We all love beer and often wonder whether the non-alcoholic versions will be just as good as the original. While some people are attracted to beer without alcohol because of religious reasons, others might be tempted by its health benefits. Indeed, non-alcoholic beer is a probiotic due to its live bacteria and boasts a rich polyphenol content.
All in all, if you don’t like the side effects of alcohol or are worried that you might become an alcoholic if you drink too much regular beer, you might be better off choosing the alcohol-free varieties. This will allow you to party with your friends as usual without worrying that you might end up at a hospital or a rehab center if you drink too much.
Zero or low-alcohol beers contain 0% to 0.5% alcohol, and if you’re concerned about the minute quantity of alcohol, you shouldn’t be. It won’t get you drunk, and you can drive safely back home. In fact, the various juices that you find in your local superstore, such as grape juice, apple juice, and orange juice, can contain a little bit of alcohol as well. But the quantity is not substantial enough to cause any harm.
How non-alcoholic beers are made
The easiest way to homebrew this alcohol is by boiling the fermented mixture to remove the alcohol. You can also try other methods listed here as you progress in your journey to become the best homebrewer in town. Here are the complete steps to make non-alcoholic beer at home like a pro:
1. Buy the necessities
There are a few essential items you cannot make beer without. These include grain, yeast, hops, and water, the four basic ingredients that combine to form beer, a brewing kit, a brew kettle, a place for heating, and starter yeast.
Beer is mostly water, while grain is needed because the yeast will feed on this to produce alcohol during fermentation. Hops add bitterness and flavor to a beer and if you want to make it even more flavorful, you can add your own mixture of spices. Experimenting is the best part about making your own alcohol-free beer.
2. Start making beer
You’re going to start off with the same process you use for a regular beer. This requires a beer recipe that you can easily search on the internet but make sure to stay away from added sugar. This is because yeasts feed on sugar to produce alcohol, which isn’t what we want.
3. Making the beer non-alcoholic
3.1 Dealcoholization
After fermentation, we’re ready to remove alcohol from our prepared mixture. While there are many methods to do so, you can use the easiest and the least time-consuming, boiling. Alcohol’s boiling point is lower than that of water, which means that it can be removed more easily and quickly.
You can either heat your product in the oven or over the stove. If you prefer heating it in the oven, be sure to set the temperature to 180 Fahrenheit and leave it for 20 to 30 minutes. For the stove, keep a thermometer with you to measure the temperature. It should be kept at a constant 175 Fahrenheit.
Deviating from these temperatures can lead to your beer tasting off, after which you might give up on the idea of homebrewing. In addition, heat needs to be evenly provided to the mixture so that you get the best flavors and results.
3.2 Controlled fermentation
This is a bit more technical than de alcoholization because you need to be aware of when exactly to stop the fermentation process. Yeast starts producing alcohol after a certain time during fermentation at a temperature higher than 60 Fahrenheit. You need to be alert and stop the process from reaching this stage so that little to no alcohol is produced.
3.3 Dilution
Diluting the prepared alcoholic beer with water results in reduced alcohol content. Be careful, though; you need to be good at maths to calculate how much water you can add to a quantity of alcohol in order to reduce it by a certain percentage.
3.4 Simulated fermentation
This skips the original process of fermentation and instead relies on enzymes and other ingredients to simulate the task.
3.5 Filtration
In this process, a thin membrane is used to filter beer, thus removing alcohol and water from the fermented mixture. Distillation separates alcohol from water, after which water can be added back to the mixture. While this process is costly, a lot of breweries have started to use it. If you’re just starting out or don’t want to make a large investment, you’re best off choosing the low-cost methods of separating alcohol from your beer.
4. Carbonation
An unfortunate aspect of the boiling process is that it can make the beer taste flat as well as remove its carbonation because boiling releases all of the carbon dioxide. To carbonate, you can use yeast, carbonation tablets, or simply inject carbon dioxide into your beer keg.
If you use yeast, remember that an active yeast culture will carbonate your beer faster than an inactive one. With carbonation tablets, it is best to serve your beer after three days in a sealed bottle for the best results.
Conclusion
It’s great to make your own beer, not only because you get to master a brilliant technique that human beings have been involved with since ancient times but also because you control how you make it. With alcohol-free beer’s rise in popularity, it makes sense to want to know how you can make your own.
While the method is a little difficult to learn at first, and you’ll definitely make mistakes in the beginning, you must remember to not give up. The fruit of your hard work will be a great-tasting beer that you’d want to keep drinking over and over again. Soon, you’ll be having non-alcoholic parties at your home with great music, laughter, and lots of interesting conversations.
I am a passionate beer connoisseur with a deep appreciation for the art and science of brewing. With years of experience tasting and evaluating various beers, I love to share my opinions and insights with others and I am always eager to engage in lively discussions about my favorite beverage.
