Session Chair:
Sandra Stelma (Process capacity, Agility and Futures Manager- Beer and Spirits, Diageo, IE)
Production of low alcohol beer – a review of methods
By Alejo Giron Gonzalez, Grupo Mahou-San Miguel
Beer sales in Spain reveal a unique characteristic of the Spanish market. In 2020, non-alcoholic beer represented 13% of beer consumed in Spain. Recent NABLAB product releases signal the interest of consumers in this product category. Low alcohol and non-alcoholic beer has become a worldwide trend in recent years and it is forecasted to increase up to 20% of sales volume in certain markets. Consumers demand healthier options and are increasingly looking for better tasting alternatives to regular beer. As the market leader in Spain, Mahou S.A. has produced non-alcoholic beer for over 25 years and has developed an insight knowledge of NABLAB production and development. This presentation will review several approaches to brewing non-alcoholic beers including traditional cold fermentation, the use of novel alternative microorganisms and physical removal of alcohol. It will cover the challenges and advantages of each method and strategies to optimize the production and flavor profile of NABLAB products.
Oxidation risk emerges as the main weakness of NABLABs beers, much more than the absence of wort aldehyde reduction
By Margaux Simon and Sonia Collin, UC Louvain
A growing interest for non-alcoholic (NAB, ≤ 0.5% ABV) and low-alcoholic beers (LAB, 0.5-1.2 % ABV) emerged in the last decade. Two main types of processes are currently used to produce NABLABs: physical (dealcoholization or membrane systems) and biological methods (cold contact or use of « maltose-maltotriose negative » yeasts). The aim of the present work was to assess the quality of eleven commercial NABLABs available on the Belgian market, issued from different technological processes. Surprisingly, most of them already exhibited when fresh the usual staling defects of a six-months lager beer (dimethyltrisulfide, bêta-damascenone, methional, sotolon, oxidized flavan-3-ols,…). In absence of ethanol, strong degradations were also noticed for isohumulones and flavan-3-ols, leading to unpleasant bitterness, more color and colloidal instability through storage. In conclusion, as oxidation risk emerges as the main weakness of NABLABs beers, efficient antioxidants are needed to improve their acceptability.
A new approach to produce a non-alcoholic beer (≤0,0% abv) by a dual stage process: limited fermentation and vacuum evaporation.
By Paulo Magalhães, Superbock Group
Despite the increasing demand, the production of non-alcoholic beers is still limited by unsatisfactory or artificial flavour and taste. In this study, a new approach to producing non-alcoholic beer (≤0,0% abv) is presented, in which the main alcohol-reducing techniques, limited fermentation and vacuum evaporation by the Spinning Cone Column (SCC) technology were combined. The process was optimized by the variation of the main technological parameters to determine the effect of different operating conditions on the quality and organoleptic properties of the dealcoholized beer.Some important beer quality parameters were determined, as well as the volatile composition by gas chromatography and the organoleptic characteristics by a trained panel and consumers. The findings indicated that the dual stage method in an appropriate process to produce 0,0% abv beer. The content of aldehydes and other esters compounds were lower in the beer produced by dual stage process. On the other hand, the report of the panel showed that there was preference by the 0,0% abv prototype since it denoted a more standard beer profile and with fewer off flavours, such as mercaptans and sulfur compounds.
How low can you go? – development of a biological strategy for 0.0% ABV beer production
By Brian Gibson et al., TU Berlin
Fermentation with maltose-negative yeasts is a viable option for low-alcohol beer brewing. Production of beers with 0.0% ABV is however still carried out via ‘physical’ methods of alcohol removal. Reduced production and capital expenditure costs would be expected if such beer could be made in a ‘biological’ process with speciality yeast. Here, four yeast species – originally from sourdough cultures and known to be suitable for low alcohol (0.5% ABV) brewing – were assessed for their ability to produce beer via cold-contact fermentation. The ability to reduce wort aldehydes while producing minimal alcohol was assessed. Torulaspora delbrueckii showed the most potential, largely due to its sensitivity to cold. A selected strain had the ability to reduce aldehydes below flavour thresholds, while producing as little as 0.03% alcohol – much lower than the 0.28% ABV produced by S. pastorianus under the same conditions. Beers produced with T. delbrueckii and the reference strain could not be distinguished in sensory trials, despite the differences in alcohol. Results suggest that T. delbrueckii could be used in cold-contact fermentation to produce beers with alcohol at, or close to, 0.0%.