When we hear the phrase "alcohol-free beer," what comes to mind? For many people, non-alcoholic beers are drinks with little flavor or texture, consumed primarily out of necessity. But fortunately for beer lovers, significant improvements in brewing technology and the available varieties of non-alcoholic beer are yielding surprising results. Imagining the full flavor of an alcoholic beer, without having to suffer a hangover, is a reality. For total and occasional teetotalers who appreciate (or yearn for) the taste of a good beer, what more could you ask for?
With a projected compound annual growth of 7.5% for the coming years (1), non-alcoholic beers continue to gain ground globally. The main driver of this outlook, as with most growing beverage segments, is a growing global health awareness (2). While non-alcoholic beers are ideal for specific groups such as athletes, pregnant women, or people who regularly take medication, market analysts attribute this growth to consumers who simply do not want to consume alcohol.
Although non-alcoholic beer consumption has increased considerably in traditional markets, such as Europe, it is also important to note that in many regions where a large part of the population abstains from alcoholic beverages for religious or legal reasons, non-alcoholic beer is gaining widespread popularity; for example, in the Middle East, where this beverage can be considered HALAL, with a maximum alcohol content of 0.1%.
Although not exactly 0.0% alcohol, many historians trace the origins of non-alcoholic beer to medieval Europe. Medieval peasants would often drink (and were even paid with) low-alcohol beer. This nutritious beverage was a source of energy for laborious work and was even provided to children, given that clean, fresh water was not always accessible (3). Later in history, Prohibition, implemented in the United States in the 1920s, prompted many breweries to develop formulas with less than 0.5% alcohol by volume, and by the time Prohibition was lifted, the market had already had a chance to experience these types of beverages.
The concept of low-alcohol beers is not a recent one, however, the product did not enjoy a very good reputation among beer lovers. Alcohol removal was done by heating, negatively affecting the taste and palatability of the final beverage. However, extensive research and the introduction of new technologies have resulted in the development of new methods to obtain a product of a quality far superior to that of its predecessors; some of these methods include:
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Alcohol extraction at low temperature or by filtration: achieved, respectively, through vacuum distillation by which the boiling point of the alcohol is reduced allowing its distillation at a lower temperature and minimizing its effect on the flavors or, through reverse osmosis where the beer with alcohol is filtered to separate water, alcohol and certain volatile acids, the alcohol is distilled from the separated water and the non-alcoholic mixture is returned to the initial system, reducing the amount of aromatic compounds lost in the process.
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DilutionThe following steps are taken: a beer of regular alcoholic volume is diluted with beer from which the alcohol has been extracted or, after separation of the yeasts from a concentrated fermented wort (brewed with a higher proportion of dry matter), the latter is diluted with water and adjusted with an organic acid, before passing to the carbonation stage.
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Restricted fermentation: creating conditions in the mixture under which the yeasts cannot produce alcoholic fermentation. Some variations of this method include reducing the proportion of fermentable sugars, maintaining a low temperature during the first phase of fermentation, or pressurizing the must, among others.
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Non-fermented beer production: brewed from a wort without yeast. Although this method requires a balance of flavor components that can be difficult to achieve, the process can be more economical than other non-alcoholic beer production methods (4).
OUR PROPOSAL
The development of non-alcoholic beer and beer-like beverages offers ample opportunity for experimentation. Our aroma portfolio includes malt and hop profiles, as well as aroma compounds created for non-alcoholic beers with fresh, bitter, earthy, caramelized and other notes.
We also offer applications for beer-type flavored beverages, with low or no alcohol content, which allow the development of completely flexible proposals in terms of the balance of flavor notes, color and transparency of the mixture.
In line with the renewed interest in bitter flavors in beverages, our portfolio includes compound profiles that combine bitter notes with herbal, citrus, sour and floral aromas, providing novel alternatives, and we have developed applications for non-alcoholic beer-type beverages suitable for consumers with a gluten-free diet.
Our offer includes malt concentrates and natural colorants, which can be used in beer-type beverages or malt-based beverages, flavored with natural beer flavors, as well as fruit and spice flavors.
Formulation in the world of beverages is characterized by defying classifications and the new proposals of non-alcoholic beers go beyond traditional boundaries to become not only delicious, but also functional options, thanks to their nutritious ingredients and their properties to promote wellness through relaxation and anti-inflammatory effects. Not least, non-alcoholic beers are a common point of sharing between consumers of alcoholic beer and those who have decided to abstain from it, but enjoy its fascinating taste.
About us…
Sabores Cosco de Centroamérica offers innovative alternatives in flavors and ingredients. Our portfolio of beverage and food applications is continuously growing to provide timely responses to market demands. We have the technical tools to address the particular needs of beverage and food flavor system applications, designing tailor-made proposals. Our technical advisory team provides support throughout the development process. We are sure that in Sabores Cosco de Centroamérica you will find an integral solution partner for your products.
References
1 https://www.statista.com/statistics/1091389/non-alcoholic-beer-market-size-worldwide/
2 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/non-alcoholic-beer-market.html