You can make great-tasting beer that has low alcohol content, fewer calories, and lower cost, too. Although brewing non-alcoholic beer (by law, less than 0.5 percent alcohol by volume) is very difficult for the homebrewer, making a “three-two” that tastes like actual beer is easy.

BYO’s Technical Editor Ashton Lewis discusses some of the options and challenges of lightweight brewing.

Q: I have been looking for maltose- and maltotriose-negative yeast to brew a low-alcohol Pilsner recipe from BYO. The yeast recommended is White Labs WLP603 (Torulaspora delbrueckii) or SafAle LA-01, and I can’t find those yeasts in a homebrew size. Every maltose-negative yeast is either the 500-g size or unavailable through any online retailer or homebrew shop I have searched. Any tips on what homebrewers can do?
— Mike Seward • Barrington, Rhode Island

Mr. Wizard says…

A: Before I answer this question, I want to say that I sometimes sit on questions because great questions come in waves and this one was sent into the mailbox earlier this year. It’s rarely the case where new information comes about while questions sit in the inbox, but in this case the body of knowledge related to non-alcoholic (NA) brewing is growing at a rapid pace. Bottom line is that this is a timely question and I have some thoughts about this topic.

I am not surprised that you haven’t been able to find a source for these yeast strains because none of these suppliers are selling them into homebrew markets. There is one major challenge when brewing beer with maltose- and maltotriose-negative yeast strains, simply referred to as maltose-negative strains; the biggest risk to stability comes from garden-variety brewing yeast.

Because breweries, both home and commercial, are rife with brewing yeast, the risk of contamination is high. When beer produced using a maltose-negative strain is contaminated with a regular brewing strain, over-carbonation and the possibility of exploding packages is a clear and present danger. The only currently acceptable stabilization process is pasteurization. This may change in the future as alternative approaches are examined, but those currently do not exist. Some breweries and research facilities are serving unpasteurized NA beers fermented with maltose-negative yeast in dedicated draft systems where temperature control is used to minimize the risk of re-fermentation and monitoring is used to check for the signs of re-fermentation.

Another concern with NA beers is the growth of pathogens. That’s the other reason that commercially produced NAs are pasteurized. I will come back to this topic later but want to pivot to some other points first.

If I were writing this answer earlier this year, I probably would not have thought much about the actual alcohol content of the beer as a real concern to homebrewers. However, the alcohol content of these beers is of concern to many of the people who drink them. The term NABLAB is used around the world these days to describe non-alcoholic and low-alcohol beers. Although definitions are not universal, most countries define beers with ABVs between 0.5 and 2.5% as “low alcohol.” When alcohol is less than 0.5% ABV, the term “non-alcoholic beer” is used. The term “alcohol-free” or “zero-alcohol” is reserved for beers with no measurable alcohol.

Consumers who are serious about how they consume or do not consume alcohol must be able to rely upon the producers of NABLABs to properly adhere to these product classifications. Because I drink beer, I am one of those consumers who is not overly concerned about drinking something that may contain 0.7% ABV instead of 0.4% ABV. But brewers cannot make assumptions about others and need to be precise with labeling. If your interest in brewing NA at home is related to brewing beer for a friend or loved one who cannot or does not want to consume alcohol, you really should stick to purchasing these beers from a commercial producer unless you are willing to have your beer analyzed before serving.

You specifically asked about using maltose-negative yeast because that is the method discussed in Kara Taylor’s article. However, there is another method available to homebrewers that does not require special yeast or equipment — high temperature mashing. This method involves mashing in at ~176 °F/80 °C, resting for about 15 minutes, collecting, boiling, and cooling wort as usual, and fermenting with whatever yeast strain you want to use. Because there is essentially no beta-amylase activity, very little if any fermentable sugars are produced during the mash. This very high temperature also quickly stops alpha-amylase activity and results in starchy wort. Halting alpha-amylase is important because alpha-amylase does produce some glucose, maltose, and maltotriose because its action on starch is random.

I recently brewed two beers using this method. Although I knew what I was doing, I was still surprised by the cloudiness of the wort. Not seeing anything during fermentation, although not surprising, was also odd. Although there are compounds in wort that yeast metabolize during the short fermentation, the lack of appreciable fermentable sugars means that alcohol production is all but eliminated and the fermentation appears non-existent. While the beers both finished with a veil, neither are extremely hazy.

Much of the focus of NABLAB production is aimed to eliminate worty aromas and flavors common to these beers. One method that works surprisingly well is kettle souring. Lactic acid bacteria apparently metabolize some of the worty precursors and reduce the concentration of aldehydes in the finished beer. And the interesting thing is that this action occurs in kettle soured wort that is not obviously sour. This means that pH can be monitored and the process stopped with wort boiling before the wort is sour, allowing the method to be used in just about any style.

My recent NA brews used kettle souring. In one brew, a Pilsner-style NA, I dropped the pH to 3.9 (my target was 4.0) and in the second brew, the base for a berry-flavored sour, I dropped it all the way down to 3.2. I used kettle souring in an attempt to reduce worty aromas — this was a success — and to lower pH for safety reasons discussed later.

The 2025 Summit — a joint conference uniting members of the American Society of Brewing Chemist (ASBC) and the Master Brewers Association of the Americas (MBAA) — featured numerous presentations related to NABLAB production. The one topic related to NABLABs that has brewers and industry experts concerned is the risk posed by spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms, especially when it comes to draft beer. Because in-keg pasteurization is not possible and the very real challenges associated with properly cleaning and sanitizing kegs, keg couplers, and draft lines, many brewing experts and brewers believe that NABLABs should only be served from cans or bottles. Although some brewers are conducting research into the use of liquid preservatives, in-package pasteurization is the only preservation method universally accepted for these beverages.

Some small-scale producers use batch pasteurization to process cans and bottles of NABLABs. I can address that process in another column, but for the time being I will just leave you with the knowledge that batch pasteurization is something that can be performed at home. A very conservative level of batch pasteurization for a typical NABLAB is in the 80–120 PU range.

