OnTap Magazine

36 | Spring 2024 | ontapmag.co.za I often hear brewers ask, why brew a non-alcoholic beer? If you don’t want to drink alcohol there are many soft drink options on the market. However, this view is selling a great beverage short. Beer is a very social drink and to be left out of the group because you are either driving, observing abstinence due to religious or health reasons or simply because the non-alcoholic beer options taste awful is becoming a thing of the past. Demand for NABLAB (Non-Alcohol Beer Low Alcohol Beer) styles are growing and Craft brewers are now brewing a variety of great tasting NABLAB styles which can hold their own and compete with the sensory profile of a traditional beer. Brewing a NABLAB style presents many challenges to the brewer not least because the contribution of alcohol is intrinsic to the flavour, body and mouthfeel of the beer. Once this alcohol is removed the beer can be left exposed to certain faults. Therefore, creating a NABLAB style means the brewer needs to accommodate certain considerations in the recipe design The definition of NABLAB vary globally but as a general guide, low alcohol beers range from 0.5%-1.5% abv whereas non alcoholic beers have an abv of 0.5% or less with some regions not tolerating anything above 0% abv. The main methods used to brew NABLAB styles fall into 2 main categories, either removal of the alcohol by physical means or limited alcohol production by biological means. The former is generally termed dealcoholisation while the latter, limited or arrested fermentation. A combination of these two methods is often used. Methods for removing alcohol from beer include heating and distillation or membrane filtration of which reverse osmosis is the most common. Both have the advantage of being scalable to large production volumes, as well as the ability to achieve 0.0% abv (via distillation) however the downside is the equipment required can be an expensive investment, energy intensive and can require significant process optimisation. In addition, positive flavours can be lost in the heating process or stripped out with alcohol removal. Limiting the alcohol production offers the craft brewer a more accessible route into brewing this style of beer. This method involves a more holistic approach but ultimately the lower alcohol is achieved by reducing the amount of sugar consumed during fermentation. The Arrested fermentation method, stops the yeast metabolism after a small amount of sugar is consumed, leaving fermentable sugars remaining in the beer. This is achieved by adding yeast to already cold wort (cold contact) and rapidly cooling or pasteurising. This method requires close analytical control and can generate poor flavours. The Limited wort fermentability method, reduces the quantity of fermentable sugar in the starting wort by using modified grain bill to generate lower starting gravity, mashing at high temperature for a shorter time to decrease the amount of glucose and maltose produced and selecting a yeast strain incapable of fermenting maltose to allow for lower attenuation. As there will be some simple sugars left unfermented, pasteurisation is required to stabilise the product and prevent fermentation after packaging by contaminating organisms. An important consideration when brewing NABLAB is the strain of yeast to use. Maltose negative yeasts are ideal for NABLAB styles as they only ferment glucose and fructose. Most maltose negative strains are non-saccharomyces species that are not well adapted to fermenting and producing typical beer flavours expected from a true saccharomyces strain. However natural hybrids like Lalbrew LONATM have been developed to address this requirement combining the inability of the strain to ferment maltose and maltotriose while at the same time producing a clean and neutral sensory profile. One way to demonstrate brewing of this style is through recipe design: -