INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Rice enhances flavor profiles for nonalcoholic beer, reduces fermentation time, and may contribute to flavor stability.
non-alcoholic beers, ranging from those made with 100 percent barley malt to ones made with 100 percent rice
They conducted a volatile chemical analysis to identify specific compounds present in the beers and assembled two sensory panels of tasters
(one in the US, one in Europe) to assess aromas, flavors, and mouthfeel.The panelists determined the rice-brewed beers had less worty
flavors, and the chemical analysis revealed why: lower levels of aldehyde compounds
Instead, other sensory attributes emerged, most notably vanilla or buttery notes
"If a brewer wanted a more neutral character, they could use nonaromatic rice," the authors wrote
Along with brewing beers with 50 percent barley/50 percent rice, this would produce non-alcoholic beers likely to appeal more broadly to
content was correlated with increased levels of larger alcohol molecules, which are known to contribute to a pleasant mouthfeel
But it didn't raise the alcohol content above the legal threshold for a nonalcoholic beer.There were cultural preferences, however
The US panelists didn't mind worty flavors as much as the European tasters did, which might explain why the former chose beers brewed with
70 percent barley/30 percent rice as the optimal mix
Their European counterparts preferred the opposite ratio (30 percent barley/70 percent rice)
The explanation "may lie in the sensory expectations shaped by each region's brewing traditions," the authors wrote
Fermentation also occurred more quickly as the rice content increased because of higher levels of glucose and fructose.The second study
focused on testing 74 different rice cultivars to determine their extract yields, an important variable when it comes to an efficient
brewing process, since higher yields mean brewers can use less grain, thereby cutting costs
This revealed that cultivars with lower amylose content cracked more easily to release sugars during the mashing process, producing the
And certain varieties also had lower gelatinization temperatures for greater ease of processing.International Journal of Food Science, 2025
DOI: 10.1080/03610470.2025.2499768
