So I've got this wild rice. I'm planning on brewing a "root-beer porter", as well as a basic single-hop pale ale (or maybe a British bitter) in the next two weeks (both gluten-free, of course), and I'm wondering which brew the wild rice should go into. I haven't seen anything concrete about what kind of color and taste wild rice adds, or how to deal with it in a gluten-free brewing settings. Any thoughts/experiences?
Wild Rice
- Thread starter igliashon
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Only input is that one of the best damn beers I ever had was a wild rice doppelbock. I would never have picked out wild rice as the flavor without knowing it but it was definitely distinctive, in a mild way. I'd like to try brewing with it but can't give you much help. Good luck.
Well actually, from a BYO article about the brewery I was referring to above,
"Meyer says wild rice is easy for homebrewers to use, but he warns that it easily can take over a beer. "Wild rice must be precooked with a small amount of two- or six-row malt to help get the conversion started," Meyer advises. "I would suggest that the wild rice never exceed 20 percent of the total grain bill, and 10 percent is a good starting point for most."
"The nutty flavor of the rice goes well in amber beers that use some 60° Lovibond crystal malt," says Meyer. "Even with the malt's dark husk, don't expect it to add much color. Wild rice also goes well with roasted malts. One of the best is Briess Malting Company's 'Special Roast.' Most of the good-sized homebrew stores carry it.""
http://***********/stories/article/indices/38-ingredients/1665-wild-wild-rice
"Meyer says wild rice is easy for homebrewers to use, but he warns that it easily can take over a beer. "Wild rice must be precooked with a small amount of two- or six-row malt to help get the conversion started," Meyer advises. "I would suggest that the wild rice never exceed 20 percent of the total grain bill, and 10 percent is a good starting point for most."
"The nutty flavor of the rice goes well in amber beers that use some 60° Lovibond crystal malt," says Meyer. "Even with the malt's dark husk, don't expect it to add much color. Wild rice also goes well with roasted malts. One of the best is Briess Malting Company's 'Special Roast.' Most of the good-sized homebrew stores carry it.""
http://***********/stories/article/indices/38-ingredients/1665-wild-wild-rice
ChasidicCalvinist
Well-Known Member
Well, if you can find a suitable substitute for barley malt...there you go. Lcasanova uses "chocolate rice" but I'm not sure if that helps you and I seem to remember he didn't find it added much flavor for the effort it took to make it.
There is that carrot recipe someone just posted, maybe you can modify it with wild rice.
There is that carrot recipe someone just posted, maybe you can modify it with wild rice.
TravisRichard
Member
I am from Minnesota (wild rice is our state grain), and I'd like to first ask if you are using REAL wild rice or paddy-grown wild rice. The paddy-grown stuff is by far more widely available and has a dark black husk, it is also tasteless and takes forever to cook. It was developed by researchers at the University of Minnesota to be able to be paddy-grown. This stuff would probably not add much but some fermentables to your beer.
Real wild rice on the other hand can only legally be harvested by Native Americans, and is rarely seen on store shelves. You have to buy it online or over the phone usually. It is truly wild, as it cannot be grown in a paddy/farm. It has a light brown/grayish husk, cooks much faster, and has an amazing potent nutty aroma and flavor to it. I have heard that it adds a distinct nuttiness to beers (duh), otherwise it isn't widely used or experimented with since it is a little pricey.
I am planning on using some soon, likely in a brown ale or maltier pale ale. I figure if I'm going to use it, I would like to have it front and center. So between your two ideas I would do the pale ale, as long as you keep the IBUs moderate to low. But if you're using the paddy-grown stuff I would just use it as cat litter, then buy some of the real stuff. It is seriously that much better. No comparison. Trust me, I'm from MN. I've worn 3 flannel shirts at once.
