Drinkable no- and low-alcohol beers gain traction in Britain

As people scale back alcohol after the festive season, the range and quality of drinkable no- and low-alcohol (nolo) beers in Britain has expanded, offering more convincing alternatives to full-strength pints, the article says. Traditionally nolo beers — defined in the piece as having at most 0.5% ABV — were produced by brewing to normal strength and then removing ethanol by methods such as vacuum distillation or reverse osmosis, which can also strip flavour and mouthfeel.

Investment in R&D has driven improvements in technology and quality, although the article notes these methods remain expensive and have kept most nolo production in the hands of big producers until recently. The piece highlights cheaper, hybridised yeast strains that ferment only a small percentage of mash sugars to leave a very low ABV, and new biotech products that add aromas, flavours and mouthfeel, which together are making nolo beers more ‘‘beery’’.

Key Topics

Culture, Nolo Beer, Britain, Hybridised Yeast, Reverse Osmosis, Impossibrew