The Brewing Of Non-Alcoholic and Ultralow Alcohol Beer: Methods Made Simple

Authors: Craig Dillon & Ben Sanderson

With the growing popularity of non-alcoholic beers, it is clear to see this is not just a passing trend, but rather an alternative to traditional drinking culture. With change comes prosperity. In an otherwise limited commercial sector in previous years, the rise of breweries getting on board to create non-alcoholic beer (NAB) and low alcohol beer (LAB) has increased exponentially worldwide, which in turn has made variety and choice greater for consumers who have, for a number of personal reasons, decided to abstain, reduce, or limit their alcohol intake. Whilst this shift in choice has promoted increased health aspects, wellness, greater social engagement, and a sense of involvement, it still remains under a cloud of negativity by many parts of the brewing community. Rather than be alienated for something that it isn’t, it should be celebrated as something that is tantamount, and normalize sobriety.

A Brief Review

An important aspect of fermenting any beverage is the production of alcohol. Regardless of technique, ingredients, or environment, this is an unavoidable aspect of fermentation. What we can control is the amount of alcohol produced. By altering traditional techniques or employing modern methods, reduced alcohol production or the removal of alcohol post-fermentation can result in alcohol free (NAB) or low alcohol beer (LAB).

With many non-alcoholic breweries keeping their methods under a proprietary clause, information for homebrewers has all but been restricted, leaving brewers to extensively research or experiment off of their own merit and vanquish.

With an often hypothesized, limited, or scattered knowledge base available throughout the wider brewing community, Ultralow Brewing was formed with the sole purpose of delivering as much information, guides, and experiments in a lateral sense to brewers of all skill levels to help attain the knowledge to create their own NAB/LABs.

Some of the common methods to create NAB/LABs can be utilized by brewers easily, whereas others are restricted to the commercial sector due to the expense and ability to house large equipment not suitable at the homebrew scale. Below is a list of commonly used methods, either on their own or in conjunction with other methods:

• High Temperature Mashing
• Low Grain Bill (Low Gravity)
• Cold Mashing (Non-Enzymatic Mashing)
• Yeast Selection (Maltose Negative Strains)
• Arrested Fermentation
• No Fermentation
• Membrane Filtering
• Reverse Osmosis
• Vacuum Distilling
• Centrifugal separation
• Thermal Separation/Boil Off

Why Should I Brew a No/Low Alcohol Beer?

Brewers wanting to brew NAB/LABs may be doing so for a variety of reasons. Some are looking to expand their portfolio, others are looking to hone their skills, or possibly add a beer they can drink when they’re looking to cut back on their consumption, or maybe they can no longer consume alcohol and they still want to enjoy brewing beer they can drink.

“What’s the point?” or “Why would I bother?” are two of the most commonly expressed negative comments we hear in discussions surrounding no/low alcohol beer and brewing. The thing is, it’s easy to make a decent regular beer, heck, you can buy a “fresh wort kit,” add water and yeast, and you have beer. What a lot of brewers might not realize is that it’s not so simple to create a low ABV beer that can replicate the full-strength counterpart, and it is a great skill to add to a brewers tool kit regardless of how experienced they are. It takes a lot of practice, skill, and technique to create a NAB/LAB that has the full flavor and balance of a regular beer. But don’t let that scare you away, with the right techniques it can be made easy!

Techniques Suited To Homebrewers

With a variety of options for the homebrewer to choose from, selecting the right method, or combination of methods, will be dependent on each brewer’s individual circumstance. Factors like available yeast strains and equipment limitations may make some methods impractical, so choosing one that will fit is paramount to their success. Each method has its limitations and impact on the final result, so compromise is often an unavoidable part of brewing NAB/LAB. A combination of techniques is often employed to boost the overall aspect of the finished beer.