Whether producing low-fermentable wort using the hot and fast mash method or using a maltose-negative yeast strain, I believe that certain practices should always be followed brewers, and others should be avoided when producing NABLABs.

DO:

• Boil wort for at least 30 minutes
• Heat-sanitize the wort cooler
• Reduce wort pH to <4.2
• Adjust finished beer pH to <4.2, if required
• Add all hops before wort cooling
• Heat-pasteurize finished product

DO NOT:

• Dry hop — this simply is an unnecessary risk
• Add unpasteurized fruit purees or any fermentable sugars if your goal is <0.5% ABV
• Barrel age

I know that commercial craft brewers read this column. If you are one, know that I am a big proponent of this growing category of beer. I sincerely want brewers to continue elevating these beers without incident. It’s really amazing how many excellent-tasting products are currently being produced. Brewers are going to do whatever because these products are only regulated by the TTB and the industry does not want to see that change — that’s why producers of these products are so concerned about possible issues in the market.

Caution flags and raised voices, however, will not prevent brewers from experimenting with these beers at home and taking the easy way out by packaging in kegs and not pasteurizing. If you decide to roll the dice, read the literature, understand the risks, clean your kegs by completely disassembling, sanitize your kegs after reassembly, use new draft lines and picnic taps, and store your keg and dispense rig in a cooler at <38 °F/3.3 °C. Finally, have a party and drain the keg asap.

Non-alcoholic beer (NAB) is beer with very low or no alcohol content (less than 0.5% ABV in the U.S.), which in the past were generally known for their poor taste. However, in recent years, major alcohol companies including Heineken, AB InBev, and Molson Coors have started promoting more and more NAB options; for instance, as sponsors of sporting events.

NABs are now becoming increasingly popular. The preference for low- and alcohol-free beverages has been driven up not only by greater interest in health and warnings about alcohol consumption, but also by younger consumers interested in alcohol-free gatherings. In this scene, NABs are seen as more crafted, sophisticated, and flavorful than seltzers or sodas, and therefore more appealing. Lower alcohol content also provides a lower-energy alternative, with an approximate 60% reduction in calorie content between a pale ale and its low-alcohol counterpart. So, whether for lifestyle choices or personal reasons, the low- and non-alcoholic beer market has skyrocketed and is expected to continue to grow in the coming years as more adults become interested in this category.

Smaller craft brands, which used to exclusively brew high-alcohol craft beer as a way to distance themselves from mainstream ale and lager beers, have also arrived on the scene. Their bigger struggles, however, are the production cost on a smaller scale and the organoleptic limitation of the dealcoholization process. Other methods, in which the production of alcohol is instead prevented, could represent a cheaper and more feasible alternative on a smaller scale, but also have their organoleptic faults to be circumvented. More on some of these other production methods feasible on a small-scale, such as using maltose-negative yeast, can be found in the September 2022 issue’s “Mr. Wizard” column. Table 2 describes many production means to produce NABs although many are equipment-intensive, require massive capital investments, and some may cost a lot to operate. My goal was to produce a shelf-stable NAB product using one of the changed mashing processes.

Changing the Biochemistry

For producing lower-alcohol beer, changing the ability of the enzymes to release sugars and the yeast to ferment will result in a less alcoholic final beer. The simplest method is arresting fermentation by cold crashing, centrifugation, or microfiltration. Other options are changing mashing temperature that alters the ratio between fermentable and non-fermentable sugars and/or choosing alternative yeasts that do not consume maltose: In both cases less alcohol is produced. All these beers have a detrimental residual sweetness that not only can impact overall quality but also be dangerous in the case of refermentation in package.

This is the reason why a newly conceived protocol, exploiting new ideas and integrating these strategies has been a particular interest of mine: To deliver a craft non-alcoholic beer full of sought-after aroma and flavors.

Designing the Grain Bill

When applying these biological methods you typically start with a lower concentration of fermentable carbohydrates. This is because it is anticipated that sugars will not be completely consumed, and the resulting beer will have a lower ethanol content. In the design of a new recipe or in the adaptation of an existing one, you should aim for 3.3 °P (1.013 SG) initial gravity for your wort. In order to do it but keep the malt flavors and color you are aiming for, you reduce the amount of base malt, while keeping the same amount of specialty malts such as Vienna, Munich, wheat, or crystal.

No dextrin malts are allowed, as they don’t undergo sufficient amylolysis during malting. Amylolysis is the process of initial degradation of starch into amylopectin-based ordered structure, making starch more soluble, without any other enzyme intervention.

The Mashing Process

Mashing is the process of mixing the crushed malt or grains with water and heating it to convert the starches in the grain to sugars. The temperature of the mash is important as it affects the conversion of the starches to sugars as well as the extraction of flavors and aromas from the grain. The mashing temperature of my ale is typically between 152–160 °F (67–71 °C). Brewing outside of this “window,” allows for less conversion of carbohydrates to fermentable sugars.

For producing lower-alcohol beer, changing the ability of the enzymes to release sugars and the yeast to ferment could result in a less alcoholic final beer.

In order to produce a real NAB, the enzymes need to be deactivated completely! Allowing amylases to work for even a very limited amount of time could result in more ethanol than 0.5%. So the mashing temperature has to immediately be 176 °F (80 °C) at mash-in to block any enzyme activity, and the mash time reduced to 15 minutes to extract color and aroma but not excessive tannins. Doing so, you allow gelatinization of starch and solubilization of the amylose, amylopectin, and dextrins to happen but not the saccharification, leaving behind only a small fraction of fermentable sugars.

For these reasons, a thinner mash is preferred and then once the grains are removed you can proceed to bring the wort up to volume (sparging is optional and cannot extend the time). Boiling and hop regime are business-as-usual, keeping in mind the absence of ethanol increases the bitterness perception and therefore lower IBUs are suggested (15 IBUs is a good starting point, mainly from whirlpool hop additions).

