Rice for brewing lager

[chrisb8]

Hi all, I'm interested in trying a lager using some rice in the mash along with my usual pilsner malt. I understand that in order to mash rice it has to be pre-gelatinised and this is usually done through cooking it first. I have read though that 'easy cook' rice has already been par boiled to gelatinise the starch and then dried again. Does this mean that it could be mashed without cooking? Has anyone tried this or have any tips on the best method for using rice in a mash?

 

[Rodcx500z]

Hi Chris, don't know if you have seen this it looks good

 

[BeerCat]

Flaked rice is the easiest thing to use, mash as normal. I use about 10%.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

Here's my Tokyo lager recipe
4500g Bohemian Pilsner
400g flaked rice
100g rice hulls
100g crystal malt
50g Tettnang 60 minutes
30g Hersbrucker 15 minutes
Fermentis lager yeast
OG 1052
ABV 5.7%

 

[The Baron]

I use Microwave quick rice and corn flakes too (the packet variety). The rice is pre-cooked as you say and therefore suitable. Good luck it does work well

 

[The Baron]

Ps the rice I use is the Aldi long grain which I think is about 45p for 250g and I use 2 packs in a standard 23l batch

 

[MrRook]

Here in the States dry and liquid rice extract is available, also malted rice.
The Mar/Apr 2018 issue of Brew Your Own has an article about using other forms of rice not needing a cereal mash.

 

[chrisb8]

Thank you all for the replies. I have covered all bases in the end as I have aldi rice in the cupboard (@the baron) and on an impromptu trip to sainsburys this afternoon I picked up some flaked rice (@BeerCat) as I saw it

 

[MyQul]

If you just want to use 'normal' rice it expands by x3 so if your reciepe calls for 500g of rice you would cook 166g of dry rice to get your 500g then chuck it in the mash. Be careful though you can get a stuck sparge so you may want to use rice hulls.
You can also just use rice crispies as (iirc) there basically the same as torrified rice. I made a pseudo lager with ASDA cheapo rice crispies and they worked great

 

[jMac]

You can also just use rice crispies as (iirc) there basically the same as torrified rice.

While I’m sure rice crispies will work at a pinch, it’s worth pointing out they will likely have added sugar. Not necessarily a bad thing - sugars are what we want from our mash after all, but just something to be aware of. They’ll probably be fortified as well - no idea if the added vitamins are water soluble at mash temperatures, but if they are, you’ll have beer that’s extra good for you...

 

[MyQul]

While I’m sure rice crispies will work at a pinch, it’s worth pointing out they will likely have added sugar. Not necessarily a bad thing - sugars are what we want from our mash after all, but just something to be aware of. They’ll probably be fortified as well - no idea if the added vitamins are water soluble at mash temperatures, but if they are, you’ll have beer that’s extra good for you...

True. Strangely enough the more 'budget' they are the less 'stuff' like sugar and added vitamins they have in them.