High Temperature/Low Gravity

This technique was popularized by BrewDog in their Nanny State Hoppy Golden Ale. The small grain bill results in a wort with less fermentable sugars while mashing at a high temperature (162-180°F/72-82°C) increases alpha-amylase enzyme activity, leading to a more dextrinous and thus less fermentable wort with great mouthfeel, flavor, and head retention. Worts produced using this method can vary in in strength from as little as 1.005 OG up to 1.030 OG, ultimately leading to finished beers in the 0.1 to 2.0% ABV range.

This is the most beginner friendly method to create NAB/LABs, as it can be done on the types of small-scale systems typically used by small batch, partial mash, and extract brewers, making the transition simple and cost effective.

Cold Mashing, aka Non-Enzymatic Mashing (NEM)

The cold mash technique, also known as the “Briess Method,” involves mashing the grains in cold water for 1 to 24 hours. The grains are then removed from the wort, which gets heated to a standard mash temperature for 10 minutes to reduce the presence of unconverted starches before moving to a regular boil schedule for hop additions and clarity agents.

The main concept behind cold mashing is referred to as passive extraction, which can be accomplished by allowing the grain to react with cold water at refrigeration temperatures for 8+ hours. This reaction can be reduced to as little as 1 hour if the mashing vessel is agitated, and one approach to do this is to continuously recirculate the sweet wort.

Worts obtained using the cold mashing technique possess a much higher level of the proteins responsible for good head retention and mouthfeel. Even when cold mashing an otherwise standard strength recipe, the ABV of the finished beer with typically end up being between 1 to 1.5% while retaining full flavor, nice body, and quality foam.

Yeast Selection

With an increase in non-alcoholic brewing on both the commercial and homebrewing scales, novel or unconventional yeast strains that are less fermentative are being further explored for their potential. Yeast laboratories around the world are working with many strains, new and old, that can lead to the successful fermentation and sensory profiles associated with common brewer’s yeast to create better tasting NAB/LABs. The benefit of using these types of yeast is the brewer can make an existing recipe they enjoy that has a specific gravity between 1.014 and 1.034 OG. However, given the higher percentage of unfermented sugars present in beers made this way, pasteurization should be considered as a way to prevent microbial spoilage or re-fermentation in the packaging.

Laboratories such as White Labs, Fermentis, CHR-Hansen, Hefebank Weihenstephan, and The Yeast Bay have already released their own cultures, with other laboratories working proactively to bring their own NAB/LAB strains to market.

The following yeast species and varieties have already been tested and isolated for use in the fermentation of low/no alcohol beer:

• Saccharomycodes Ludwigii
• Zygosaccharomyces Lentus
• Torulaspora Delbrueckii
• Saccharomyces Chevalieri
• Metshnikowia Reukaufii
• Pichia Kluyveri

There exists multiple other yeast strains with potential for NAB/LAB brewing whose microbial properties are yet to be documented in the production of beer, which creates ample opportunity for experimental research by laboratories and homebrewers alike.

Arrested Fermentation

Arrested fermentation can be used on its own or in conjunction with other methods to create NAB/LABs. By halting fermentation, the brewer can control the amount of alcohol produced, resulting in a finished product with higher amounts of residual sugars and a low alcohol content. The process of halting yeast activity can be done by either heating, cooling, or using chemicals.

Heating beer leads to reduced microorganism activity from yeast, which halts the fermentation process, making it easy for the brewer to maintain low alcohol levels with a desired amount of sweetness due to incomplete fermentation. Whilst some methods such as flash pasteurization, also known as high temperature/short time (HTST), are usually limited to commercial breweries, the homebrewer can take a much simpler step to pasteurize their beer with heat by placing filled bottles in a 131–140°F /55–60°C water bath for approximately 15 minutes.

When cooling the beer to near freezing conditions, the yeast become inactive and can be either filtered out or diminished through use of sodium metabisulphite (Campden tablets) and potassium sorbate. Kegged beer is not normally pasteurized, so it must be stored at 38°F/3°C in order to prevent secondary fermentation from occurring in the keg.