The devil is in the details: Due to the lower amount of grains, the wort is going to have a higher pH. It is imperative to check and adjust the pH with an acid (e.g., phosphoric or lactic) to the normal range 5.2–5.4 during mashing to limit extraction of undesired tannins. This needs to be done again to a pH less than 5.6 before the hop additions, to limit harsh bitterness. Because of the lower buffer capacity of this wort, even small water addition can increase the pH to 5.8–6.

The Fermentation

The fermentation process for this non-alcohol beer is the same as for regular beer, except that the yeast can only convert a limited amount of sugars into alcohol. In this protocol, yeast fermentation is restricted by the higher amount of unfermentable sugars (amylose and dextrins) and the amount of ethanol is directly correlated to the limited glucose, maltose, and maltotriose present in the wort. The desired attenuation is from 3.3 to 2.7 °P (1.013 to 1.010 SG).

Because fermentable sugars are already limited, the choice of the yeast can be focused on aroma production, which usually falls (but is not restricted) to aromatic dry wine yeast for speed of fermentation, ease of use, and especially their higher ester production in the first phase of fermentation. The addition of yeast nutrient rich in amino-acids, compared to the “inorganic” ammonium sulfate or phosphate (such as DAP or diammonium phosphate), will also boost the aroma production (e.g., isoamyl alcohol, 2-phenylethanol, and relative acetate esters).

Big dry-hop additions are a dangerous attraction, because of their glycoside molecules that have aromatic compounds and (fermentable) sugars that can be released. At the end of fermentation, before carbonation, add a small amount of lactic acid to drive the pH down to 3.9 in order to increase the protection of your beer against spoilage microorganisms, now that ethanol is not present.

The Tasting

In order to evaluate this process, we brewed a single malt (Weyermann Pilsner malt), single hop (Magnum hopped to 20 IBUs) “base” wort and fermented one batch with a California ale yeast and the second batch with a wine yeast plus nutrients (FT CITRUS + N – Fermobrew Citrus + Fermoplus DAP free, AEB). Both of the beers ended up with less than 0.4% ABV and were judged for different characteristics (from 0–5 scale). The industry panel tested these two beers against three commercial examples (Chart 1) and found many of the undesired characteristics were addressed by this method.

Sweetness and malty perceptions were reduced and the aroma intensity paired or exceeded the counterpart. The lack of body and bitterness can easily be addressed by developing the complexity of the recipe. For example, finely tuning the initial amount of grain or by the addition at the end of gum arabic and/or maltodextrin, which are both body enhancers (1.7 cal/g and 4 g/cal respectively). Similarly, the bitterness sensation can be reduced by using aromatic hops towards the end of boiling. So, did the NAB that we produced taste better than the commercially available alternatives? There is no definitive answer to this question, as everyone’s taste buds are different. However, this experiment gave a good indication that with this method you can craft your own non-alcoholic beers at home.

References

• Müller, Magdalena, et al. “Physical methods for dealcoholization of beverage matrices and their impact on quality attributes.” ChemBioEng Reviews 4.5 (2017): 310-326.
• Stewart, Graham G., Inge Russell, and Anne Anstruther, eds. Handbook of Brewing. CRC Press, 2017.
• Mangindaan, Dave, K. Khoiruddin, and I. G. Wenten. “Beverage dealcoholization processes: Past, present, and future.” Trends in Food Science & Technology 71 (2018): 36-45.
• Salanță, Liana Claudia, et al. “Non-alcoholic and craft beer production and challenges.” Processes 8.11 (2020): 1382.
• Pilarski, Dylan W., and Dimitrios I. Gerogiorgis. “Progress and modelling of cold contact fermentation for alcohol-free beer production: A review.” Journal of Food Engineering 273 (2020): 109804.

Beer is food and as food, it contains calories. Much confusion about drinking beer and losing weight exists and, thanks to a recent diagnosis of type II diabetes, I have become very interested in the carbohydrate content and calories in my beer. My brewing software provides the estimated grams of carbohydrate and calories per pint of homebrew, which started me down a path of wanting to learn more about how  calories and carbohydrates in beer can be estimated.

The macronutrients in beer are alcohol and carbohydrates. The carbohydrates in beer are small glucose polymers and dextrins — complex sugars yeast can’t metabolize. Unfortunately, beer provides very few other nutrients, hence the term empty carbs. In the past, beer was a valuable source of energy. Today we in developed countries have enough food that beer is no longer a dietary necessity, but a luxury.

Estimating Calories

The Oxford Companion to Beer pro-vides a formula for estimating calories
in beer: 

Kcal = 6.9 kcal / g x %ABW + 4 kcal/g x (RE – ash) 

Where:
Kcal = kilocalories.
ABW = the alcohol by weight.
RE = real extract in degrees Plato.
ash = an experimentally-derived factor representing mineral solids in the beer, generally set to 0.1.

The two terms (RE and ash) represent the calories from alcohol and the calories from carbohydrates and proteins per 100 mL of beer because both the ABW and the RE are percentages.

We’ll start by estimating the calories provided by alcohol. Ethanol provides 6.9 Calories per gram, technically kilocalories, or the energy required to heat a kilogram of water one degree Celsius. To estimate the number of calories from alcohol in a beer, first calculate the number of grams of alcohol in the beer. In the U.S., beer strength is given in alcohol by volume (ABV). ABV can be converted to ABW by multiplying the volume of beer by %ABV resulting in milliliters of alcohol. Convert milliliters to grams by multiplying milliliters by 0.79 g/mL, the density of ethanol. Then multiply the grams of alcohol in the beer by 6.9 Calories/gram. To convert ounces of beer to milliliters, multiply the ounces of beer by 29.57 mL/oz. A 12-oz. bottle is 355 mL, a pint is 473 mL.

Example: Let’s calculate the calories from alcohol in a 12-ounce (355-mL) bottle of 5.5% ABV beer. The ABW is 5.5% x 0.79 = 4.3%. The calories in 100 mL are 6.9 Kcal/g x 4.3 g/100mL = 29.7 Kcal/100 mL. The calories from alcohol in a 12-ounce (355-mL) bottle are 3.55 x 100 mL/bottle x 29.7 Kcal/100 mL = 105 Kcal/bottle from alcohol.

