The non alcoholic beer craze is sweeping the nation. After two years of lockdown and (I assume) more-than-usual drinking, people worldwide are flocking to find something — anything! — that’s healthier than beer.
In the least shocking news ever, it turns out that non alcoholic beer is better after exercise than alcoholic beer. While non alcoholic (or NA) beer isn’t as healthy as something like water, it’s definitely a step way above alcohol.
But any amount of critical thinking about NA beer begs the question: how do you brew something without it becoming alcoholic? Even kombucha has some amount of alcohol, due to the brewing process.
It turns out that there’s more than one way to brew a non alcoholic beer.
What Is in Non Alcoholic Beer?
There seems to be a misconception that non alcoholic beer has little in common with alcoholic beer. However, NA beer is made from the same four basic ingredients (water, grains, yeast, and hops) as any other type of beer. You’ll still get the hop and malt flavor of beer, and all beer is mostly just water. It’s how brewers make NA beers that makes them so unique.
How Do You Make NA beers?
The best, and really only, way to brew a non alcoholic beer is by…brewing beer. Basically, there are four main methods for making a beer non alcoholic:
- Controlled fermentation
- Dealcoholization
- Dilution
- Simulated fermentation
Let’s take a look at how each process works.
Controlled Fermentation
Controlled fermentation, also known as arrested fermentation, is the most common method for creating NA beer. With this method, brewers ferment the yeast as normal, but stop the fermentation process before the yeast converts too much sugar into alcohol. One way brewers do this is by keeping the temperature below 60 degrees, which slows down yeasts.
The reason controlled fermentation is commonly used is that it’s the easiest method for brewers to adopt, as it doesn’t require a ton of specialized equipment. However, it can be tough to get a low-to-no ABV in every brew, and you won’t capture as much flavor as a normally brewed beer.
For a real-world example of this method, look no further than Athletic Brewing. They use controlled fermentation in all their beers.
Dealcoholization
Yes, science can now suck the alcohol out of alcohol. Dealcoholization is the process of removing alcohol from a finished product, which in this case is beer. This method allows for full fermentation, which can increase the flavor of the NA beer.
However, this process requires specialized equipment (which is expensive), so big breweries are the most likely to use this method.
The easiest way to get rid of alcohol is by boiling the brew or filtering. However, boiling destroys the flavor of beer, and filters need to be advanced, so you can’t just boil your beer at home and run it through a Brita to get a tasty non-alcoholic beer.
Breweries can de-alcoholize beer in a few ways:
- Steam Distillation: Add extra water to the beer, boil it, and have alcohol released with the vapors.
- Vacuum Distillation: Reduce the boiling point of beer by putting it in a vacuum, then have the alcohol boil out.
- Reverse Osmosis: Force the beer through a membrane filter with tons of pressure, separating the water and alcohol from the flavor-rich parts of the beer. Then, just add water back into the flavor-rich parts, with the alcohol entirely removed.
Each method has its pros and cons; for example, Vacuum Distillation usually leaves about 0.5% ABV left in the brew. However, this low of an ABV is basically negligible.
Regardless of how a brewer makes non alcoholic beer, one thing remains constant during the entire process: the beer.
Dilution
Dilution is simple: just keep adding water to the fully fermented beer until the ABV drops to 0.5% or lower. Of course, the amount of water it would take to do this would completely thin out the flavor of beer, so brewers usually only use dilution in combination with another tactic.
Simulated Fermentation
The best way to avoid alcohol in beer is to make sure no alcohol ever gets introduced. Simulated fermentation skips the fermentation process entirely. Of course, you need fermentation for carbonation and flavor. So, brewers add other ingredients to try to replicate the missing flavors (with varying success).
I’ve also read that there are experimental non-alcholic yeasts that essentially ferment without producing any alcohol. I’m not sure how real or effective this is, though.
What was the first non alcoholic beer?
The history of beer is long and storied, rich and fascinating. Of course, anything with a long history is bound to have holes in information or debatable origins. Non alcoholic beer falls under this every-opinion-might-be-right umbrella.
Naturally, I consulted Wikipedia, and it gives a very wishy-washy history of “well, low alcohol beer was maybe around hundreds of years ago” and “I guess there was probably non-alcoholic beer in places where you couldn’t have alcohol.”
Of course, it could be that non alcoholic beer has been brewed myriad times over the past several thousand years, and brewers just didn’t have the tools to measure alcohol content.
So, to answer the question, there is no first non alcoholic beer.
Does Non Alcoholic Beer Have Alcohol?
As I previously mentioned in my Dry January post, many non alcoholic products technically have trace amounts of alcohol in them. However, because there are different methods of producing non alcoholic beer, the amount of alcohol in your brew can vary.
For example, any brew that doesn’t use yeast won’t be alcoholic since yeast is required for brewing. Brews with yeast could yield low ABV brews, so low that they might as well be NA.
If you’re looking to make a healthy switch, any NA beer should suffice. If you cannot have alcohol for another reason, then it’s worth spending more time researching whichever beer you’re looking to buy.
Non Alcohlic Beer FAQs
Yes, non alcoholic beer is real beer. Brewers use the same ingredients as they do with real beer, only they include tactics to reduce or remove the alcohol from the brew.
No, you can’t get drunk from non alcoholic beer. Even if you chose beer with 0.5% ABV, you’d have to drink a ridiculous (and impossible) amount of beer to feel a buzz, let alone get drunk.
NA beer is healthier than alcoholic beer, but it’s not the best for you. NA beer has fewer calories than alcoholic beer, so it is a healthier option.
Right now, Athletic Brewing makes the best non alcoholic beers. But brewers are constantly innovating and trying new styles. It’s an exciting time for NA beers!
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