Adding sodium/potassium metabisulphite and potassium sorbate to beer together is an effective way to stop any further fermentation when back sweetening with a fermentable sugar, though it’s not suitable to halt active fermentation. Rather, these chemicals serve to prevent further fermentation once the yeast has become inactive. While many suggest sulphites and sorbate work well enough independently, the use of both together will more effectively diminish yeast activity through attrition. A common misconception is that sodium/potassium metabisulfite will kill the yeast, which is not totally true. Creating conditions where the yeast becomes inactive can be done, such as cold crashing or removal of nitrogen.

No Fermentation

Not fermenting wort generally goes against traditional methods when it comes to making beer, but is not to be dismissed too quickly. By not fermenting the wort, the brewer can confidently create a true 0.0% ABV “beer.” Commercially, this technique has been employed by Hairless Dog Brewing and has proven rather successful.

As most brewers know, yeast creates esters, phenols, glycerol, ethanol, and biotransformation of hop compounds during fermentation, all of which have sensory impacts on beer. Without these characteristics, the beer can taste worty and sweet, hence the brewer must take steps to ensure a desirable balance of flavors. The benefit of not fermenting the wort is the lack of off-flavors generated during a traditional ferment, though due to the high level of fermentable sugars, steps should be taken to prevent microbial spoilage.

Boil Off

This technique is the least favorable method to create NAB/LABs, as heating the beer post fermentation can lead to an array of issues and off-flavors that include but are not limited to oxidation, overly bitter flavors due to the higher heat, off -flavors from “cooked” yeast, and loss of desirable volatile aroma and flavor compounds. Without expensive testing equipment, it is unclear as to how much alcohol actually remains in the finished product, making the boil off approach unsuitable for consumers who have medical conditions preventing the consumption of alcohol. The reason is that alcohol and water bind to each other to form an azeotrope, the components of which can’t be easily separated using heat, so knowing the final ABV can only be assumed by the brewer.

The boiling point of ethanol is lower than that of water at 173°F/78°C, which means the alcohol will be boiled off without having to actually boil the beer. How long to boil the beer is a hotly debated topic, as atmospheric pressure and heating temperatures can vary from brewer to brewer, making it inconstant.

Below is a guideline for how much residual alcohol remains in a beer after a given amount of heating time:

• 30 minutes cooking time – 35%
• 1 hour cooking time – 25%
• 5 hours cooking time – 20%
• 2 hours cooking time – 10%
• 5 hours cooking time – 5%

In theory, this means it would take 2.5 to 3 hours of heating to reduce a beer with an ABV of 5% down to 0.5% ABV.

What Ingredients Should I Use to Maximize My Success?

As any brewer can attest, selecting the appropriate malts, adjuncts, hops, and yeast is a critical factor in designing a beer, and choosing the wrong malts, hops, or yeast can completely change the fermentation and beer style. When brewing NAB/LABs, recipe selection can be even more critical– too high a percentage of base malt can yield a higher fermentable wort while too much adjunct can result in foam negative properties and high starch content. Bittering additions also need to be dialled in, as bitterness is perceived higher in NAB/LABs due to the lower BU/GU ratios. Choosing a yeast strain that is maltose and/or maltotriose negative will be better adept to creating a low ABV beer due to its inability to ferment select sugars. Choosing a traditional strain, or one that is STA1+, can lead to over-attenuation, resulting in higher ethanol production. It is also advised to avoid the use of fruits due to their sugar content.