Or, if you’d rather not do the math, refer to Chart 1.

Estimating Carbohydrates

Beer’s carbohydrates are comprised of the sugars and dextrins remaining after fermentation. If you know the beer’s original and final gravities, and as a homebrewer you should know these quantities, you can estimate the beer’s carbohydrates by estimating the real extract (RE), the percentage of dissolved solids remaining in a beer after fermentation. This is represented by the second term in the equation given earlier.

The key to estimating the carbohydrates in beer is understanding the RE, the amount of carbohydrate remaining in the beer after fermentation. Balling provides a formula to estimate the RE based on the original extract (OE) and the apparent extract (AE), the gravity measured after fermentation is complete, measured in degrees Plato. Note that for estimation purposes, degrees Plato are roughly equivalent to gravity points divided by four:

RE = (0.18 x OE) + (0.82 x AE) (where the result is in grams/100 mL).

Example: Estimate the extract in a 12-ounce (355-mL) bottle of a beer starting at 14 °P and finishing at 4.5 °P. RE = (0.18 x 14 °P) + (0.82 x 4.5 °P), or 6 g/100 mL. To scale to a 12-ounce  (355-mL) bottle, multiply by 3.55 mL resulting in an estimate of 22.0 g real extract per bottle.

According to the Michigan Brewer’s Guild, the formula produces most accurate results when the Real Degree of Fermentation (RDF), the actual percentage of extract converted to alcohol, is near 65%. A full-bodied beer may have an RDF of 50%, a highly attenuated beer may have an RDF over 80% but, for a useful estimate of the calories or carbs in beer, assuming an RDF of 65% yields a close-enough estimate. The resultant RE is in degrees Plato, the percentage of carbohydrate remaining in 100 grams of beer. Subtract the ash from the RE to obtain the grams of carbohydrate in 100 mL of beer, then multiply by 4 Kcal/g to estimate the caloric contribution from carbohydrate. 

Example: A beer with an estimated RE of 4.8 °P provides 4.7 grams of carbohydrate per 100 grams of beer (4.8 g/100 mL – 0.1g/100 mL). Multiply by 4 Kcal/g, then by 3.5 x 100 mL/bottle to obtain an estimate of 66 Kcal per 12-ounce (355-mL) bottle from carbohydrates.

Chart 2 shows the grams of carbohydrate in a 12-ounce (355-mL) beer given the original and final gravities using the SG scale used by most homebrewers:

If you are interested in the grams of carbohydrate in the beer, divide the carbohydrate calories by four Kcal/g to obtain an estimate. Or if your interest is the total calories in a 12-ounce (355-mL) beer, add the alcohol calories and the carbohydrate calories. Or you can refer to Chart 3:

Brewing Low-Cal & Low-carb Beers

If, as I do, you need to control both calorie and carbohydrate intake, we have some tools in the box to control one or both of the factors. To lower overall calories, simply brew a lighter beer. Less original extract means fewer calories. You can brew some very flavorful low-alcohol beers such as an English mild, Piwo Grodziskie, session IPA, Kölsch, and more. You can control the carbs by managing the mash temperature (higher temperatures result in more carbohydrate but less alcohol and vice versa). You can also use enzymes to degrade the starches to sugars, which then are fermented to alcohol, lowering the carbs in the beer. For much more on this subject, refer to: https://byo.com/mr-wizard/crafting-low-carb-beers/

By knowing the macronutrients in beer and how to control them, a homebrewer can keep both the calories and carbohydrates to a level required for their dietary needs.

Measurements of Wort Gravity and Extract (sidebar)

Gravity is measured as specific gravity, a dimensionless ratio of the mass of the solution to the mass of an equal volume of water at the same temperature, meaning that 100 mL of a 1.048 SG wort weighs 1.048 times that of 100 mL of water. Specific gravity is commonly used by British brewers or brewers using the British brewing tradition, including most U.S. homebrewers.

Extract is commonly measured using the Plato scale, a measurement of dissolved solids in wort. The measurement is defined as grams of extract per 100 grams of wort at 20 °C (68 °F). As an example, 100 g of 12 °P wort contains 12 grams of extract. The Plato scale is used by most brewers worldwide with the notable exception of British brewers or brewers using British tradition.

The Brix, or Balling Scale, is effectively the same as the Plato scale, with Brix or Balling more commonly used in the wine industry. The difference between Brix/Balling and Plato are the reference temperatures of the wort (20 °C/68 °F for Plato and 17.5 °C/63.5 °F for Brix/Balling). At the homebrew scale, Brix, Balling, and Plato can be considered equivalent. As a rough approximation, to convert from Plato to gravity points, multiply the degrees Plato by four. 

Because the units for both Plato and Brix are grams/100 grams, they may be treated as percentages in calculations.

Source: The Oxford Companion to Beer 

A great session beer (one that comes in at or below about 5% ABV) is ideal for afternoons in the summer sun and events when you want to have a few beers without getting inebriated. While brewing a beer low in ABV isn’t hard, brewing one with the flavor and mouthfeel that resembles a higher-alcohol beer takes great skill and planning in the recipe design. Take the advice of these two pros into your next brew day and you’ll be rewarded with a perfect beer to enjoy after finishing your weekend to-do list.

Travis Smith, Brewmaster at LazyG Brewhouse in Prescott, Arizona

My ideal session beer would smell, taste, and feel like a classically styled beer, just with lower alcohol. The way I approach creating these lower-alcohol beers is to aim for a “real extract” that would mimic the real extract of the base style I am targeting. 

While the most important part of achieving the aromas and flavors of a session beer will be similar to brewing any other style of beer (strict controls to limit oxygen exposure, sanitation, freshness, etc.), the mouthfeel and body is one of the more challenging components of brewing a delicious session beer. Using real extract as a comparison instead of just terminal gravity (or apparent extract), I compare the amount of unfermented compounds in the beer in order to aim for a similar level as what would be in my target style. 