Real wild rice on the other hand can only legally be harvested by Native Americans, and is rarely seen on store shelves. You have to buy it online or over the phone usually. It is truly wild, as it cannot be grown in a paddy/farm. It has a light brown/grayish husk, cooks much faster, and has an amazing potent nutty aroma and flavor to it. I have heard that it adds a distinct nuttiness to beers (duh), otherwise it isn't widely used or experimented with since it is a little pricey.
I am planning on using some soon, likely in a brown ale or maltier pale ale. I figure if I'm going to use it, I would like to have it front and center. So between your two ideas I would do the pale ale, as long as you keep the IBUs moderate to low. But if you're using the paddy-grown stuff I would just use it as cat litter, then buy some of the real stuff. It is seriously that much better. No comparison. Trust me, I'm from MN. I've worn 3 flannel shirts at once.
Pith
Well-Known Member
Yesterday I bought a 100g bag of wild rice from Coles for 3 dollars. Quite expensive, at least downunder. It was from a Canadian company called "Cambrian" and was organic. I opened the bag and caught a whiff of the very intense walnutty aroma. I'm just cooking it up to taste for dinner tonight and decide whether I want it in my beers. I'll let you know how it tastes, but I'm hoping that aroma stays in it after the 45 minute (!) cooking time.
Randy Mosher's book "Radical Brewing" has two suggestions for brewing with wild rice.
His "Wild Rizen" involves swapping out 2 pounds of wheat in his Weizen recipe (which uses 49% wheat, 35% SIX-row, and 16% munich) for 2 pounds of wild rice. Grind it into grits, then "cook" in water (boil? simmer?) for 30-45 minutes/till tender, then add to the mash. Obviously be aware that this method may have some sort of decoction effect.
His other idea is to enhance the nuttiness of an Extra Special Bitter, which involves swapping out 1 pound of the pale malt for 1 pound of cooked wild rice grits, or to simply add it without substitution for a slightly stronger beer. He also suggests using less pungent hops than usual, and also a high-attenuating English ale yeast.
Let me know if I helped.
I'll post back about my dinner and any brews I do with wild rice.
EDIT: Actually he does say add "cooked wild rice grits" to the ESB mash. Oops. I've edited the paragraph to reflect this.
Randy Mosher's book "Radical Brewing" has two suggestions for brewing with wild rice.
His "Wild Rizen" involves swapping out 2 pounds of wheat in his Weizen recipe (which uses 49% wheat, 35% SIX-row, and 16% munich) for 2 pounds of wild rice. Grind it into grits, then "cook" in water (boil? simmer?) for 30-45 minutes/till tender, then add to the mash. Obviously be aware that this method may have some sort of decoction effect.
His other idea is to enhance the nuttiness of an Extra Special Bitter, which involves swapping out 1 pound of the pale malt for 1 pound of cooked wild rice grits, or to simply add it without substitution for a slightly stronger beer. He also suggests using less pungent hops than usual, and also a high-attenuating English ale yeast.
Let me know if I helped.
I'll post back about my dinner and any brews I do with wild rice.EDIT: Actually he does say add "cooked wild rice grits" to the ESB mash. Oops. I've edited the paragraph to reflect this.
Pith
Well-Known Member
Since there was such a small quantity of rice, it boiled over a couple of times very quickly. The walnut aroma was strong throughout the cooking but unfortunately is not very prominent in the cooked product. It still has some lovely unique cereal flavours that would still be interesting in a beer, but I think that walnut aroma is too valuable to let slip by next time.
Next time I buy it, I'll cook it as slowly as possible. Also, >this< method MAY work, and I will possibly try a side-by-side batch of slow-cooked vs. soaked wild rice ESB. It'll be expensive (an extra 15 dollars per batch), but may be a useful way to contribute to knowledge.
Next time I buy it, I'll cook it as slowly as possible. Also, >this< method MAY work, and I will possibly try a side-by-side batch of slow-cooked vs. soaked wild rice ESB. It'll be expensive (an extra 15 dollars per batch), but may be a useful way to contribute to knowledge.
