BAR TODAY || Official Quarterly Publication of the Bureau of Agricultural Research

A pioneering technology in rice beermaking
by Rita T. de la Cruz

October-December 2003
Volume 5 No. 4

Drinking beer is one of the most popular social activities for many years. When the first Egyptians learned the process of fermenting grains, beer became a part of almost every society.

Barley is an important ingredient in beer making. Unfortunately, barley is expensive since it is not produced in the country so it has to be imported. According to the International Trade Statistics, the Philippines spent US$ 315,000 in 2001 to import barley. Imagine what could have been saved if an alternative ingredient for barley is found. Thus, the challenge behind the recent study conducted by the team of Evelyn Bandonill.

The study tried to find out if it is possible to use 100% rice and some locally grown additives in the production of beer. The idea of using 100 % rice in beer brewing has not been explored yet in the Philippines despite the fact that rice is ubiquitous in almost all countries particularly in Asia.

The whole tedious process of beermaking was conducted at the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice)'s Rice Chemistry and Food Science Division. During the process, three stages were done to malt the rice (palay): steeping, germinating and kilning.

According to the preliminary testings, rice was found to be a good material in beer mainly because it is a good source of starch. The properties of barley are not so different from rice. Both grains have husks that are advantageous due to their less fat and protein content and can form filter bed during mashing.

Aside from barley, hops are also important in the beer making business. Hops are added to the beer mix mainly for flavor. They are bitter but they balance out the sweetness from the malt. Hops act as natural preservative to keep the beer from spoiling. Hops are usually in pellet form which make them easier to use.

Through this study, Bandonill and company were able to identify additives other than hops. Additives used in this study are cheap and easy to find. Two locally grown additives: tañgal and duhat, were used as alternative for hops to improve the flavor, aroma, and color of beer.

Results of the chemical analysis showed that rice beer has a better quality compared to two commercial beers used in the study. When it comes to chemical and sensory quality, the carbonated beer produced from rice has no significant difference from that of the commercial beers. The taste is yet to be subjected for further general acceptability, as it needs more refinement that suits the standards of the consumers. Nevertheless, the potential of rice as main substrate for beer manufacturer has been positive enough to excite our local beer manufacturers.

This technology that uses 100% rice in beer production is first in the country, offers the consumers with an alternative, low cost, and high quality product, aside from creating additional livelihood and helping the economy in saving our foreign exchange.

This study was presented during the recently held 15th National Research Symposium (NRS) and won the Best AFMA R&D Paper Award (Applied Research). The NRS is an annually held event coordinated by the Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR). This study also won the Best Poster Award during the 14th Regional Symposium of the Central Luzon Agriculture and Resources Research and Development Consortium (CLARRDEC).

Source:
"Optimization of Process Parameters for Rice (Oryza sativa L.) Beer Production in the Philippines" by Evelyn bandonill, Henry Mamucod, and Pricilla Sanchez, Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), Maligaya, Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija.