Denmark produces non-alcoholic beer that 'tastes' like regular beer

Although sales of non-alcoholic beer have substantially increased in Europe over the past few years, there are still many people who refuse to drink alternative beers.

The reason is that they find the taste of non-alcoholic beers is not as good as regular beers. A new study by the University of Copenhagen and the biotech company Evodia Bio has found a way to improve the distinctive flavor of beer, thereby making it more like an alcoholic beer.

What non-alcoholic beer lacks is the aroma from the hops.

Beer drinkers often complain that non-alcoholic beers taste bland and watery. According to Sotirios Kampranis, a biochemical engineer at the University of Copenhagen and co-founder of Evodia Bio, this has a natural explanation.

"What non-alcoholic beer lacks is the aroma from the hops. When you remove the alcohol from the beer, for example heating it, you also kill the aroma from the hops," says Kampranis. It mainly reduces the fermentation process which also makes the beer taste worse because alcohol is needed for the hops to impart the unique flavor in the beer."

Together with Evodia Bio's co-founder Simon Dusséau, Dr Kampranis sought to create a group of small molecules called monoterpenoids that give non-alcoholic beer its "delicious flavor" when added to the end of the brewing process. . Therefore, instead of adding expensive aromatic hops to the kegs, simply discard their flavors at the end of the process. Scientists have turned yeast cells that bloom into what creates a unique and delicious flavor like hops.

Dr. Kampranis explains: "When the aroma molecules of hops are released from the yeast, we collect them and put them in the beer, giving it the same taste as the regular beer that we love. Using hops in beer production becomes redundant, because we only need the molecules that transmit the scent and flavor, not the actual hops."

This method is also much more sustainable than other techniques. Since hops are mainly grown on the West Coast of the United States, it takes time to transport and refrigerate. Moreover, hops require a large amount of water, about 2.7 tons of water to grow a kilogram of hops, so they are not climate-friendly.

Kampranis further explains: "With this method, we completely ignore the aromatic hops and therefore both the water and the means of transport. This means that a kilogram of hop aroma requires only 10,000 times less water. and 100 times less CO2.

Ultimately, the researchers hope to contribute to a healthier lifestyle by helping people cut down on alcohol and other types of alcohol.

The new technology has now been tested at breweries in Denmark and is scheduled to be ready for the entire brewing industry by October 2022.