Interesting that higher rice content in beer "revealed buttery, vanilla and creamy notes" and "was correlated with increased levels of larger alcohol molecules, like 3-methyl-1-butanol, which contribute positively to mouthfeel without raising the alcohol content above the legal nonalcoholic beer threshold." Do those larger alcohol compounds have known downsides similar to ethanol (e.g. carcinogenicity)? I'd sure like lower-alcohol beers that pose less health risk.
Most mainstream Japanese lager is made partially from rice (in these lagers, over 1/3rd of the grain used is rice), so the flavor difference is probably already familiar to many people.
> A puritian dream. Pay, sinner, pay for your hedonistic pleasures!
I am not aware of such uses for alcohol, but for hallocinogenic drugs, there exist people who don't use them for hedonistic pleasures, but for getting creative, scientific or spiritual inspirations.
I know the names of some famous writers who drank too much, but I am very much willing to admit that people who are using alcohol for creativity are far outside the bubble of people who I am surrounded with, so I can legitimately claim that from my personal life I am not aware of any single example of this phenomenon.
Most mainstream Japanese lager is made partially from rice (in these lagers, over 1/3rd of the grain used is rice), so the flavor difference is probably already familiar to many people.