After recently brewing my first black rice lager and receiving lots of positive feedback, I decided to brew a variation to serve at the 2024 Pints 4 Paws event in Annapolis, MD. This version has been adjusted so the grain bill is 50% rice, 50% grains, hence the name. I also altered the dark grains a bit, adding in some Carafa III to boost the roastiness and give a little more flavor.
Below are the steps I used for cooking the rice and incorporating it into the mash:
- RINSE RICE VERY WELL!
- Bring 3 gallons of distilled water to a boil in the kettle. Using the steel mesh basket, add all the rice to the boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and cook the rice for 30 minutes (or longer, if necessary). After rice is cooked, remove the basket and top off water to reach 6.58 gallons. Heat/cool as required to reach a mash temp of 147°F. Remember to factor the cooked rice temperature when calculating a strike temperature!
- Check pH before adding lactic acid. The rice doesn't seem to factor into the water calculator and my last batch ended up not needing any lactic acid.
- Rice hulls are highly recommended during the mash.
- On my last batch the mash was really thick after blending the rice and grains. It may not be necessary, but I used 30 drops (approximately 1/4 teaspoon) of Glucabuster to aid with recirculation. It helped a ton.
- Boil time for the batch is only 30 minutes, however that may have to be extended based on water volume. My pre-boil volume was much higher than anticipated last time.
- Pressure ferment at 68°F @ 15psi.