A few weeks ago I received an email from Lindsay Campbell, a journalist for the magazine Modern Farmer. Lindsay was writing a story about rice-based beers, specifically Japanese style lagers, that had been trending in craft breweries in recent years. From reading my blog, Lindsay knew that I have visited a lot of breweries across the United States and so she was wondering if I had sampled any rice lagers and what my opinion was of them as a style. I told Lindsay that I had never sampled any rice lagers made by an American craft brewery. I did have plenty of experience with rice lagers, thanks to four trips to Japan, plus visits to China, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Taiwan. Some of the better known Japanese Rice Lagers include Asahi Super Dry, Kirin Classic Lager, and Sapporo Original Draft Beer. The best selling beer in the world is a Rice Lager – Snow Beer, brewed by China Resources Breweries Limited. And, of course, there is Bud Light which prominently displays its ingredients – hops, barley, water, and rice – on its packaging. Indeed, rice has been a part of the Budweiser recipe since 1876. Impressively, Anheuser Busch is the largest end user of rice in the United States. In 2018, Anheuser Busch purchased more than $120 million of rice; all of it from farms in the United States. Incidentally, worldwide twice as much Snow Beer as Budweiser is consumed annually. Within the United States, four regions are responsible for producing almost all the rice grown. These are:
- Arkansas Grand Prairie
- Mississippi Delta, (parts of Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, and Louisiana);
- Gulf Coast (Texas and Southwest Louisiana); and
- Sacramento Valley of California.
On a global scale, rice is an important crop. It plays a critical role in feeding the world’s population, and is a primary staple for more than half the people living on Earth. China and India are the world’s leading rice producers, with the United States not making the top ten.
Rice Lagers are generally on the lower end of the ABV spectrum, with most coming in at around 5%. They are a highly highly drinkable, light bodied, beer with a crisp, dry, finish. The rice can also provide the beer with a slight sweetness. They are a perfect warm weather beer, that not only pairs well with Asian cuisine, but also with summer favorites such as burgers. In many respects, Rice Lagers can serve as gateway beers and are a nice introduction to craft beers for someone whose palate is used to macro-Lagers. Rice Lager also has the advantage that it is gluten free.
In the craft brewing world, rice is what is considered an adjunct. An adjunct is anything outside of the beer’s four traditional ingredients of malt, hops, water, and yeast. Rice, as an ingredient in beer, has a bad reputation among some craft beer drinkers due to its association with macro brews such as Budweiser and Bud Light. In her 2006 book Ambitious Brew, Maureen Ogle made the statement that “craft brewers treat rice almost as if it’s rat poison.” A little tongue-in-cheek perhaps, but you get the idea that rice might have a reputation problem. In a 2009 video titled “I am a Craft Brewer” several dozen craft brewers from across the county extol the virtues of craft beer and the people that make it. At one point in the video a craft brewer disparagingly notes that corporate breweries put rice in their beer. This is followed a few seconds later by anothet craft brewer proudly stating that “I don’t put rice in my beer”.
For some years now, however, some craft breweries have been putting rice in their beer – it has not been every brewery and those that do are doing so very selectively. So we see headlines like Craft Brewers Rethink Rice in Beer and The Rice Renaissance. Breweries that are utilizing rice as an ingredient in their beer appear to be in places that were at the forefront of the craft beer revolution back in the 1980s – places in states such as California, Colorado, and Washington. Could it be that the initial innovators are still leading innovation today? Fieldwork Brewing in Berkeley, CA brew a Citra Rice Lager that they have named Sushi Beer. Bottle Logic Brewing in Anaheim, CA brew a Japanese Rice Lager called Hanamachi. And it’s not all Rice Lagers that craft breweries are producing. As far back as 2007, Great Divide Brewing Co. in Denver, CO released Samurai, an unfiltered rice and barley ale. Great Divide is still brewing Samurai today, and includes it in its year-round portfolio of beers. Some breweries are using locally grown rice to produce their rice beer. Crying Eagle Brewing Company in Lake Charles, LA used Louisiana-grown rice in its Louisiana Lager.
The piece that I was interviewed for in The Modern Farmer was titled The Rice Renaissance. It is a title that suggests that rice is making something of a comeback in American brewing. On the one hand, you could argue that it has never really fell out of favor with American brewers. Rice has been a key ingredient in the Budweiser recipe since 1876. However, the article is really about the use of rice in craft brewing. Despite the negative reputation surrounding rice as an ingredient in beer, there are some craft brewers who are experimenting with it. This should come as no surprise. Craft brewers are highly creative and, one might argue, sufficiently secure in their own skin to utilize an ingredient that others might shun. The website Beeradvocate.com lists only 245 distinct entries in the category “Lager – Japanese Rice” – not a large number. Many, not surprisingly, are brewed by Japanese breweries. So, “renaissance” is perhaps too strong a word, but if you see a rice beer on the menu at a brewery be sure to check it out.
