OnTap Magazine

ontapmag.co.za | Summer 2024 | 27 alcohol beer variants, each offering unique sensory profiles. As opposed to dealcoholized beers, which need to be re- composed after dealcoholization due to the stripping of a wide range of aroma components in the process, using specific microorganisms for producing low- and no-alcohol (NABLAB) beer has the advantage of exhibiting fermentative notes as the yeast will operate biotransformation in the process. • NABLAB BEERS: The use of SafBrew™LA-01 only will exhibit nice fermentative notes, typical of beer, and cover worty flavors typically observed in those beers. • HOPPY NABLAB: Exhibited sweet descriptors, attributed to the interaction between hop compounds and yeast characteristics. • SOUR NABLAB: The addition of kettle souring to the process, especially with SafSour™ LP 652, will counterbalance the sweetness and enhance drink ability with a more balanced mouthfeel and nice citrusy notes. • HOPPY SOUR NABLAB: The addition of dry hopping with well selected hops to the NABLAB or the SOUR NABLAB, will introduce a world of other flavors, specifically related to the hops used; And produce balanced, complex and highly drinkable more or less hop forward beers depending on hop addition rates; very comparable with the alcoholic versions. We noted some very interesting results, andwhat’smost remarkable is how the souring process can counterbalance the slightly watery mouthfeel of the low and no-alcohol beer. The dry hop provided a fruity aroma even though it was subtle, since over hopping non- alcohol beers can upset their stability. In the end, the outstanding winner when it came to all our informal tastings was the combination of the souring process with the dry hopping. The Hoppy Sour NABLAB came out on top and was very warmly welcomed as a highly drinkable, pleasant, and flavoursome non-alcohol beer. What we encourage therefore, when brewing low-alcohol beers, is to be very creative. It requires a little bit of imagination and thought to avoid brewing a too worty or malty beer, and hit the right balance between flavour, mouthfeel, and drinkability. Experimenting with a kettle-souring process or different hopping techniques can definitely provide that extra character that your low- or no-alcohol beer craves! The low- and no-alcohol trend is here to stay and at Fermentis, we believe it should be possible for all brewers to make a high quality low- or no-alcohol beer. Complex technologies such as de-alcoholising and expensive installations such as tunnel pasteurization are not compulsory anymore. If you’ve walked through all the steps of this article, then you’ll understand that there are no longer any limitations when it comes to brewing low- and no-alcohol beers. As long as you understand how the microorganisms work and what they are able to ferment, you’ll be equipped to design creative recipes in order to brew amazing beers with no alcohol content – or less than the generally accepted threshold of 0.5% ABV at the very least. In fact, 0.5% is often the regulatory limit to what you can call a no-alcohol beer, but if you are just aiming at a lower alcohol beer, something for a hot summer’s party or a professional event, you have even more freedom when it comes to your wort composition! The future for low- and no-alcohol beverages, especially beers, is exciting and bright. You can be sure we’ll be working at the forefront of this trend in the future, providing new products and solutions to offer more freedom and diversity to this growing low- alcohol scene!