GABA makgeolli was higher than that of commercial makgeolli by 2.3-fold. Our result provides useful information toward improving quality of brown rice makgeolli.