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Japanese Rice Lager: A Simple Recipe Achieves Phenomenal Results
Crisp, clean.
Photography courtesy of The Drowned Lands
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It’s no secret that light lagers are gaining traction within craft beer trends. The style has even climbed up Untappd’s Year in Beer charts, ranking third in 2023, just behind IPAs and stout. When it comes to Japanese rice lagers, specifically, over the last four years, the number of check-ins for the “Lager—Japanese Rice” style on Untappd has increased almost sixty-three percent, from 144,886 in 2021 to 235,665 last year.
The rise even warranted us to predict that 2025 would be the “Year of the Japanese Rice Lager.”
We spoke with experts in Japanese rice lagers from Atlanta, GA-based Halfway Crooks Beer and Warwick, NY-based The Drowned Lands Brewery to learn precisely what a rice lager is, how to create a recipe for it, what to know when brewing it, and how to nail the fermentation process.
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Photography courtesy of Blake Tyers
We recently teamed up with Ollie and Untappd for Business to share stories, strategies, and tips crafted just for industry insiders. Our new Industry Insights section includes in-depth brewing guides, business trends, recent news, and tips and tricks on running a beverage business.
For the moment, we’re continuing to bring this content to you for free! So to learn more about Japanese rice lagers and read the rest of this article, hit the button below.
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About The Author
Giovanni is a content writer for Next Glass, contributing to the Ollie blog and Hop Culture. He is a writer by day and a brewer/business owner by night, owning and operating Settle Down Brewery & Taproom in Gilroy, California.
Giovanni is passionate about a number of things, including history, documentaries and sports, but none more than reporting/writing and brewing beer. After receiving a radio broadcasting degree then a journalism degree from Salem State College in his home state of Massachusetts, he relocated to California in 2008.
Then, his writing career kicked off – covering sports, business, politics and more along the way – while concurrently dabbling in home brewing. The home brewing turned pro in 2021 when he launched SDB Brewing Company. Settle Down Beer officially opened in February 2023.
