Raise your hand if you participated in Dry January or plan to do Sober October this year. Even those of us in or adjacent to the beer industry occasionally need a reset. We\u2019re \u201ctapped out,\u201d as Mark LaFaro says in his article for Good Beer Hunting about the problem of overdrinking for those who work in alcohol<\/a>.<\/p>\n Still, we\u2019re thirsty and our wallets are open. That\u2019s why savvy retailers know it\u2019s good business to offer nonalcoholic options on menus; not doing so is a missed opportunity at every pint.<\/p>\n As if on cue, those with capital and know-how in the beverage market (and beyond) are taking advantage. In 2022, the global non-alcohol beer market was worth $22 million<\/a> and is projected to grow 5.5% until 2032. In the U.S., non-alcohol beverage sales increased 35% from 2022 to 2023<\/a>.<\/p>\n Anyone with commercial beer manufacturing capabilities could consider joining in on the trend. But it\u2019s not as straightforward as traditional mashing, fermenting, and packaging.<\/p>\n The average beer drinker might think, \u201cSince there\u2019s no alcohol, nonalcoholic (NA) beer should be cheaper,\u201d and their logic wouldn\u2019t be completely off-base. However, producing and packaging NA beer is, for the most part, more expensive than traditional brewing practices.<\/p>\n The two most common methods of making NA beer are arrested\/limited fermentation (stopping fermentation before alcohol is created) and dealcoholization (removing alcohol after fermentation is complete), and each manufacturer seems to have a strong opinion about which is the best.<\/p>\n This is one way NA brewing appears unlike the greater craft brewing industry: inconsistency\u2014and a sense of secrecy\u2014regarding production methods. In a 2022 article for Good Beer Hunting, Kate Bernot discussed the quality issues that arose from a lack of shared practices<\/a> due to \u201cproprietary\u201d processes. Thankfully, NA manufacturers are starting to open up and guidelines have been established<\/a> by the Brewers Association.<\/p>\n Best Day Brewing<\/a> utilizes a dealcoholization process called membrane separation that makes \u201ca full strength beer first, and then remove[s] the alcohol through a series of membranes without ever heating it above fermentation temperature,\u201d Best Day Brewing chief innovation officer Ron Lindenbusch says.<\/p>\n \u201cWe feel that our beer going through a complete fermentation before dealcoholizing makes it taste more like a tasty full-strength beer than other methods,\u201d Lindenbusch says.<\/p>\n Similarly, Untitled Art\u2019s nonalcoholic lineup<\/a> uses membrane filtration technology \u201cto brew fully-fermented beer and gently remove the alcohol without losing the aromas and flavors of your favorite styles,\u201d Untitled Art co-founder Levi Funk says.<\/p>\n Most brewers agree that pasteurization is also essential for NA beer due to its lack of ethanol, which has antimicrobial properties. \u201cMicrobial contamination is something every beverage producer worries about, or at least should worry about, but we are very confident in the way we produce our NA beers,\u201d Funk says.<\/p>\n While many NA breweries are not forthcoming about their practices, NA beer and wine maker Gr\u00fcvi<\/a> wrote a blog post on how nonalcoholic beer is made<\/a> that details the various production strategies it has used depending on beer style\u2014for example, the \u201cno fermentation\u201d method for creating fruity and sweet dessert-style beers and dealcoholization for making a clean and crisp lager.<\/p>\n It sounds like an expensive and complex\u2014but effective\u2014way to go about making NA beer. Ultimately, however, Gr\u00fcvi is moving toward converting its entire portfolio to dealcoholization, according to VP of operations Mike Gurr.<\/p>\n Craft beer stalwart Sierra Nevada believes that modifying fermentation (rather than dealcoholization) is the correct choice for its brewery. Its website shares that<\/a> after many years of research and development, choosing to use \u201ctraditional brewing methods felt truer to our craft values and, frankly, delivers a product that tastes like beer.\u201d Sierra Nevada uses a yeast strain that keeps alcohol below 0.5 percent ABV, the limit for NA beers.<\/p>\n Crafting NA beer requires a heavy focus on technology. One of the key players is a company in Golden, Colorado called Sustainable Beverage Technologies<\/a> (SBT).<\/p>\n SBT technology begins with a patented brewing process called BrewVo that \u201cenables production and distribution of beer at 1\/6th the traditional weight and volume, while drastically increasing capacity\u201d by concentrating the beer. The journey ends with a patented dispensing process called NextDraft that adds carbonation (and alcohol, if you wish) back into the beer at dispense. Using bag-in-a-box technology, these processes eliminate the need for kegs, allow for more sustainable shipping practices, and increase scaling opportunities for beer retailers.<\/p>\n Boxed beer? Why not? It\u2019s how the soda industry does it. It\u2019s no secret that the larger beer industry is hard on the planet<\/a>. High-tech NA manufacturers may take a different path than craft beer producers, but they are developing consistently delicious products and scaling in sustainable ways.