Grain Selection

Selecting the appropriate base malt and complimenting grains is key to creating a balanced, full flavored beer while imparting satisfactory color levels. Using a base malt that has a greater flavor profile, such as Vienna, Munich, and Rye tend to lend themselves well by adding a greater concentration of flavor and aroma than traditional pale 2-row malt. If a brewer would prefer the use of lighter malts such as Pilsner, Pale Ale, Maris Otter, or Pale 2-row, the use of specialty grains and adjuncts are recommended to round out the flavor, color, and body. Using specialty grains such as wheat, crystal, caramel, dextrin malts, and melanoidin malt can greatly increase the overall flavor, aroma, color, mouthfeel, and foaming properties, better approximating the character of regular strength beers. A great way to contribute to these factors is by using flaked adjuncts such as barley, wheat and/or oats, as well as additions of lactose, corn syrup, and maltodextrin powder.

Grain selection is ultimately determined by the method decided on by the brewer. If the brewer chooses to employ the high temp/low gravity technique, increasing the percentage of specialty grains and adjuncts will yield better results than using primarily base malt. Given the small grain bill associated with this approach, finished beers can be perceived as thin or watery without the balance of unfermentable sugars, proteins, and starches contributed by specialty malts and adjuncts. Beers with higher percentages of these additions will have a greater mouthfeel and body with well-balanced flavors, color, and foaming properties.

If the brewer opts to use the cold mashing/NEM method or relies on a low attenuating yeast strain, grain selection is less critical, as worts made from cold mashing or regular mashing have a higher malt to liquor ratio that contributes to improved malt flavor, color, and foam. The brewer should still emphasize the use of specialty grains and adjuncts suited to styles in order to create a better overall sensory appeal.

Hop Selection

Hops are an important aspect to beer, and in low ABV beers, the perception of bitterness is greatly increased. So, what should a brewer be looking for in terms of hop selection when brewing NAB/LABs? Traditional bittering additions can quickly transform a low ABV beer into a puckeringlu unpalatabable pint. While the reasoning is not widely documented, whether it’s the lack of fermentation or minimal ethanol, one tool that can greatly assist a brewer is the BU/GU ratio, which can assist in balancing a beer to create a smoother bitterness.

Dialing down the IBUs by greatly reducing the bittering addition, moving them to later in the boil, or even doing away with them completely, will result in better balance that will lend the beer to a comparable perception of bitterness seen in regular beers.

The increased use of late additions for IBUs, whirlpool/hop-stand/aroma additions, and dry hopping is greatly encouraged to contribute a major role in imparting flavor and aroma to the finished beer. This increase in sensory characteristics helps round out the flavor and body of the beer, improving the overall tasting experience. One aspect to be mindful of is hop creep that occurs when dry hopping, as it can encourage further fermentation of the wort that results in a slightly higher alcohol content than intended, which may exceed regulatory guidelines for NAB/LAB production (0.0 to 1.5% ABV).

What Beer Styles Can I Brew?

What if I told you that you can brew any style you wanted? That’s right, you can turn any regular beer into a NAB/LAB! By adjusting your grain bill and/or your processes, you can brew any style from a crisp, clear lager right the way through to a rich chocolatey stout, or step outside the guidelines and create your own style. Of course, some styles will work better than others, particularly those higher in specialty grain and adjuncts, as they will have a more prominent flavor profile and mouthfeel than those using primarily base malts.

So, what are you waiting for? Start planning your non-alcoholic or ultra-low alcohol brew today, and reap the benefits beer brings without the alcohol!

| SOURCES |

1. Mash Temperature Chart – Winning Beers
2. Cold Extraction of Malt Components and Their Use in Brewing Applications – Brewing With Briess

| About The Authors |

Craig Dillon and Ben Sanderson are the Australian duo behind UltraLow Brewing, which was formed out of a necessity for greater access to information surrounding non-alcoholic and ultra-low alcohol brewing. As avid homebrewers who both made the decision to cut alcohol out of their lives, Craig and Ben began to focus on methods for producing quality NA beers and love sharing what they’ve learned with others.

If you have any thoughts related to this article, please do not hesitate to share them in the comments section below. For more information on how you can get started brewing non-alcoholic and Ultralow alcohol beer, visit UltraLow Brewing today.

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