A light rice lager is a truly delightful beer. The large addition of rice to this recipe results in a remarkably light and refreshing beer. It possesses a delicate sweetness that complements the crisp, clean finish beautifully. This makes it incredibly easy to drink, enjoy!

LIGHT RICE LAGER RECIPE

Bring your own rice to this recipe. You can add any rice that you want. Follow along with the steps in this article and enjoy an amazing beer in a few weeks.

LIGHT RICE LAGER

Benchmarks

• Starting gravity 1.041
• Final Gravity 1.007
• ABV  4.5% 

Ingredients

• 3 pounds pilsner malt 
• 7 pounds of rice 
• 1 ounce Crystal hops
• 1 package Fermentis W-34/70 yeast 

Rice Steps: The night before the brewday

• Make sure the ball valve on the kettle is closed before adding water
• Add 7.50 gallons of water to the brewing kettle if brewing on the 120v system, OR Add 8.30 gallons of water to the brewing kettle if brewing on the 240v system
• Add Grain basket to the kettle
• Add a campden tablet to the kettle
• Bring the water up to a boil
• Once the water is up to a boil, add the 7 pounds of rice to the grain basket inside the kettle
• Boil the rice for 5 minutes
• Set the controller to 152F
• The rice will continue to cook while it drops back down to 152F
• Add the lid to the kettle
• Let the kettle rest overnight and it will maintain 152F

Brewing Steps: The brewday

• The next morning remove the lid
• Slowly add the grains to the grain basket in the kettle
• Mix the grains into the rice
• At this point the mash will be VERY thick and things won't feel good
• Continue to stir the grains into the rice and stir until all of the grains are added.
• Once all of the grains are added, add the optional Glucoamylase to the kettle
• Continue to stir the mash for 30 seconds every 5 minutes until it thins out.
• Once the mash looks normal it is time to attach the hoses 

 Attach the Hoses (and slow the flow)

• Attach a hose from the output of the kettle to the input of the pump
• Attach a 2nd hose from the output of the pump to the spray valve on the lid of the kettle. The output of the pump has the ball valve attached to it. 
• In order to purge the air out of the lines simply disconnect the hose from the spray valve and hold the hose so it is pointing at the grains in the basket. Then open the ball valve on the kettle and press the pump button on the controller to turn on the pump. Once the air is out of the lines and wort is flowing freely turn off the pump,  reattach the hose to the spray valve and turn the pump back on. Close the ball valve on the output of the pump halfway to slow the flow into the spray valve. Since this is a very thick mash it is important to slow the flow so the element does not run dry. This sounds like a lot of steps but it only takes a few seconds.

Mash

• Set a 60 minute timer on the phone. Let the wort recirculate for 60 minutes and the controller will maintain the mash temperature of 152F.
• Optional: Once the 60 minute mash is finished, set the controller to 170F for a mash out. Continue to recirculate for another 10 minutes once the kettle is at 170F.
• Once the 60 minute mash or the optional mashout is complete, remove the grain basket. Lift the grain basket and set it on the 3 hooks. A pully or a friend makes lifting the grain basket easier.
• Let the sweet wort from the grain basket drip into the kettle for about 5-10 minutes. Use a plate or lid to a sauce pan to press down on the grains to extract more liquid from the grains. This also speeds up the draining process.
• At this time, either remove the hoses or leave them connected.  If removing the hoses, use a clean brewing bucket to keep from making a mess when disconnecting the hoses. The wort can be saved and added back the kettle or poured  down a drain. Heat tolerant gloves are highly recommended as the hoses and fittings will be hot. The hoses can also be left attached - just move onto the next step.

Boil: 60 minute boil

• Switch the controller to manual mode and set it to 100% of power. For detailed directions on switching the controller to manual mode, click here. 
• Add the hop basket to the kettle. Make sure the hops basket is not sitting on the heating element.
• If brewing with the 120v system place the lid on the kettle. The hop basket creates a gap which allows the steam to escape. The lid is necessary on the 120v system to create a vigorous boil. Keep the controller at 100% of power for the entire boil.
• If brewing on the 240v system, leave the lid off during the boil. Set the controller to 100% of power and once it is at a boil drop the percent down to around 55%. Adjust the % of power for boil preference. 

• Once the kettle is up to a boil, start a 60 minute timer (phones work great)

Hop Additions

• With 60 minutes left in the boil 
• Add the 1 ounce of Crystal to the hop basket

Hoses and Chilling

• When the 60 minute boil is finished, press the heat button on the controller to turn off the heat.
• Attach one end of the garden hose to the water source and attach the other end to water IN on the plate chiller.
• Attach a 2nd hose to the water OUT on the plate chiller and run it down the drain or to a garden. (This is clean waste water)
• First Brewing Hose: Attach one end of this hose to the ball valve on the kettle and the other end to the pump IN on the pump.
• 2nd Brewing Hose: Attach one end of this hose to the pump OUT on the pump and attach the other end to wort IN on the plate chiller.  (The pump out has the ball valve attached to it)
• 3rd Brewing Hose: Attach one end of the hose to wort OUT on the plate chiller and insert the other end of the hose into the kettle. Use the clamp to hold the hose in the kettle. 
• Turn on the cooling water and check for leaks. If any water is leaking, tighten up the garden hose connections on the plate chiller.
• Turn on the pump. This will recirculate the hot wort through the plate chiller. 
• Once the entire brewing kettle is chilled down to around 60F turn off the cooling water.
• Press the pump button on the controller to turn off the pump. Unclamp the hose and move it from the kettle to the fermenter.
• Once the hose is securely inside the fermenter press the pump button to turn the pump back on. This will transfer the wort from the kettle into the fermenter. 
• Once the kettle is almost empty keep an eye on the pickup tube so you don't transfer a ton of trub ino the fermenter.

Yeast and Fermentation

• Sprinkle 1 packet of Fermentis W-34/70 yeast on top of wort in the fermenter. Ferment between 52–72F. We fermented this beer for 3 weeks at 68-70F in our kettle, but I would recommend fermenting at lower temperature, in an actual fermenter, as it took a while for the sulfer to fade from our beer.

Sprinkle yeast on top of wort

This is a very light and refreshing beer. Perfect for hot summer days and other days when you want to drink beer.

 Brew Day Video

Here's a video of the brew day.