Rice Steamer/cooker

[therook]

G'day team,

I'm hoping to brew a cream ale on the weekend using 500 grams of rice and i didn't get around to getting some flaked rice and can't find anywhere in the Melbourne CBD to get some.

I have a rice steamer at home and have read that these can be used.

1. I assume you just steam it long enough until it is cooked and then add it to the mash?
2. How do you take into account the water that has gone into the rice and would you add all the water that the rice was cooked/steamed in into the mash and just calculate this into you mash in water?

Rook

 

[warrenlw63]

Heya Rook

This link could be of help.

Personally I'd just steam it, mash in your grist as per normal then add the steamed rice. Depending on the thermal mass/overall temp etc of the rice there's a chance it could raise the overall temp of your mash a couple of degrees. My guess is steamed would be of a similar temp to boiled rice.

Mash your malt in slightly lower than your planned sacc temp (say 62 degrees) then add the rice treating it as a decoction to raise the whole thing to 65-66 degrees.

If you undershoot add some boiling water.

If you overshoot add a bit of cold water.

BTW I've seen steamed rice when it comes out of our cooker. It's basically a gluggy ball, you may want to stir it into your mash well and try and break it up as best you can.

Hope this helps. It will cost you a bottle.

Warren -

 

[therook]

Heya Rook

This link could be of help.

Personally I'd just steam it, mash in your grist as per normal then add the steamed rice. Depending on the thermal mass/overall temp etc of the rice there's a chance it could raise the overall temp of your mash a couple of degrees. My guess is steamed would be of a similar temp to boiled rice.

Mash your malt in slightly lower than your planned sacc temp (say 62 degrees) then add the rice treating it as a decoction to raise the whole thing to 65-66 degrees.

If you undershoot add some boiling water.

If you overshoot add a bit of cold water.

BTW I've seen steamed rice when it comes out of our cooker. It's basically a gluggy ball, you may want to stir it into your mash well and try and break it up as best you can.

Hope this helps. It will cost you a bottle.

Warren -

Thanks Wazza, i'm sure i can spare a bottle, i also have a Pilsner and an Occy for you to criticise

Rook

 

[Screwtop]

Cook rice the night before, fork it up a bit to separate the grains so it doesn't ball, leave it out to cool to room temp overnight, toss in the mashtun with the grain at dough in.

Screwy

Edit: Can be cooked and kept in a container in the fridge for days before use, no need to do it the night before, just let it come up to ambient before mash in.

 

[therook]

The 2 old timers have saved the day again

Rook

 

[Thirsty Boy]

Wouldn't you crush the rice before you cook it?

I just always assumed that you'd want to reduce the particle size to as small as possible so that the enzymes had better access to the starch.

Either that or cook it for a long time till the particles break down and you end up with congee.

I'm not saying you need to - never done a rice addition myself - it just seems sensible that you would.

Anyone care to enlighten me?

TB

 

[Darren]

TB,

If you overcook the rice it turns almost to liquid.

cheers

Darren

 

[Thirsty Boy]

TB,

If you overcook the rice it turns almost to liquid.

cheers

Darren

Yeah - thats kind of what I meant by cooking it like congee. I wondered about how the still quite whole grains out of a rice cooker would go... I suppose they break down by themselves in the mash tun in a similar way.

I'll get around to doing a lager with rice one of these days - I'll try it both ways just for giggles

 

[afromaiko]

Yeah - thats kind of what I meant by cooking it like congee. I wondered about how the still quite whole grains out of a rice cooker would go... I suppose they break down by themselves in the mash tun in a similar way.

I'll get around to doing a lager with rice one of these days - I'll try it both ways just for giggles

Rice cooked in a rice cooker or boiled (rice cookers work by boiling) will break down well in the tun and disappear by the end of the mash.

However with steamed rice you may find that it doesn't break down enough because steaming leaves the outside hard & rubbery while the inside is soft. Hence you may need to pulverize steamed rice before adding it.

Use short or medium grain rice, and before cooking wash it thoroughly until the water runs clear.

 

[Thirsty Boy]

Thanks afromaiko - I'd kind of gathered that from the things other people were saying, but its nice to hear it stated plainly enough so even I cant confuse it.

My questions answered

Cheers

TB

 

[geoffi]

I've used rice a few times.

I wouldn't bother with a rice cooker for this. Just a normal cooking pot.

No washing, can't see the point. I simmer it for about half an hour. Turns to mush, then into the mash.

 

[afromaiko]

No washing, can't see the point. I simmer it for about half an hour. Turns to mush, then into the mash.

Washing rice removes the talc (or sometimes glucose) they use for polishing it, so unless you want talc in your brew it's best to rinse it first. It will also increase your chances of a stuck sparge. The other problem is that when you cook it (rice cooker or boiling) the powder can cause it to go frothy, bubble up and boil over.

EDIT: to clarify, I'm talking about washing it BEFORE cooking.

