The Use of Rice in Brewing

Rice could be a useful raw material for the production of a gluten-free beer-like beverage. In today’s beer brewing industry, rice is primarily used as an adjunct in combination with barley malt. But, recently, there is some information about rice malt for brewing an all-rice malt beer. The use of rice as an adjunct in brewing is described highlighting the quality attributes of the final beer. The rice grain quality attributes of different samples are reported in order to evaluate their attitude to malting and brewing and also considering their enzymatic activity. Then, the different brewing processes to produce all-rice malt beers will be described and the final gluten-free rice beers is evaluated and compared to a barley malt beer. Finally, the levels of major aroma-active components of an all-rice malt beer and the results of the sensory analysis assessing the beer-like character of the rice beverage are reported. The obtained beer samples show a content of volatile compounds comparable with a barley malt beer. The sensory profile of the rice malt beer is similar to a barley malt beer in aroma, taste and mouthfeel.