“It’s not the same.” That’s the standard response when nutritionists suggest switching to 0.0 beer to reduce alcohol consumption. And you’re right: non-alcoholic beer doesn’t have the same taste as regular beer. They are much healthier, but why can’t non-alcoholic beer be just like the alcoholic version? Is it true that everything that tastes good is unhealthy?
Non-alcoholic beer with alcohol
As hot as it may be, it’s best to stop ordering non-alcoholic beer to stay hydrated as if it were a better version of tap water. FDA regulations allow non-alcoholic beer to contain up to 0.5% alcohol. So you may still be putting alcohol into your body, in significant amounts depending on your rhythm.
How is non-alcoholic beer made?
There are several methods to reduce or eliminate the alcohol content in a beer. They fall into two categories: preventing alcohol from forming and eliminating alcohol once it has already formed. In both cases, the taste takes its toll. The former system is the most common. The production conditions are changed so that little alcohol is produced during fermentation. This can be achieved by modifying the maceration, stopping fermentation or using a special yeast.
The changed maceration means that less sugar is available to the yeast and therefore less fermentation and less alcohol take place. The cereal grains used to make beer are primarily made up of starch, a complex carbohydrate made up of glucose molecules. When starch is “cut,” it is reduced into chains of fewer glucose molecules, called simple sugars.
0.0% doesn’t always mean 0.0%.Pixabay
The meaning of malt
Saccharomyces cerevisiae or brewer’s yeast cannot ferment starch, but it can ferment sugar. The first step is to break the long marching chains. This begins with malting, where the grains are moistened so that they germinate. The grain releases enzymes and is then dried to stop germination.
The resulting grain is called malt. It is ground to begin the maceration process. Hot water is then added to activate the enzymes that break down the starch and release the sugar, which is ultimately converted into alcohol. The amount and type of sugar released depends on the activated enzymes, which are controlled by temperature. A low sugar brew will have a lower alcohol content.
Stopping fermentation to reduce alcohol content
Fermentation can be stopped in a number of ways, including by quickly lowering the temperature to freezing so that the yeast ceases activity. Another option is to pasteurize the broth to kill the microorganisms. Or the yeast can be removed from the liquid.
Using yeast that produces less alcohol solves the problem. A strain that cannot ferment malt can be used. Apart from the type of microorganism used, the process of making a non-alcoholic beer is the same as a regular beer.
Saccharomyces yeast. Wikimedia
What if the damage is already done?
Alcohol can be removed from beer in several ways. The beer can be heated to evaporate the alcohol. The problem is that at high temperatures up to the boiling point, a large portion of the beer’s aromatics are also removed and the resulting liquid no longer even resembles beer. In general, vacuum distillation is used at a temperature between 30 and 60 °C. This system allows for the complete elimination of alcohol. Unfortunately, volatile substances that are part of the aroma of the beer are also lost.
Goodbye, taste
The alcohol content is reduced, but the taste and smell of the beer can be changed. Why doesn’t it taste the same?
None of these processes result in a drink that tastes like the original beer. When fermentation is stopped, the yeast cannot act on the aldehydes that give beer its flavor, resulting in an undesirable taste in the end result.
While stopping fermentation reduces the alcohol content, it also reduces the presence of important compounds such as esters and higher alcohols – those that, unlike ethanol, have more than two carbon atoms, such as propanol, isobutane, amyl alcohol and isoamyl alcohol – which give beer its fruity flavor to lend . The result is an alcohol-free beer with little aroma and a sweet taste.
The heating process does not retain these flavors, but the result could also be improved. Both techniques result in the loss of esters and higher alcohol. When exposed to heat, an undesirable caramelized scent is created.
A light at the end of the tunnel
What is the purpose of food technology if not to solve the most serious problems facing humanity? To improve the taste of non-alcoholic beer, an innovative system was proposed: the use of zeolites, porous minerals that act as sieves. They act as sieves and their tiny pores trap aldehydes.
Zeolites.Wikimedia
To compensate for the loss of flavor during heating, the brewing process can be modified to encourage the development of certain compounds, creating a more flavorful brew that will help offset the losses. The final beer can also be mixed with a small amount of untreated beer, using a particularly aromatic beer obtained through high-temperature fermentation or with aromatic extracts.
A recent study suggests using yeast to synthesize monoterpenoids, the compounds that give hops their characteristic flavor, and adding them at the end of the brewing process. For the researchers, it has the additional advantage that hops are no longer necessary. In conclusion, you are not alone. Many people are working to make the utopia of a non-alcoholic beer that tastes like regular beer a reality.
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