In response to growing popularity, rice lager made its first appearance at the World Beer Cup® in 2026. The category attracted a strong 91 entries, reflecting the growing demand for lighter, yet flavorful, beers.

A Grain with Pedigree

The use of rice in beer is not new. Japanese brewers, heavily influenced by German brewing traditions, often added rice to their lagers out of necessity, as domestic barley production could not keep up with demand. The lighter body and color from the addition of rice created a beer that some would regard as more delicate and elegant than a pilsner. Not all Japanese beers use rice as an adjunct, but the practice is common.

The use of rice in the U.S has a long history as well. Adolphus Busch was reputed to vastly prefer rice over corn to lighten the body of Budweiser beers, a practice that has been maintained since the beer was introduced in 1876. It probably didn’t hurt that St. Louis is located near the vast rice fields in eastern Arkansas. Budweiser is the largest end user of rice in the U.S.

Rice has been a part of the evolution of craft brewing as well. Brewers in the upper Midwest experimented with wild rice in their beers in the 1990s. Some sources credit these beers as those that inspired the use of various grains and adjuncts in later craft beers.

Winning Recipes

Which brings us back to current times and the World Beer Cup. Rice beers can vary greatly with the percentage of rice used in the beer as well as the form, variety, and processing of the rice. What tips and tricks can the World Beer Cup medal winning breweries share?

Cloudburst Brewing, in Seattle, took the inaugural gold medal in the Rice Lager category at the 2026 World Beer Cup. Steve Luke, head brewer and owner, says, “We used a base of the lightest pilsner malt we could find and added rice syrup solids to the kettle (5 to 10 pounds per barrel). I didn’t want the addition of rice to mess with our normal process and run off. Hence, rice solids to the kettle.”

Luke goes on to say, “We used ‘softer,’ lower alpha, floral hops varieties throughout the boil to about 20 IBUs and included yeast nutrient. Lastly, we gave that beer seven plus weeks from brew date to package date. I can’t over-emphasize giving lager beer plenty of time, at least six weeks, especially when you’re a small brewery with no filter, centrifuge or brite tanks, like Cloudburst.”

pFriem Family Brewers of Hood River, Oregon, won the bronze medal with their beer Japanese Lager. Campbell Morrissy, director of brewery operations at pFriem, believes there are two important components in producing a successful rice lager: rice processing and malt selection.

“There are a number of rice products brewers can use: raw, malted, flaked, and syrups,” says Morrissy. “pFriem originally used rice syrup solids, but since moving to our new brewhouse we now use raw rice in a traditional adjunct lager brewing double mash. The rice undergoes a complete cereal cook before being combined with the main mash. We find that provides a distinct, but clean rice character at a 15-17% inclusion rate.

“I think there’s an assumption that adjunct lagers should be devoid of malt character. I find real Japanese lagers have a distinct malt flavor and, from our conversations with peers, have found that many of the commercial examples have high malt inclusion rates and use relatively dark base malts. For the malt portion of our beer we use a 50/50 blend of a low color pilsner at ~1.5°SRM and a darker malt that comes in at 2.0-2.1°SRM. The beer has a rich malt character that adds to the complexity, while keeping the beer light bodied with high drinkability.”

What could be more illustrative of craft brewing? Two different sized breweries utilizing different processes and ingredients while achieving a similar result — high-quality, award-winning beer.