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Countdown to zero... The search for the perfect alcohol-free beer
can be up to 0.5% ABV whereas the Fins enjoy a 2.8% ABV limit. Non- alcoholic is generally the term applied to drinks for the purposes of licensing its sale, whereas alcohol-free tends to relate to the labelling and the consum- er’s expectation and has a lower upper limit. Alcohol free beer in Iran and the US must have no detectable ethanol whereas the EU de ne it as 0.5% ABV. Alcohol-free beer is of course not a new phenomenon and early versions of low alcohol beer were made in the US during prohibition. In the UK in the 1980s the availability of suitable technology saw the rst attempt to take alcohol-free beers (AFBs) to the mass-market. Those old enough and unlucky enough will remember the wonders of beers such as Kaliber and Barbican which may as well have contained alcohol as they were so undrinkable consumption of any volume with the potential for harm was impossible.
By Stuart Howe
Reading current media articles, you could be forgiven for believing that everyone under 40 is teetotal and sales of alcohol-free versions of beer, wine and gin are outselling their conventional counterparts by ten to one. Alleged growth in demand is being driven by the concerns over the safety of alcohol consumption and its prohibition by certain religions. The truth is, the actual numbers are slightly more modest – but the search goes on for a delicious alcohol-free beer…
I n the UK, the sales growth estimated by GlobalData Consumer Intelligence Centre was 30,000 hL so less than a single suc- cessful national brand of a standard beer would enjoy. Perhaps the most persuasive argument for brewing a non-alcoholic beer is that in a crowded and stagnant market- place it is a category in growth.
But we, ladies and gentlemen, are brewers – so shall not bother ourselves with the vagaries of marketing. We merely have the simple task of making alcohol-free beer cost effective to pro- duce and delicious to consume. Legal de nitions differ across the world. A non-alcoholic beer in the US
1 ● BREWER AND DISTILLER INTERNATIONAL
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