Thoughts: The Rise and Rise of Non-Alcoholic Craft Beer

Unfortunately, every so often we find ourselves in a situation that no craft beer lover ever wants to be in: The Designated Driver. Is there anything worse than being out surrounded by the temptation of Double IPAs and Imperial Stouts faced with only the ever unappealing selection of non-alcoholic beverages? Thankfully, gone are the days of awkwardly nursing a pint of orange juice and lemonade or choking your way through a less than palatable Becks Blue. Meet the new wave of non-alcoholic beers taking the market by storm.

Brewing innovations have paved the way for low-alcohol, big flavour beverages with ever more breweries bringing their welcomed contribution to the party. With a variety of breweries all putting their own spin on the non-alcoholic craze, the offerings come as unique and varied as their “normal” beers.

Non-alcoholic beer has recently been dubbed one of the largest gaps in the drinks markets. China, who currently lead in the non-alcoholic beer innovation market, have always had the demand for lower alcohol beers; the preference of Chinese customers. However, the western world are quickly catching up. Among the drivers and pregnant ladies, there are many emerging target markets for non-alcoholic beers: those who abstain from alcohol for religious or health reasons including those of us on a diet, people who simply don’t like the taste of alcohol or prefer to pace themselves on a night out (big respect for these people, honestly don’t know how you do it) and last but not least, those of us who blunder when reading the label and purchase it by accident (if it hasn’t happened to you yet, it will).

In the past year, UK sales of non-alcoholic beers rose by £5.9 million, whereas the market for the alcoholic counterpart with ABVs of 7.5% or above actually fell by £8.9 million*. Although the sale of non-alcoholic beers accounts for only 0.9% of all beer sales, its quickly cementing itself as a fast growing emerging market.

Left - Right: Heineken 0.0, Innis and None, BrewDog Nanny State and Erdinger Alkoholfrei

One of the reasons for this growth is that for the first time, non-alcoholic beer actually tastes pretty good. Traditionally, non-alcoholic beer was made by taking a "normal" beer and heating it. The alcohol evaporates from the brew, leaving behind a beer that is around 0.5% ABV. However, heating the beer to this degree means that the flavor is significantly altered. Combining innovations in brewing and science means there are now far more options for creating a non-alcoholic brew. One of these methods is by a process called reverse osmosis. A filter with tiny pores extracts the water and alcohol from the beer, leaving behind a beer syrup. The water is then evaporated off from only the water (thus not boiling the delicate beer flavours) and then the syrup re-hydrated with the remaining water. More recently, brewers have began to experiment with new strains of yeast which produce much less alcohol, meaning that less alcohol has to be removed and more of the flavour of the original beer is preserved.

As innovation paves the way for more flavourful non-alcoholic beers, the market will only continue to grow. Here's hoping that soon enough the designated driver will be spoiled for choice!

*Source: The Grocer