For example, an IPA starting at 16 °P (1.065 specific gravity) and finishing at 2.5 °P (1.010 SG) would come out around 7.4%, but the finishing gravity at 2.5 °P (1.010 SG) does not tell the whole story of what unfermentables are still in the beer. Because alcohol is lighter than water, alcohol present in beer reduces the “apparent extract” when equating density-to-solids concentration. In the above example, the real extract in the beer is about 5.0 ˚Plato (1.020 SG), which is considerably higher than its apparent extract of 2.5 ˚P (1.010). In order to have a similar mouthfeel and texture to the IPA above but in a session IPA, I would aim for the same real extract in both versions. If our session IPA begins at 11.8 °P (1.047 SG) and finishes at 2.5 °P (1.010 SG) like the IPA did in the example, we are still short on unfermentables. In order to have the same real extract in this beer, we need a terminal gravity of 3.5 °P (1.014 SG), one full degree Plato (or four gravity points) higher than the full strength IPA.

Because brewing with less malt in order to have less alcohol means it would undoubtedly end up with less body given similar parameters, I take two primary measures to reduce the fermentability of the wort. The first is using a higher mash temperature (I will perform a single step infusion mash as high as 156 °F/69 °C if needed). The second difference is through the base recipe. Using malts and grains that are inherently less fermentable combined with higher than average mash rest temperatures can help achieve the higher terminal gravities needed to retain full mouthfeel. Malts and grains that are less fermentable include most specialty malts and with properly improper mashing techniques unmalted grains can have a low degree of fermentability. Generally the darker it is the less fermentable it will be. I like using Maris Otter, Munich, dextrin malts, crystals, unmalted oats, unmalted wheat, and unmalted barley for lighter colored styles. For darker styled session beers the sky’s the limit as roasted malts and grains are not very fermentable.

Casey Motes, Co-Founder and Head Brewer of Eureka Heights Brew Co. in Houston, Texas

My ideal session beer would be complex but light enough where I can drink a couple while mowing my lawn. The finish needs to be clean and make me want to take another sip. Balancing that complexity while creating a clean finish is one of the hardest parts when brewing a session beer. 

Whenever we’re developing a new recipe we always ask, can we keep this under 5% ABV and still get everything we want out of the beer. The answer isn’t always a yes, but we’ve found that thinking this way challenges us to focus on every aspect of our beer rather than just hiding behind the ABV. 

Here are a few tips we’ve learned brewing session beers: 

Malt: We prefer to use a base malt with more character than a standard 2-row. English Maris Otter and German Vienna are good options that bring in flavor while still helping keep the finish clean and crisp. Wheat or flaked oats are common ways to add more body without adding too much sweetness. We’re big fans of using a small amount of Carafoam® in our lower ABV beers (about 3%) for both adding body and helping with head retention. Those malts mashed a little higher, generally around 156 °F (69 °C), create some great wort to layer flavors on top. 

Hops: Most of our session beers have a very small bittering addition, typically about 5 IBUs. This allows us to use more hops later while still keeping our overall bitterness in check. If making a hop-forward beer like a pale ale or session IPA, look for hops with aroma and flavor complexity. Citra® and Mosaic® are great choices, but lately we’ve really enjoyed Idaho 7® and Strata®. Our IPAs generally have the majority of the hops in the whirlpool but for our low-ABV beers we keep a 15-minute addition to make sure we are getting enough hop flavor. 

Yeast: Look for complexity. We have two house yeasts. The dry English strain creates a dark fruit character that works great in both malt-forward and hoppy beers. The German Kölsch strain produces a nice floral character that works great in lighter styles like blonde ales.  

Have you noticed non-alcoholic beers are increasing in popularity? Whether it’s for the more health-focused drinker, the pregnant woman who misses her IPAs, or the friend who’s offered to be the designated driver; there’s no doubt the demand for these types of products are on the rise. Looking at the current shelf, not only can you can find a variety of beers in the non-alcoholic (NA) category, but there is a growing movement for non-alcoholic spirits as well. These types of beverages have been popular internationally for quite some time, largely due to very strict driving under the influence laws. The craft NA space is filling up with more exotic styles, some with only hops and water or even some with THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) infusions. 

In 2019 the Great American Beer Festival brought the non-alcohol beer category back to judge due to this increase in brands. And while, traditionally, the NA space on the shelf has largely been monopolized by the “big guys,” with most of the examples falling into the light lager category, slowly but surely IPAs and the like are popping up.

How the Big Breweries Usually Create NA Beer

To be considered “non-alcoholic” in the United States a beer must contain less than 0.5% ABV. Adjacent to that, “low-alcohol” beers are under 3% ABV. Larger breweries more commonly make these beers with some pricey equipment. One methodology commonly used is a membrane filtration of the beer. This membrane specific for this process is similar to reverse osmosis. Alcohol and water are separated, and the beer is concentrated. Water is added back to the beer concentrate to produce a non-alcoholic beer. The main concern with membrane filtration is a lot of the flavor can be stripped along with the alcohol, but this process still can produce some of the best results. Given the costs associated with it, this process is likely not an option to try at home but is an important part to understand how the majority of these commercial products are designed. 

A second method that produces a beer with less than 0.5% alcohol is vacuum distillation. This is a method in which the beer is heated and the alcohol is removed via the distillation process. The vacuum lowers the boiling point of the alcohol from 173 °F (78 °C) to 93 °F (34 °C). This is a great way to reduce a beer to 0.5% alcohol, but can produce a beverage with a less than desirable flavor. The heating process can exacerbate off-flavors typical of beer that has been oxidized or with autolysis, even with the lower boiling point.  

More Reasonable Small-Scale NA Methods

There are a handful of approaches that homebrewers and small-scale brewers can attempt to create NA and low-alcohol beer that doesn’t require expensive equipment out of their reach. One method of crafting a beer with low alcohol is arresting a fermentation and/or beginning with a low OG. This is commonly done in winemaking to control alcohol levels and retain some of the fermentable sugars to result in a sweeter wine. This method can be difficult to control, as you need to watch the fermentation closely. It does not take long to ferment wort to 0.5% ABV — maybe 12–36 hours. A gravity drop from 1.016 to 1.012 will result in a 0.53% ABV beer based on calculations. Once it gets close to the desired alcohol content, the fermenter is rapidly chilled to stop the fermentation. In order to get this right, you’ll need to play around with recipes ranging with starting gravities around 1.015–1.020. Brewing a wort with a traditional gravity will result in a beer that is way too sweet if fermentation is halted so early. With this method there are a large percentage of residual fermentables, so bottle conditioning is not an option. 

Beyond these approaches, one could consider the style to be brewed to achieve NA beer. A common product in the Caribbean and Africa is Malta, or what could be described as wort soda. It’s essentially carbonated, unfermented wort. The amount of hops is usually relatively low, if hops are added at all. It’s often poured over ice or mixed with condensed milk. The origin of this product was a low-ABV beer and then later became a non-alcoholic product. One of the main selling points of this type of product is that it is truly 0.0% ABV. For someone that doesn’t want to consume even 0.5% alcohol, this could be a good option. A homebrewer could easily make this type of beverage, keeping in mind that it would be relatively unstable with lots of fermentable sugars. Sanitation and refrigeration would be necessary without pasteurization or preservatives. It’s also worth noting that while this product would work for that “dry January” New Year’s resolution, it would not be recommended if your resolution was cutting carbs!

Altering the recipe or fermentation of a beer can be a good way to obtain low-ABV beers, although achieving less than 0.5% can still be difficult. The first method would be altering the mash profile. A typical wort is primarily fermentable sugars (see Figure 1 for an example wort). Ideally, a wort with at least 75% unfermentable sugars are necessary for low-alcohol beers fermented traditionally (see Figure 2 for an example). Increasing or decreasing the mash temperature can create less fermentable sugars such as maltose and glucose by controlling the enzymatic activity of the malt. Increasing the mash temperature will decrease the enzymatic activity of the malt and reduce the amount of fermentable sugars. Decreasing the temperature will increase enzymatic activity and therefore the fermentable sugars. Holding the mash temperature above 158 °F (70 °C) will create more dextrins. This approach can produce a successful low-alcohol beer, but can also create a “worty” flavor and aroma. Typically these dextrins aren’t perceived as sweet as other sugars, which can help establish body for the beer without being overly sweet. 

Cold mashing is another option in which the temperature of the mash is below starch gelatinization. Blending with water and increasing carbonation are approaches you can work on to combat the “worty” flavor.

Low-Alcohol Yeasts

Low-alcohol yeasts are a newer topic in the production of low-alcohol beer. Many of these are non-Saccharomyces strains that cannot ferment maltose or maltotriose. They would be referred to by a lab or scientist as “maltose-negative” strains. 

All of these strains are non-GMO, although some GMO strains do exist. Examples of low-ABV strains that can be used in these types of fermentations are in Chart 1.

These strains can have positive contributions to flavor, such as increased esters, while keeping the fermentation of fermentable sugars low. These will produce beers with an alcohol percentage around 1–1.5% ABV depending on strain and wort recipe. Using these yeasts will certainly require a certain level of research and development to obtain a delicious, low-ABV beer that can compete with products currently on the market.  At White Labs, where I am the Head of Laboratory Operations, we have several of these strains available for homebrewers in our Vault.

Pitching rates of these strains can be expected to be lower, as the amount of sugar to be fermented is low. If the recipe is only fermenting, for example, from 1.016 to 1.012, the fermentation doesn’t need many cells to do the job. Therefore pitching rates for these beers from lab-grown cultures range from 300–500 million cells/mL. It’s less likely that you need a starter for any of these cultures and more likely to cross contaminate the starter with brewer’s yeast strains. 

Sanitation is important with any of these products. Without all of the alcohol as a protection and lots of nutrients in the beer, it is necessary to ensure that the pH is low enough. It is recommended that the pH be under 4.6 to be considered an acidified food, which eliminates most food pathogens. These maltose-negative yeast strains are regarded as wild yeast but would not be considered beer spoilers. Their inability to ferment larger sugars prevents them from being categorized as such. With the amount of sugar and nutrients left in the beer, keeping everything clean is important and even then it is recommended to only keg these beers due to the very real possibility of exploding bottles. Packaging breweries are advised not to package beer without pasteurization, preferably with a tunnel.  For home-
brewers, simply avoid bottling. 

A Final Word

Regardless of the process of choice to make your low-alcohol beer, experimentation and blending is often an important part of getting the right flavor and aromas. It could take many recipes to dial in a desired flavor and aroma profile. Too much alcohol production can result and the need to blend with another batch, wort, or water could be possible. 

Overall, there are many different approaches to low-alcohol beers depending on your homebrewing setup and interests. If you’re not sure you’re ready to experiment with mash temperatures and alternative strains there are some beer-inspired creations you can play with. Malta or sparkling hop water can be made at home easily. Play around with the hop water — adding some citric acid to change the mouthfeel or adding your favorite cocktail bitters to pack a tannic punch can be fun. 

Hop Water (sidebar written by Don Osborn)

If you love brewing and drinking beer, there’s a good chance you enjoy the flavor and aroma of hops. Of course, there are times when even the biggest beer lovers among us aren’t reaching for a glass of suds. Even non-alcoholic beer may not be what you want to reach for in certain circumstances, which brings us to hop water —a sparkling, non-alcoholic beverage that can hit the spot any time of the day.

There is not an overabundance of information about making hop water available and while I will suggest a couple possibilities, feel free to experiment. There are a few commercial examples you can purchase but if you are reading BYO you might prefer to make your own. Lagunitas Hop Refresher is possibly the most commonly available commercial example. I first had hop water at Third Space Brewing in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and it was surprisingly enjoyable. After reading what little information I could find and watching the helpful Clawhammer Supply hop water video on YouTube, I gave it a shot (find my first attempt documented on YouTube by searching for “donosborn hop water.”)

The basic process is to boil the desired amount of water for 10 minutes. This sanitizes and de-oxygenates the water. Allow the water to cool to 170 °F (77 °C) and add lemon juice to bring the pH to 4.6 or lower. If you don’t have a pH meter or pH strips, don’t worry. In the Clawhammer video, one medium squeeze of lemon juice concentrate in their 1-gallon (4-L) batch was sufficient to bring the pH into an acceptable range.

When the water has cooled, it’s time to add the hops of your choice. My recommended addition rate is 2 g per gallon (0.5 g/L), however you may decide that more or less hits the spot for you. Like the addition rate, the hop variety is also up to you. Perhaps you want to stick with a lower alpha acid variety to limit bitterness, but you can experiment. If there is a hop (or hop combination) that you really like the aroma and character of, go for it. Otherwise, whatever you have on hand will work. You do not need much. The people I have talked to and seen make hop water most often use hop pellets or Cryo® powder but you can even use whole flowers (if you grow your own hops, you could even try a wet hop water) or hop extract. Let the hops steep for about 20 minutes. Filter out the hop material with hop bags or cheesecloth when packaging. 

Hop water is carbonated as the spritzy bubbles make it a more enjoyable drink. There isn’t really a way to naturally carbonate this that I have seen, so you will need a kegging system to force carbonate. I have a very small keg that I use but you could either go all in on a 5-gallon (19-L) batch or just put a couple gallons (8 L) in a regular-sized homebrew keg. The carbonation level should be higher than it is for beer. Think soda or sparkling water CO₂ volume level and you are on the right track. You can adjust to your preference. 

Allow me to shift gears momentarily. There is not a single right way to make hop water. A friend of mine talked to his local brewery about their process. They boil the water for 10 minutes and add brewing salts as desired. They transfer the cooled water to a sanitized container and add hops at a rate of about 1⁄2 oz. per gallon (3.5 g/L. After two days of sitting at room temperature they remove/filter the hops and package. This also makes a nice hop water and is very different than the process I have followed.

Hop water might have a light greenish, cloudy tint. It should smell like hops and have a detectable bitterness. As homebrewers we like to be creative and we like variety. This is yet another beverage we can make at home for little to no cost and provide a unique, non-alcoholic option. 

References 

¹ Capece, A.; Romaniello, R.; Siesto, G.; Romano, P. Conventional and Non-Conventional Yeasts in Beer Production. Fermentation 2018, 4, 38.

Other recommended resources

• MBAA Podcast Episode 172: What’s the Buzz: Non-alcoholic Beer Production.

• Briess technical paper: Cold Extraction of Malt Components and their use in Brewery Applications.

Tastes great, less filling — but in Germany it’s actually true. Compared to the marketing taglines of U.S. companies in the past trying to sell lower-alcohol beer, German breweries are producing beer with flavor that has less alcohol than their normal products. That’s pretty much what you’d expect, right? If your baseline beer starts with more flavor, then it’s logical to assume that a lower-alcohol version would still need flavor to compete in a market where consumers expect beer to not taste like water (I’m looking at you, hard seltzer makers).

Leichtbier (literally “light beer” in German) was introduced into the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) Style Guidelines in 2015 in the Pale Bitter European Beer category (Category 5). It is style 5A, and is grouped with Kölsch, helles exportbier, and Pilsner. Don’t read too much into this grouping or the word “bitter” in the category name. Like kellerbier, leichtbier can have a fairly broad range in terms of its balance.

History

There is not a long history to this style; it is a modern invention to appeal to health-conscious consumers. In the German market, there are actually several types of products that fit that definition but aren’t part of this particular style. Alcohol-free beers, dietetic beers, light beers, and mixed-product beers are all available.

Alcohol-free beers are normally defined as having less than 0.5% alcohol by volume (ABV). Not necessarily a health-conscious product, these beers can be sweet or not (which affects calories and carbohydrates present). They are primarily intended for those concerned about drinking and driving.

Dietetic beers, or diet beers, are more oriented towards diabetics or those who are very careful about consuming sugars or carbohydrates. These often take special enzymes and more intensive mash programs.

The primary characteristic of this style is that it is low alcohol, typically under 3.5% but often around 3% ABV.

Mixed product beers, such as radler, are marketed more towards those participating in sports, like cycling. A mix of beer and some other beverage (like lemonade) produces a different type of drink that is vaguely related to beer. Shandy is a similar product in the United Kingdom. As with fruity beers in the U.S., this product class has seen a lot of growth and experimentation, including various fruit flavors.

Light beers are lower alcohol renditions, usually in the 2.5 to 4.0% ABV range. Pale or dark, bottom- or top-fermented, lower starting gravity or higher (with higher finishing gravity) — there are many variations of this beer. Beers made this way tend to look like the normal (full) strength products, but typically have “leicht” on the label. Weissbier is one popular style in Germany with a leicht version, but others are known as well.

Leichtbier as defined by the BJCP is the version of light beer that is based on a pale lager, such as a helles or Pilsner, or something in between. It does not cover the other types of beers I mentioned here. It may have been influenced by the market for light beers that developed in the U.S., but the health-conscious or fitness-focused European influence certainly predated that in the U.S. I think the product is a natural outcome of a desire to produce a product to meet a consumer-driven demand. Lower alcohol, lower carbohydrates, and fewer calories make it a lifestyle product, but one that satisfies that German demand for beers with flavor.

In the U.S. a post-Prohibition relic was 3.2 beer, a lower alcohol beer that was mandated in several states. Note that this was 3.2% alcohol by weight (ABW, which equates to 4.0% ABV), so that is actually a bigger beer than German leichtbier. Modern “lite” beers in the U.S. can also have alcohol up in the 4% ABV range, often by using special enzymes to make the beers highly attenuated. Neither is really equivalent to this German style, so it’s best to avoid those comparisons.

Sensory Profile

The primary characteristic of this style is that it is low alcohol, typically under 3.5%, but often around 3% ABV. The beer is also a pale lager, so it has a straw to pale gold color and has a smooth, crisp mouthfeel. Using mostly German Pilsner malt, the beer should have its characteristic flavors — a grainy-sweet, slightly crackery malt flavor through the finish.

