Non-Alcoholic Beer Varieties: Should You Give Up Flavor to Reduce Alcohol?
Let’s not confuse non-alcoholic beer, designated N/A on the labels, for near the beer. The maximum alcohol content for non-alcoholic beers in the US is less than 0.5%, and non-alcoholic here means exactly that, no alcohol at all. Fruit juices in Germany can contain up to 1%. And in England they declare a drink without alcohol although it can contain up to 0.5%. Near beer, on the other hand, typically contains around 3.2% alcohol content and is significant for those states that only allow that level of alcohol to be sold in grocery stores. Nearby beers are often called light In the label.
Like those who drink only decaf coffee, non-alcoholic beer drinkers are often asked, “What’s the point?” For some it’s the fact that few drinks taste as good as a nice cold beer on a hot summer’s day. But if you’re an infrequent drinker, real beer can make you feel as bloated as if it’s your time of the month. Who needs that? Plus, you can have a non-alcoholic beer for lunch without worrying if it will affect your job performance. If friends want to go for drinks after work, you can still enjoy the taste, feel like you’re participating, and maintain your designated driver status. Women in early pregnancy should avoid even these beers to be safe, especially in Canada, where almost 30% of the forty-five non-alcoholic beers tested actually had more alcohol than stated on the label.
A common misconception about non-alcoholic beers is that they are not always lower in calories than a light beer. While Bitburger Drive NA has 103 calories and St. Pauli Girl’s NA has 96, Miller Genuine Draft Lite has 64, and Michelob Ultra and Amstel Light have 95. Less alcohol cuts calories, but even low-alcohol beers are high in carbohydrates. . One company is even promoting a variety to hydrate athletes, a alligator beerIf you want.
Another false impression is that low-alcohol beer is a modern concept. Early American settlers thrived on one version, because they didn’t trust water. The fact that water was boiled to produce this light beer, which resulted in less illness, pretty much proved his point about bad water. Many brewers before Prohibition attempted to make beers with a lower alcohol content in anticipation of declining revenues.
Non-alcoholic beer tastes watery because it actually contains more water. One brewing process involves heating real beer to reduce the alcohol. Since alcohol boils at 173 degrees Fahrenheit and water at sea level boils at 212, you can control water loss for the most part, while reducing alcohol. Still, you’ll lose about a half cup for every gallon of beer brewed. Therefore, water is usually added to make up for this difference before the boiling process begins.
Non-alcoholic beer is popular in Europe and its consumption has increased worldwide. Here in the United States sales have not been so good. Even though Europeans drank 138 million gallons worth about $2.5 billion in sales, that’s still just a drop in the ocean (less than 1%) compared to their actual beer consumption of 15 billion. of gallons Sales have also increased in Japan, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. New processing techniques involving lighter fermentation, less alcohol production, and more flavor retention can help sales everywhere.
The popularity of non-alcoholic beers in the United States often coincides with availability. In other words, since O’Doul’s (made by Budweiser) is available in many bars and restaurants, it’s often your only option and therefore your only exposure to a non-alcoholic beer. Taste being a subjective sense, you may want to do your own research. Once you’ve tried St. Pauli NA, Clausthaler, Kaliber, O’Doul’s, Haake Beck, Buckler, Old Milwaukee, and Erdinger, you can consider yourself an expert by American standards. Of course, a non-alcoholic beer connoisseur is a bit of an oxymoron to some.
If you really want to go crazy, you should try the many without alcohol European beers. As for what you can find in the US, you can try the following: Acrobrau (an expensive wheat beer), Bevo, Bitburger Drive, Bintang Zero (Indonesia), Busch N/A, Cheers Preta (a dark beer from Portugal), Coors (Cutter) NA, Gerstel (German), Holsten, Kingsbury (Pabst), Labbat’s Blue, Pabst NA, Paulaner, Sharps (Miller), Texas Select NA and Warsteiner. Health!