<\/p>\n SBT partnerships aren\u2019t a secret<\/a>. Two of the aforementioned breweries have adopted SBT\u2019s BrewVo process<\/a>, and even craft icons such as Deschutes Brewery are fully convinced of beer concentrate technology. Recently, Deschutes invested millions of dollars<\/a> in SBT\u2019s proprietary process to build out its NA lineup that includes Fresh Squeezed IPA and Black Butte Porter\u2014the 2024 gold medal winner in the World Beer Cup\u2019s Non-Alcohol Beer category.<\/p>\n I was recently out to dinner with family. My brother doesn\u2019t drink but enjoys the taste of beer, so whenever possible, he orders a nonalcoholic beer. Unfortunately, the restaurant was out of the one <\/em>NA beer on the menu. Water would have to suffice.<\/p>\n Meagen Anderson is the CEO and founder of the AFicioNAdo Certification Program<\/a>\u2014\u201cthe world\u2019s first alcohol-free & non-alcoholic adult beverage professional training and certification program\u201d\u2014also known as AFNA, and she has been in the same situation as my brother countless times.<\/p>\n \u201cI wrote down all the times I would go somewhere and try to order [an NA] beer and the server would say something like, \u2018We only have O\u2019Doul\u2019s and it\u2019s probably warm.\u2019\u201d After the numbers started adding up, Anderson says, \u201cI decided I had to do something about this.\u201d<\/p>\n Anderson changed her relationship with alcohol while she was working in the beer industry. \u201cThat gave me, as a professional, a unique perspective on what it\u2019s like to want to drink alcoholic-branded beverages and not drink alcohol,\u201d she says. Her relationship with alcohol may have changed, but she had developed deep roots in the beer industry. She knew there was no Cicerone<\/a> or Sommelier program for NA beverages and was encouraged to build one.<\/p>\n Becoming AFNA certified is important for retailers and distributors because this may be their first time dealing with food safety due to the product\u2019s lack of ethanol, Anderson believes.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re not making beer anymore,\u201d insists Anderson, \u201cyou\u2019re making a flavored malt beverage, and this has implications from a regulatory perspective.\u201d She admits that implementing an NA lineup would be difficult for the small craft brewer \u201cunless [it has] special dedicated processes\/systems,\u201d but she\u2019s still excited to see how American brewing culture will put its spin on NA markets.<\/p>\n Outside of the U.S., markets have already discovered no- and low-alcohol to be a profitable platform for building community.<\/p>\n Laura Willoughby, who has a background in politics and campaigning, cofounded UK-based Club Soda<\/a> in 2015 as a sort of \u201cWeightWatchers but for booze to help people change their drinking habits.\u201d<\/p>\n A Certified B Corporation backed by \u201ctech-for-good\u201d investor Bethnal Green Ventures<\/a>, Club Soda has created books, courses, a podcast, events, and even an alcohol-free retail tasting room and shop in London.<\/p>\n Working toward alcohol-free is a game of substitution, Willoughby says. \u201cThe easiest way for you to drink less is to substitute alcohol free for alcohol, similar to a diet\u2014change the chocolate bar for something low-calorie.\u201d<\/p>\n Replacing a cupcake with a banana in your own diet may be easier than asking distributors to replace a pallet of Big Beer Lite with a new craft NA beer. The industry will have to decide how to play nice together and what balance of alcohol vs. NA makes sense on retailer shelves.<\/p>\n \u201cThe prize in all of this is persuading venues that are alcohol-led to have a better range of alcohol-free,\u201d Willoughby says. Club Soda isn\u2019t advocating for strictly alcohol-free spaces; rather, it\u2019s pushing for a better selection of alcohol-free options in regular drinking establishments.<\/p>\n Thankfully, NA enthusiasts don\u2019t have to search too far for a quality option. Even the Great Amerian Beer Festival, the United States\u2019 biggest beer festival, has many NA options available, and renowned drinks publication VinePair annually features the best non-alcohol beer<\/a> to guide imbibing yearlong.<\/p>\n \u201cNot everything\u2019s about the strength of the drink in your glass; it\u2019s about the quality,\u201d Willoughby says. As consumers start to see more than one NA option on restaurant menus and begin to have choices, \u201cthat\u2019s when you really change the narrative of normalizing having a nonalcoholic drink.\u201d<\/p>\nHow It\u2019s Made: Choose Your Adventure<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.craftbeer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/20240716110619\/lineup-of-untitled-art-na-beers.jpg\")
<\/figure>\nCraft Beer In Its Tech Era<\/h2>\n
![\"cans](\"https:\/\/cdn.craftbeer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/20240716105603\/can-of-deschutes-non-alcholic-beer.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\nIndustry Standards vs. Consumer Expectations<\/h2>\n
Sneaking onto Shelves Near You<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.craftbeer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/20240716110010\/club-soda-tasting-room-interior.jpg\")