The World Beer Cup added a “Rice Lager” category for the first time in 2026, and two Northwest breweries promptly earned medals in it — which is pretty amazing.
Much like Mexican lager, rice lager, or Japanese rice lager, as some folks call it, seems to remain relatively ill-defined outside of the newly instituted guidelines. This week, we sat down with a flight of five iterations of this wonderful but potentially misunderstood style to see how our favorite breweries are approaching this beer.
Tune in to find out what makes different versions unique from one another, what some Japanese breweries are doing to help develop their own lager distinctions, and get some bonus spicy takes from our best buddy, Barry!
Tap, tap, tap
Alright, Grit & Grainers! Please email us at cheers@gritandgrainpodcast.com with your comments, opinions, and favorite rice lager. You can subscribe to GGP on YouTube, Amazon, Apple Music, Spotify, Google Play, and iHeartRadio, and please leave us a review. Be sure to also follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
If this podcast is not what you expected, please alter your expectations. No such thing as a bad time to visit Tacoma. No such thing as too much barleywine. Tune in next Friday for more sweet chatter. Cheers!
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