Posted on 04/27/2025 7:26:49 PM PDT by Red Badger
In a nutshell
* Rice malt could help the brewing industry adapt to climate change, yielding twice as much extract per hectare as barley while requiring 50-67% less land
* While rice malt costs 20% more to produce than barley malt, it offers significant advantages for gluten-free brewing and can reduce costs when used as an adjunct
* As climate change threatens barley production, rice provides a more resilient alternative that’s already grown abundantly in warmer regions worldwide
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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Beer prices might soon rise as climate change threatens barley crops, but an unexpected savior is emerging from rice paddies. New research reveals rice could revolutionize brewing by offering better climate resilience while requiring far less land.
Research published in npj Sustainable Agriculture shows rice malt produces twice as much extract per hectare as traditional barley, potentially cutting land requirements by 50-67% for the same amount of beer. This efficiency comes at a critical time when barley yields are projected to drop by 17% by 2050 due to rising temperatures.
“Climate change, import restrictions, and global conflicts are significantly impacting brewing raw material supply and costs,” the University of Arkansas researchers write. As traditional barley-growing regions become less suitable for cultivation, brewers face growing uncertainty about their most essential ingredient.
Why Rice Could Save Your Beer The brewing industry has relied on barley for centuries, but many countries already struggle with supply issues. Brazil, Mexico, and the U.S. rank among the world’s top beer producers yet must import significant quantities of barley malt. The U.S. imports about 18% of its barley malt despite being a major agricultural producer.
Rice presents a compelling solution. It thrives in warmer regions unsuitable for barley and grows abundantly worldwide, making it less vulnerable to regional climate disruptions. Arkansas alone produces 3.8 million tons of rice annually, comparable to the nation’s entire barley production.
Beers made with malted rice are seen with a vial of malted rice at the Center for Beverage Innovation, a University of Arkansas System facility, during a 2024 study that identified several long grain rice varieties with unique brewing qualities. An agricultural economics study exploring the cost feasibility of malted rice showed brewing with malted rice instead of milled rice can lower brewery production costs by up to 12 percent. (Credit: U of A System Division of Agriculture)
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The Economics of Rice Malt
The research team conducted extensive computer simulations to estimate the economic impacts of using rice for malting. Their analysis examined everything from raw material costs to land requirements.
Converting rice into malt isn’t new, but this study is the first to thoroughly analyze its economic viability compared to barley. While the process costs about 20% more primarily due to longer malting times, these disadvantages are offset by rice’s superior land efficiency and climate resilience.
For brewers, using rice malt as a supplemental starch source alongside traditional barley could reduce production costs by 2-12%. This differs from current methods of using milled rice, which require additional processing steps and external enzymes to prepare the starch for brewing.
Rice malt contains enough natural enzymes to convert its starches to sugars and provides adequate free amino nitrogen for fermentation. It also comes with its own hull, which protects against oxidation and helps filtration during brewing.
When comparing costs, barley remains cheaper, producing beer for about $162 per 10 hectoliters compared to rice malt’s $215-250. However, this 33% premium might be worthwhile for gluten-free beer consumers, who typically pay much more for alternative products.
Sustainability Benefits and Future Potential In a world where farmland is increasingly scarce, rice’s ability to produce twice as much extract per hectare represents a major sustainability advantage. Supplying the entire U.S. brewing industry with rice malt would require just 66% of the current long grain rice acreage, compared to the much larger area needed for barley.
Looking ahead, rice varieties could be specifically bred for malting, potentially improving extract yields and enhancing economic viability. Just as barley has been selectively bred for brewing traits, rice could undergo comparable optimization.
For countries already importing large quantities of barley malt, developing domestic rice malting capabilities could provide economic protection against trade disruptions, currency fluctuations, and climate-related supply issues. This local production could also cut transportation emissions, supporting breweries’ sustainability goals.
As barley becomes less dependable and land resources more limited, rice’s efficiency and resilience position it as not just an alternative, but potentially a superior option for future brewing.
Paper Summary
Methodology
The researchers conducted Monte Carlo simulations to assess the economic viability and agricultural efficiency of using rice as a malting grain compared to barley. They collected publicly available data on yield, harvested area, production, and prices for barley and rice varieties between 2013 and 2023 from the USDA. The study evaluated malting costs for a facility in Jonesboro, Arkansas, assuming a 4-ton batch capacity malt house. The team calculated malt production costs, extract yields, brewing costs for both 100% malt beers and beers using 40% adjuncts, and compared land usage requirements between rice and barley. They examined different rice varieties including long grain, medium grain, pureline, and hybrid types, analyzing their performance against traditional malting barley.
Results
The study found that rice malt production costs were approximately 20% higher than barley malt ($626 vs. $515 per ton), primarily due to longer malting times reducing annual throughput. While rice malt beer costs about 33% more to produce than barley beer ($215 vs. $162 per 10 hectoliters), rice offers significant land efficiency advantages. Rice yielded 1.9-2.8 times more extract per hectare than barley, potentially reducing land requirements by 50-67% for the same amount of beer. When used as an adjunct (40% of the grain bill), rice malt could lower production costs by 2-12% compared to using milled rice, mainly by eliminating the need for additional enzymes and processing steps. The researchers also identified specific rice varieties with superior malting qualities that could be targeted for breeding programs.
Limitations
The study acknowledged several limitations. The simulations were based on a craft-level malt house in the United States using local prices, so results may vary by location, facility size, and malting system. The malting procedures for rice are still being optimized, and improvements could potentially reduce costs and increase efficiency. The research didn’t include a full life cycle analysis of the environmental impacts, noting that rice cultivation typically has a higher global warming potential than barley due to methane emissions from flooded fields, though alternative farming practices could mitigate this concern.
Funding and Disclosures
This research was supported by the Foundational Knowledge of Plant Products program, project award no. 13960138, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The authors declared no competing interests.
Publication Information
The paper, “Evaluating the costs of alternative malting grains for market adaptation: a case study on rice malt production in the U.S,” was authored by Bernardo P. Guimaraes, Lawton L. Nalley, and Scott R. Lafontaine from the University of Arkansas, and published in npj Sustainable Agriculture (2025) 3:19. DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1038/s44264-025-00060-6
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NOT Susan Rice.
Not even Uncle Ben’s, for that matter.
Isn’t Budweiser rice beer?
Partially.................
Budweiser (Anheuser-Busch): A classic American lager brewed with rice since 1876, known for its crisp, clean taste and light body. Rice contributes to its smooth, less bitter profile.
Bud Light (Anheuser-Busch): Similar to Budweiser, it uses rice for a light, refreshing taste, popular for its low bitterness and easy drinkability.
From Grok.
If it’s not made by fermenting barley malt, it isn’t really beer. Other things can be added, but barley malt is what makes beer beer.
“Isn’t Budweiser rice beer?”
Yes. Busch uses corn as an adjunct, that is why it tastes sweeter.
I’ve been enjoying rice beer for a long time. Coors light is a rice beer.
I don’t think real Budweiser, from Budweis, Czech Republic, uses rice. They don’t grow a lot of rice in that country.
They do grow rice in neighboring Hungary.
“”The original 1516 Bavarian law governed that the only ingredients allowed were malt (germinated, dried barley), hops and water. The properties of yeast were unknown at the time, but it was later allowed, as was wheat, which was initially reserved for baking bread.””
.
No. Rice.
That’s like putting beans in chili.
.
Climate change. Baloney.
Why not use rye?
If its made from rice, its not real beer.
I’ve been working in the Coors malthouse in Golden, CO for almost 25 years. We get barley from farmers in several states. First I’d heard of this.
Just looked again.
The words, “Climate change,” is mentioned FOUR times.
In the name of their god of climate change, I think they’re trying to scare the industry.
JMHO.
Climate change has nothing to do with it. Import restrictions and global conflict are enough to explain any shortage of barley. The only way to use climate change as a reason for anything is by making it part of a list.
No.
You know what else? They say the yield per hectare which is a measure of land. If you have more yield per hectare you are using less land.
I like my beer.
My doctor say’s I drink to much of it but at my age(70) I don’t care.
My Favorite beer is Beck’s DARK!
But I can’t afford it often.
I will not drink Budweiser.
Or Coors Light, I’ll get a Seven up instead.
My daily beer is “Rolling rock”.
It is barely drinkable, but is affordable.
Flame on guys!
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