NA (non-alcoholic) beers have been around for as long as I can remember, but they were always a serious compromise in flavor and quality compared to traditional beers. Today, greater care and attention to process and new technologies allow brewers to create NA beers that rival traditional beers. Virtually all the world’s large breweries have created NA or 0.0 products, most of which are amazingly close to the original products. NA beers are now a fantastic choice for those who want to have alcohol-free days in their weeks, as well as those who have made the choice to give up alcohol for good.
NA beer can be made in several ways. The two most popular methods are controlled fermentation (aka arrested fermentation) and dealcoholization. You can also use a special strain of yeast and microbes that convert some sugar but not the primary sugars that get converted to alcohol. The choice of method for creating NA beer is hotly debated among brewers. Personally, I don’t have a preferred method. I only care about the finished product. Is it good? Is the NA beer as satisfying as the traditional beer?
Large breweries tend to use dealcoholization as their preferred method of creating NA beers. The beer is brewed in the traditional way, and the brewer then uses vacuum distillation or membrane filtration (a type of reverse osmosis) to remove the alcohol. Vacuum distillation is perhaps the greatest leap in technology. The brewer can now gently heat the beer under pressure, requiring less heat to vaporize the alcohol while leaving the water-based beer and delicate esters largely intact. Vacuum distillation is a game-changer as ethanol (the desirable alcohol in our beverages) boils/vaporizes at 78 degrees Celsius under normal conditions. In contrast, in a vacuum, ethanol vaporizes at 34 degrees Celsius. Using lower heat to extract alcohol yields a better, more complex product.
The final challenge in the production process that brewers must face is shelf stability. In traditional beer, alcohol acts as a preservative and protector, keeping harmful bacteria and microbes at bay. Of course, NA beer is alcohol-free and, thereby, unprotected. To solve this issue, the beer is typically pasteurized. The brewer can flash pasteurize and then package or do in-package pasteurization, sometimes called tunnel pasteurization, where the canned or bottled beer is carried on a belt through a quick heating and cooling process. Again, the method is secondary to the result for me.
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