 

[gap]

Is using a cereal mash as per here http://oz.craftbrewer.org/Recipes/beerstyle/WWhite/CAP.html

considered out of fashion now?

Regards

Graeme

 

[afromaiko]

For those of you who don't have a rice cooker here are some step-by-step instructions for cooking the perfect rice.

Take note that you should never, ever remove the lid while it's cooking and the Japanese have a saying - "Even if the baby is crying (from hunger), do not remove the lid".

This describes the boiling method - short or medium grain rice is recommended.

1. wash rice thoroughly, repeating until water runs clear
2. drain all the water from rice, using a sieve or similar
2. the correct ratio is 1 cup of rice to 1.2 cups of cold water (I think *slightly* more water is OK, better than too dry.)
4. add rice & water to your pot (use a pot that is at least 3 times larger than the amount of rice + water you are using)
5. PUT THE LID ON & DO NOT REMOVE IT
6. bring to boil
7. reduce to medium heat for 7 mins
8. reduce to low heat 5 mins
9. turn off heat and leave sit in pot for 10 mins with the lid on
10. after 10 mins you can now remove the lid
11. all done, fluff rice with a fork to break any lumps

As for me, well I just use a rice cooker nowadays. If you're in the market for one and like gadgets this is a good choice:

http://www.breville.com.au/products_detail.asp?prod=325

It's about $85 from The Good Guys and I've cooked up to 1kg of rice in one go.

 

[RobW]

Is using a cereal mash as per here http://oz.craftbrewer.org/Recipes/beerstyle/WWhite/CAP.html

considered out of fashion now?

Regards

Graeme

No, it's just a lot of standing and stirring and you get pretty tired of it after the first 15 minutes.

 

[Rurik]

I have never used rice my self but I happen to read the quote below this morning and thought it might be useful.

Taken from Home Brewing the CAMRA Guide by Graham Wheeler 2nd edition 1994, page 24.

Flaked rice and rice grits.
​

Flaked rice and rice grits are used in high proportions by Australian and American breweries but are not used much in this country [UK].* Rice is almost tasteless and colourless and is again a nitrogen diluent. Its main advantage is that it is cheap. It is also a colour diluent and is useful in producing the thin, very lightly coloured beers that are typical of American brewing practice. Flaked rice can be used directly in our mash tun, but grits will need cooking before use. Domestic rice is the easiest and cheapest source of rice. It can be used by first breaking the grain into smaller particle size with a rolling pin, and then cooking by boiling in a small volume of water for fifteen minutes before adding to the mash tun (complete with water).
​

Hope this Helps

Rurik

 

[therook]

After a few PM's from afromaiko on Friday, I used some rice yesterday in a Cream Ale and it worked a treat using the rice cooker.

Thanks for your help afro

Rook

 

[Karlostavitch]

Thanks for the info guys, answers all my questions about how to use rice for my next brew.

I won't grind the rice, just overcook the rice in my rice cooker with some extra water to make it real gluggy and it should dissolve in the bag while mashing my grain. Also I won't worry about Rice husks as they probably aren't needed for BIAB.

It will certainly help for my next beer, Japanese Lager!

Domo Arigato, Cianara

 

[blue_dog]

Cook rice the night before, fork it up a bit to separate the grains so it doesn't ball, leave it out to cool to room temp overnight, toss in the mashtun with the grain at dough in.

Screwy

I felt I should add a comment - not related to how to use it in the beer but rather how to handle the rice.
Screwy's right, you must separate the grains, if you're going to use it in other ways than eating it immediately... Rice is a food poisoning nightmare - it generally isn't the meat that gets you, it's the rice. (google - food poisoning from rice - and you'll see what I mean)

Those gluggy balls retain heat for abnormally long periods and will remain in that danger zone of - over 5 degrees below 65 - and the bacteria multiply like crazy. gee sounds like yeast huh

I had to do food courses and research shows that when multiple food poisoning occur at big festivals etc, they track it to the rice.... cooked and trying to keep it from drying out 'they' keep it cooler than the required reheat temperature (which would have inhibited the growth - it's very complicated - how this baccilus can survive the cooking process).

(as the non brewer in the family) - If I was going to use it later in beer, I'd cook, spread out on a flat try and put into fridge (while hot) let it get to below 5 degrees as quickly as possilbe. Bacillus is dormant. Next day, as soon as room temp. use in brew... No need for paranoia just caution

I do eat buffet food but I dig to the bottom of the rice and try and get stuff from the hottest part of the dish - not the top.
Anyway, sorry to butt in & it's not beer related, perhaps it should be in the food forum, but I worried about some brewer leaving rice on the kitchen counter in Qld's warmer conditions.


The blue dog's Wife

 

[Fourstar]

I Agree Bluedog.

I wouldnt recommend cooked Rice to be kept any longer than 2 days as its a sponge for bacteria. Ensure you have a SEALED container for storage if you want to go past this threshold.

Personally i would cook the rice the morning of brewing. Cool to sacc temp add direct to the mash tun

Edit: pisspoor spelling