Inside the Alcohol-free Beer Revolution

With the increase of low- and no-alcohol drinkers in the UK, Aniqah Majid investigates how 0% beer is made and whether you can taste the difference

WELL, it certainly tastes like beer,” I say as the bartender serves me a half pint of “alcohol-free” IPA. I have just tried a 0% IPA from Scottish brewer Brulo – it was strong, a little bit bitter, and fruity. “It does not surprise me that you like that one, it is more hoppy than say, some of the lagers we have, double dry-hopped actually,” says Laura Willoughby, an expert in low-alcohol and alcohol-free beverages.

I am with Laura at Club Soda, a tasting room she co-founded in Covent Garden, London. Sat at the bar, we are surrounded by an array of non-alcoholic beers, wines and spirits.

“Club Soda has been going now for ten years, and I started it to help people change their drinking habits, at a time when our research showed that the only thing that venues typically had for people was a dusty bottle of Becks Blue in the farthest corner,” Laura tells me. “I got a lot of feedback from people about the lack of choice in pubs and bars.”

Following the launch of Heineken’s 0.0% lager in 2017, more low-alcohol and alcohol-free beverages sprung up in the market, and UK consumers have lapped it up. At the end of last year, more than 120m pints of low and no-alcoholic beer were drunk across the UK, according to data published by the British Beer & Pub Association.

I want to understand what is behind the rise. Friends and colleagues who have dabbled in low- and no-alcohol beer often say they can “definitely” taste the difference compared to traditional beer. Though made from the same four ingredients – water, grains (typically barley), hops and yeast – a beer’s character, even if it’s alcohol-free, can vary greatly depending on how it is processed.

Taste and colour

Beer is already low in alcohol by volume (ABV) percentage, with the typical IPA ranging between 5.5–7.5%. To be classed as alcohol free in England, a drink must have an ABV content not exceeding 0.05%, lower than in the US and Europe for example, where the standard is 0.5%. Low alcohol products are defined as products with an ABV content not exceeding 1.2%.

Brewers and scientists have developed several innovative methods to reduce ABV in beer, each affecting the taste and body – the latter referring to the beer’s viscosity, which can range from thin and watery to thick and creamy.

“Alcohol is an amazing product really,” explains Laura. “It’s a preservative, it gives body and mouthfeel, it makes a small amount of ingredients go a long way, so when you take alcohol out you need to rebalance your product, and brands do a range of things to retain those factors.”

The colour and flavour of beer derive from the grains and hops used. First, the grains, typically barley, are roasted to stop the germination process – this creates malt which is then mashed with water to create a sugary liquid called wort. The malt is either roasted or heated, with the colour getting darker the higher the temperature. For example, to make Guinness, a stout, the barley is roasted at exactly 232oC to achieve its dark and opaque colour.

The flavour of a beer comes mostly from the hops which, when added to the sweet wort mixture, give beer its signature bitterness.

Grow it out

There are two main processes used to produce non-alcoholic beverages: either by tampering with the fermentation process, or de-alcoholisation after the drink has already been made.

With fermentation, alcohol content can be reduced by suspending the fermentation before a certain volume of alcohol is produced, called arrested fermentation.

When fermentation is halted – typically around 1–2% ABV – brewers then dilute the beverage to lower the alcohol content even further.

Another method for producing low- and no-alcohol beer involves using a type of yeast called maltose-negative, which naturally produces little to no alcohol during fermentation.

“There are all sorts of interesting yeast that you can use in in beer applications,” says Richard Preiss, a brewing scientist at Escarpment Labs, a Canadian company with expertise in yeast brewing and fermentation.

“Maltose negative yeast does not produce maltose, which are the main sugars found in beer, which when fermented, turn to alcohol,” he says.

“We are working with a yeast species called Hanseniaspora uvarum which is found in cider and wine fermentations. It tends to be pretty easy to work with and doesn’t ferment the malt sugar, so it’s good for making non-alcoholic beer with.”

According to Richard, different yeast strains can produce a wide range of beer flavours. At Escarpment Labs, for example, the flavour profile of one strain spans tropical and hoppy notes to citrus and peach.

“The fermentation approaches will develop a weaker base as there is low to no ethanol involved, so it’s always harder to pack flavour into that. Having a flavourful yeast is a really good first step,” he says.

Much of an alcoholic beverage’s flavour comes from the ethanol itself, which acts as a flavour carrier and modifier.

“Ethanol is like the backbone of a beer,” Richard explains. “Take that out and the volatilities of a beer become less volatile, changing the flavours that makes beer taste like beer.”

To rebalance a beer’s flavour, he says different yeasts can be used to enhance active flavours, including the Hensoniaspora uvearum strain, which carry similar “ester and fruity” compounds as a typical beer would.

“The strains that we use produce a lot of glycerol, which does not have the same flavour produced by ethanol but does provide a similar texture.”

Extra sweeteners and hops can be added back in to replicate the body of beer, as ethanol is also calorific, with 1 g of ethanol containing more calories than 1 g of fat.

Richard stresses the importance of pasteurising beer after fermentation. With such low ABV content, a non-alcoholic beer is more susceptible to spoilage than traditional beer, so it can be heated to around 60–72oC to kill off any bacteria. Any more and it could alter the taste of the beer.

“My opinion or tip is that I think pasteurisation does actually make non-alcoholic beers better, they have less of like a green unfermented taste when they get pasteurised.”

Last-minute omissions