What's in non-alcoholic beer?

Non-alcoholic beer: where taste and responsibility meet

We all know the classic joke from your uncle at the family barbecue: "Beer without alcohol is like a bra on the washing line." For the older generation, the term 'non-alcoholic beer' might bring back memories of Dutch comedian Youp van 't Hek.

Nowadays, however, non-alcoholic beer is anything but a joke. It has become an unmissable trend! Especially non-alcoholic beer with flavour is gaining enormous popularity. More and more breweries in the Netherlands are bringing low-alcohol and non-alcoholic beer to the market, and the shelves in supermarkets are becoming increasingly large. As one of the largest producers of non-alcoholic craft beers in the Netherlands, we naturally welcome this development.

Low-alcohol or non-alcoholic?

Perhaps you've already noticed that we use different terms: non-alcoholic and low-alcohol. What exactly do they mean?

• Non-alcoholic: according to Dutch legislation, a beer can only be called ‘alcohol-free’ if it contains less than 0.1% alcohol. Because we do not brew beer with 0.0% alcohol, we use the term non-alcoholic.

• Low-alcohol: beers with an alcohol percentage between 0.1 and 1.2% fall into this category.

Because brewing a flavourful 0.0% beer is practically impossible, we opt for low-alcohol beer. We found the name 'low-alcohol' less appealing, so we use the English term: Non-Alcoholic.

How is non-alcoholic beer brewed?

Our non-alcoholic beers are brewed in the same way as our other beers. The process includes: recipe development, milling, mashing, filtering, boiling, whirlpooling, cooling, fermenting, dry-hopping, lagering, centrifuging, and bottling.

Some breweries choose a different path: they first brew a regular beer and then remove the alcohol. That results in a 0.0% beer, but often a lot of flavour is also lost. That's why we don't do that. Our method is annually rewarded with prizes for various non-alcoholic beers.

What's in non-alcoholic beer?

Our beers consist of the same simple ingredients as our other beers: water, hops, malt, and yeast. No added sugars or artificial flavourings. All flavours come from natural ingredients and the brewing process itself. This ensures the aromas remain pure and flavourful.

The future of non-alcoholic beer

The low-alcohol and non-alcoholic revolution is far from over. The trend is still growing, and demand is only increasing. For you as a beer lover, that means: more and more delicious non-alcoholic beers that you can enjoy all day without any problem.