Author: Jordan Folks
As a resident of Portland, Oregon, I’m fortunate enough to have access to some incredible beers from the best breweries in the Pacific Northwest, some of which focus heavily, if not entirely, on lager styles. One such brewery is pFriem Family Brewers who have made a name for themselves with their crushably crisp offerings including what they call Japanese Lager that’s “brewed with rice in the Japanese tradition.” I love this beer.
Several other breweries are making their own versions of Japanese Rice Lager, to the point it’s having a bit of a moment in the American craft beer scene. While rice is a key ingredient in this style, it seems most brewers opt for either standard table rice, flaked rice, malted rice, or torrefied rice. Rarely have I seen a commercial beer that was made with koji rice, which has been inoculated with Aspergillus oryzae spores and is most commonly associated with soy sauce and saki.
Wanting in on the Japanese Rice Lager fun, I’ve been on a bit of a quixotic quest to brew the perfect koji rice lager that emphasizes the uniqueness of this grain. While I’ve use koji rice in simpler lagers, I wondered how it would play in a hoppier beer and designed a recipe to see for myself.
| Making Hoppy Koji Rice Lager |
I designed this recipe as a sort of mashup between a Japanese Rice Lager and a West Coast Pils, my aim being for it to be dry, crisp, and crushable with a pungent hit of tropical hops. Based on prior experiences using smaller amounts of kohi rice, I went with a whopping 18% for this beer.
Hoppy Koji Rice Lager
Recipe Details
| Batch Size | Boil Time | IBU | SRM | Est. OG | Est. FG | ABV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5.6 gal | 60 min | 37.9 | 3.2 SRM | 1.046 | 1.014 | 4.2 % |
| Actuals | 1.046 | 1.014 | 4.2 % | |||
Fermentables
| Name | Amount | % |
|---|---|---|
| Pilsner | 9 lbs | 81.82 |
| Koji Rice | 2 lbs | 18.18 |
Hops
| Name | Amount | Time | Use | Form | Alpha % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nelson Sauvin | 14 g | 60 min | Boil | Pellet | 13.3 |
| Motueka | 21 g | 10 min | Boil | Pellet | 8.5 |
| Motueka | 57 g | 10 min | Aroma | Pellet | 8.5 |
| Nelson Sauvin | 57 g | 10 min | Aroma | Pellet | 13.3 |
| Citra | 28 g | 10 min | Aroma | Whole | 11 |
| Mosaic INCOGNITO | 20 g | 10 days | Dry Hop | Pellet | 48 |
| Nelson Sauvin | 113 g | 2 days | Dry Hop | Pellet | 12 |
| Motueka | 57 g | 2 days | Dry Hop | Pellet | 7 |
| Galaxy Spectrum | 20 g | 1 day | Dry Hop | Pellet | 48 |
Miscs
| Name | Amount | Time | Use | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lactic Acid | 5 ml | 0 min | Mash | Water Agent |
Yeast
| Name | Lab | Attenuation | Temperature |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kanpai (L55) | Imperial Yeast | 75% | 50°F - 58°F |
Notes
| Water Profile: Ca 65 | Mg 4 | Ca 10 | SO4 89 | Cl 45 |
Download
| Download this recipe's BeerXML file |
After adjusting the brewing water to my desired profile and getting it heating up on brew day, I weighed out and milled the grains.
With the water appropriately heated, I incorporated the milled barley malt then added the koji rice to the mash.
I set my controller to maintain an initial 10 minute rest at 95°F/35°C before I raised the temperature to 147°F/64°C. A pH reading indicated the koji rice definitely acidified the mash.
During the mash rest, I prepared the kettle and dip hop additions.
When the mash rest was complete, I removed the grains and boiled the wort for 60 minutes, after which I transferred some to the fermenter for a dip hop then quickly chilled the rest with my JaDeD Brewing SS Coil Hydra.
A hydrometer reading showed the wort was at my target OG.
The filled fermenter was placed in my chamber and left for a few hours to finish chilling to my desired fermentation temperature of 50°F/10°C, at which point I pitched the Imperial Yeast L55 Kanpai slurry.
