How Non-Alcoholic Beer Is Made

For reasons ranging from improving physical health, mental health, productivity, and sleep, to simply not wanting to imbibe, people are drinking more non-alcoholic beverages than ever before. 

Both the popularity and the quality of non-alcoholic beer have seen dramatic jumps in the past few years—gone are the days of watery and bland buzz-free beer, with dozens of companies crafting tasty and flavorful IPAs, lagers, sours, and more, all with an ABV less than 0.5%.

With projections of the non-alcoholic beer market estimated to jump from $9.5 billion to $29 billion by 2026, one thing is clear: non-alcoholic beer is here to stay. 

But a few things aren’t so clear, like how non-alcoholic beer is made and if non-alcoholic beer is healthy. 

In this article, we’ll sort through the science of booze-free brewing for you, answering all your questions about how to remove the alcohol from beer, the different ways to make non-alcoholic beer, and the top health benefits of drinking non-alcoholic beer.  

What Is Non-Alcoholic Beer? 

Unsurprisingly, ​​the main difference between non-alcoholic and alcoholic beers is the alcohol content. 

While the ABV (alcohol by volume) of non-alcoholic beers can vary slightly, federal law requires that they all must have less than 0.5% ABV. 

Some non-alcoholic beers—which can be labeled “alcohol-free beer”—have 0.0% ABV, while others push up to the limit as closely as they can.

Conversely, the ABV of alcoholic beers can vary widely, typically ranging from 2% to 12% ABV—but it can go much higher than that, as seen with the beer Snake Venom from the Scottish brewery Brewmeister, which clocks in at an astonishing 67.5% ABV (yes, you read that right).

Other than ABV, there aren’t many differences between the two, as recent non-alcoholic brews are almost identical in taste and aroma. 

One brand paving the way for delicious non-alcoholic beers is Athletic Brewing Company, which boasts dozens of unique flavors in every beer style under the sun. 

How Non-Alcoholic Beer Is Made  

Brewers typically make non-alcoholic beers in one of two overarching methods. 

One way is by interfering with the brewing process to prevent the formation of alcohol during fermentation.

The other method is to remove alcohol from an alcoholic beer, which can be done in several ways. 

But in the beginning, the process of making non-alcoholic beer looks just like the regular stuff. 

To make beer, the process in its most basic form involves mashing malt into wort—the bittersweet mixture obtained by mashing the malt and boiling in the hops—and then fermenting with yeast. 

Controlled Fermentation

Also known as arrested or limited fermentation, controlled fermentation is probably the most common way to produce a non-alcoholic beer. 

As alcohol is produced during fermentation when yeast breaks down sugars into alcohol, halting this process can keep a beer below 0.5% ABV.

This process begins by fermenting beer as you would an alcoholic beer but stops the fermentation before it reaches its complete, alcohol-filled end. 

Controlled fermentation is performed by ensuring the wort doesn’t exceed temperatures of 60°F, which means no alcohol will be produced by yeast. 

Other ways to control fermentation include adjusting the acidity or pressure of the environment, which restricts yeast’s alcohol-inducing action on the starch.

Special Yeast Fermentation

Special yeast strains can alter the amount of alcohol produced, as some strains cannot ferment maltose, leading to a lower alcohol percentage. 

However, if most of the sugars are not fermented by the yeast, this can also result in a high-calorie, high-carbohydrate non-alcoholic beer. 

Dealcoholization

Removing the alcohol from beer can be done in several different ways, including: 

• Boiling off the alcohol: Adding water or steam heats the beer, and boiling it under pressure will release the alcohol as a vapor into a condenser, where it’s collected and removed. However, this often impacts flavor. 
• Vacuum distillation: A vacuum reduces beer’s boiling point from about 173°F to 93°F, which allows it to retain flavor while still evaporating the alcohol out of the beer.
• Membrane filtration: Beer is run through a membrane that only allows alcohol, color, and some aromatic compounds through, removing the water. Then, alcohol is distilled off, and water will be returned to the beer after. 
• Reverse osmosis: Similar to membrane filtration, reverse osmosis passes the beer through a semipermeable membrane with high pressure, leading to a highly concentrated mix of beer on one side and alcohol and water on the other. Then, special dealcoholizer equipment separates water from the alcohol through distillation and channels the water back into the beer.  

Dilution 

Lastly, non-alcoholic beer can be made by simply diluting concentrated alcoholic beer with water. 

For example, if a beer has an ABV of 5%, diluting it with 10% water will reduce the ABV to 4%. 

Then, the brewers will keep diluting until the beer reaches 0.5% ABV or lower. 

Is Non-Alcoholic Beer Good for Health?

Non-alcoholic beer can be good for health if you’re replacing alcoholic beer. 

However, compared to something like water, non-alcoholic beer will still add some calories and carbohydrates to your day. 

The calorie and carbohydrate content of non-alcoholic beer can vary but generally are much lower than that of regular beer. 

For example, Sierra Nevada’s Hazy Little Thing IPA contains 214 calories, 20.6g of carbohydrates, and 2.2g of protein per 12 ounces. 

Conversely, Athletic Brewing’s non-alcoholic Run Wild IPA (their most popular brew, FYI) contains 65 calories, 16g of carbs, and no protein. 

Other non-alcoholic beers, like the Athletic Lite, will only set you back 25 calories and 5g of carbs per 12-oz can.

A less-direct way that non-alcoholic beer can benefit health is because alcohol often leads to overeating—both because it impairs judgment, making you more likely to go for a pizza than a protein shake, and because alcohol blocks satiety hormones, leading to increased appetite. 

Health Benefits of Non-Alcoholic Beer

Non-alcoholic beer is a tasty way to satisfy alcohol cravings and cut down or eliminate alcohol intake entirely, which has numerous health benefits.  

When you drink non-alcoholic beer, your brain still associates the flavor and aroma with regular beer, leading to dopamine production—the neurotransmitter most involved in pleasure and reward-seeking behavior that makes you feel good when you drink alcohol. 

This neuro-trickery means you get some of the positive “feel-good” effects of alcohol without the “feel-bad” negative consequences that often accompany drinking. 

As chronic or heavy alcohol use is strongly associated with adverse health outcomes, including cancer, heart disease, obesity, liver failure, and dementia, cutting back on drinking can markedly improve your health. 

In addition to reducing calorie intake (if you’re replacing alcoholic beer with the booze-free version), non-alcoholic beer has several health benefits, including:   

• Better for liver health 
• Improved cardiovascular health
• Reduced anxiety and stress
• Better sleep 
• Post-exercise recovery, as non-alcoholic beer contains carbohydrates, water, and electrolytes like sodium and potassium.   
• Reduced inflammation

Some of these benefits are only relevant when compared to drinking alcoholic beer; we don’t have much research on these health outcomes when compared to drinking water.

However, non-alcoholic beer does have nutritional benefits in its own right, including being comprised mainly of water (about 90%), plus vitamins, minerals, and some bioactive compounds like polyphenols and the organic acid called isohumulone. 

FAQs About Non-Alcoholic Beer 

Key Takeaways

• The burgeoning market of non-alcoholic beer allows people who don’t want to drink alcohol with tasty alternatives that still provide the flavor of beer. 
• There are many ways to make non-alcoholic beer, but most fall into two categories: interrupting the fermentation process or removing alcohol from beer after the fact. 
• Non-alcoholic beer is substantially better for health than chronically drinking alcoholic beers, including benefits to liver, cardiovascular, and mental health, as well as improvements to sleep quality and exercise recovery.