The balance of the beer can vary, so the level of bitterness can range from that you would expect in a helles to that of a Pilsner. Either way, the beer is well attenuated so it should have a dry finish. The only difference in this style is how much hop bitterness and flavor are perceived on the palate and aftertaste. But don’t expect a bone-dry bitter beer like a Jever Pils; think more of the softer Pilsners of Europe in general rather than the best German examples.

Hopping is of the noble Saazer-types generally, like most pale German lagers. Sensory characteristics are usually described as floral and spicy, perhaps a bit herbal. Nothing too aggressive, and the hop intensity can range from low to medium. Malt is likewise low to medium in intensity, allowing for the range of balances. Lower levels of bitterness can make the beer a touch malty, but it should not seem sweet.

As a lower-gravity beer, the body struggles to fill out — it’s normally on the light side. But it’s not an adjunct beer, so the beer shouldn’t seem watery. The carbonation is medium to high, but shouldn’t be so high that the flavors are masked. Clearly, alcohol should not be tasted or felt as warmth in this style.

As with all German lagers, the fermentation character should be clean without fruity esters, buttery diacetyl, or apple-like acetaldehyde. Lagering near freezing should give the beer a smooth character, and also clean up those fermentation byproducts.

I tend to think of these beers as session helles or Pilsner beers, not German versions of American light lagers.

I tend to think of these beers as session helles or Pilsner beers, not German versions of American light lagers. More of the flavors and balance characteristics are the same, and mentally you have to do less translating of flavors. The beer should not be strongly flavored, but it also should not be without flavor.

Brewing Ingredients and Methods

There isn’t much written about this style, so I turned to Technology Brewing and Malting by Wolfgang Kunze, my go-to German brewing textbook. He does talk about brewing “light beers” of 2–3.6% ABV versus the more typical 4.5–5.5% ABV for “full beers.” While generally just giving some specifics for the style, he does give some hints about malting and mashing.

As a pale German lager, Pilsner malt should make up most of the grist. But Carahell® is also mentioned as improving body and head retention in both nutrient beers and festival beers. Carahell® is a Weyermann malt, but any light crystal-type malt of about 10 °Lovibond would work. While he says it can be used up to 5% of the grist in a helles, it can be up to 15% of the grist in an alcohol-free beer. So, you might extrapolate and consider light beers to use somewhere in between those endpoints.

Kunze also describes typical mashing practices in Germany and says that step mashes are most common in modern practice. Rest temperatures of 62–64 °C (142–147 °F), 70–72 °C (158–162 °F), with a mashout at 75–78 °C (167–175 °F) are recommended. Lower mash temperatures aren’t needed with modern fully-modified malts, and mashing in above 60 °C (140 °F) reduces enzymatic oxidation.

No surprises on hops. Just use noble-type German hops, or the American equivalents — Hallertauer, Tettnanger, Spalt, Saaz, Crystal, Liberty, Mt. Hood, Ultra, Santiam, Sterling, Vanguard . . . the usual suspects. A bittering or first wort hop addition with a light finishing addition for aroma should work. No dry hopping in a style like this of course. You can use a single hop in this recipe or feel free to mix it up a bit with a combination. I tend to choose whichever hops look freshest at the time, regardless of country of origin.

A clean German lager yeast is obvious, such as the Weihenstephaner W-34/70 strain (Wyeast 2124, White Labs WLP830, or SafLager W-34/70). Follow normal fermentation practices, pitching the yeast and fermenting around 50 °F (10 °C). Lager for two weeks near freezing to allow the yeast to condition the beer. Longer lagering times aren’t needed for a beer of this gravity so long as sulfur isn’t apparent.

Your water treatment will depend a bit on the balance you are targeting. If you are making a helles-like beer, I’d recommend a little calcium chloride. If you are making something more Pilsner-like, I’d recommend a little calcium sulfate. A blend of the two works as well, which is like what I’d use in a Kölsch. Just keep the minerals low since the finished beer doesn’t have a minerally flavor.

Homebrew Example

When I first thought about giving a recipe for this style, I was going to say, “just take your favorite Pilsner or helles recipe, but use more water” – and I wouldn’t be too far from the mark. But there is a little more to it than that. So let me run through the key points.

The style is more than just a session-strength Pilsner or helles recipe. For flavor, good-quality German Pilsner malt is making up most of the grist. I’m using some Carahell® malt (7% or so) to bump up the flavor and body a touch. With lower-gravity beers, some additional body doesn’t hurt. A modern German step mashing program is used, as is typical for most breweries, to help with the attenuation and drinkability.

I love Hallertauer hops in a subtle German lager, so I’m going to feature them by using first wort hopping and late hopping. The first wort hopping will give a smooth bitterness while preserving some of the hop flavor, and a late hop addition will give a fresh hop aroma. Knowing that the first wort hop technique gives a smooth bitterness, I’m using a slightly higher level of hops to get about 23 IBUs. That’s a lot in a 3% beer, but if you take care with the technique, they should come through without harshness.

Though I mention the Weihenstephaner strain earlier, I’m calling for WLP833 German Bock yeast from White Labs to increase the perception of maltiness. If this yeast or the substitutes listed in the recipe are unavailable, a good second choice is one of the W-34/70-based strains which is a touch cleaner but still malty. This isn’t a big beer, so it doesn’t need extended lagering. Two weeks should be sufficient. I don’t like my lagers sulfury, so I do like to take my time with lagering to smooth out the yeast profile. For that reason, I also avoid calcium sulfate as a mineral addition, preferring calcium chloride.

The balance of the beer should be like a slightly bitter and hoppy helles, with less strength. So you should be able to use this as a good session beer for watching sports. And if you drink it in January, you can also say you are trying to cut back on the calories without punishing yourself. Just don’t let this one sit around too long; lower-alcohol pale beers don’t tend to age well.

Leichtbier by the numbers

OG: 1.026–1.034
FG: 1.006–1.010
SRM: 2–5
IBU: 15–28

Tips for Success

Delicate handling of the wort and beer is essential for success. Closed transfers are recommended.