After a week of fermentation, I raised the temperature in the chamber to 60°F/16°C over the following week then added the dry hop additions. The following day, I took a hydrometer measurement showing the beer was at 1.014 FG, a bit higher than expected. I proceeded to cold crash the beer overnight before transferring it to a sanitized and CO2 purged keg that was placed on gas in my keezer. Following two weeks of lagering, it was carbonated, clear, and ready to serve.
| IMPRESSIONS |
Inherent in any experimentation is an element of risk, as it’s impossible to know exactly what the outcome will be when trying something new. While I’d used koji rice in a few beers prior to this batch, this was the first time I’d tried it in a hoppy style, and I was admittedly anxious to see how it would play with heavier doses of tropical hops.
I’d be lying if I said this Hoppy Koji Rice Lager was a banger. In fact, I was initially hesitant to even write about it due to the fact it didn’t quite meet the expectations, which isn’t to say it was a dumper, by any means. Rather, I’ve honed my West Coast Pilsner brewing and felt like this just fell a bit short of that, but I did learn a few things, particularly as it relates to the effect koji rice has on mash pH and the subsequent impact that has on factors like attenuation.
While this beer possessed the pungent tropical hop notes I intended, there was a touch of earthiness I associated with Galaxy hops that I’m not a big fan of, and it came across as being oddly thin bodied. This was odd considering the higher than usual FG, which made me wonder if something about the low mash pH might’ve been at play. With some lagering, I did feel the beer improved and was perfectly fine drinking it with friends, but it didn’t hit the mark of what I was aiming for. Alas, my quest to dial in a perfect koji rice lager continues, and I look forward to sharing a smashing success in the future!
If you have thoughts about this recipe or experience making something similar, please feel free to share in the comments section below!
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3 thoughts on “Brü It Yourself | Hoppy Koji Rice Lager”
This white koji produces citric acid, so the PH drop for a large mash dosage makes sense. It basically works like acid malt. If you don’t want a lower PH beer, just use a standard non acid producing koji. Also, if you want more Koji aromatics to carry through, you can try adding the Koji late in the boil or even cold side. Fresh Koji is best though, with dried koji you are losing most of the fruity and floral aromas and just getting the enzymes.
Try adding the Koji in Active Primary. You’ll need to soak it up to temp to get it going, then let it cool a bit to add to the fermenter, room temp should be fine. Keep the fermenter on the high end for the yeast. Don’t bother with trying to figure out a gravity contribution as it converts at the same time the yeast is eating it. (there might be an estimate if it converts 100% factoring in your yeast’s average expected attenuation) Give it an extra week in primary to stabilize gravity. And yes, it still needs to lager normally, so maybe hold off on the dry-hopping until that is complete. Also try using a Sake yeast (#9 is good) as they tend to do just fine in a warmer range. It will ferment the maltose too so no need for a blended pitch or secondary unless you really want to.
We’ve been making a Black Rice Lager here in Manila for several years and its one of my most popular beers.
In a 100 liter batch we mash 14 kg of Pils and 4 kg of malted rye.
In a separate vessel we boil 5kg of black rice (so called Forbidden rice that is almost jet black) with enough water to make a thick, sticky rice porridge. This is cooled to below 80C.
To this we add 500 grams of koji’d white rice (that I innoculate and grow myself). The koji immediately loosens the porridge’s consistency as it breaks down the starch chains.
Meanwhile the pils/rye mash gets a single decoction step and towards the end of the mash, I add the rice porridge and stir well.
Boil with some magnum for bittering. You’d think w/ that much rice and rye sparging would be problematic but the koji keeps things liquid and flowing. Saaz is added to the whirlpool and I ferment at lager temps with Novalager yeast at 12 to 16C.
We lager normally and gelatine fine to drop the beer clear.
Beer comes in at around 5% ABV and has a clean, dry taste, pairs well with Asian foods. The black rice imparts a nutty aroma and flavor but adds very little color to the beer.
As I mentioned its very popular and I have trouble keeping up with demand.
Neal Oshima, Paco Brew