Consumer demand for no- and low-alcohol products is skyrocketing. According to leading drinks market analysis firm IWSR Drinks Market Analysis, the low-alcohol category increased by almost 20 percent last year in the U.S. alone, with the no-alcohol market experiencing nearly twice as much growth. The no- and low-alcohol category is currently valued at nearly $2 billion, equivalent to a small yet rapidly expanding one percent of the total beverage alcohol market.
The industry is responding accordingly by researching more quality-driven production methods and investing in technological innovation across all drinks types, albeit the diverse nature of wine, beer, and spirits means that the average quality of lower-alcohol alternatives tends to fluctuate across categories.
Wine’s flavors and aromas are often supported by a sizable amount of alcohol—typically between 12% and 14.5% ABV—meaning its complete removal has a dramatic impact on the liquid’s texture and overall balance. Beer, on the other hand, starts off with a significantly lower alcohol content, meaning there is simply less to take away to make a lower-ABV product. Furthermore, while wine relies on grape juice as its sole ingredient, beer’s aromas may be enhanced by highly perfumed hops, which can help mask potential off-flavors deriving from the dealcoholization process.
While non-alcoholic beer and wine, as beverages resulting from the dealcoholization of their full-strength counterparts, are definable and regulated, there are no comparable standards in the production and marketing of spirit-like, non-alcoholic products. Many never involve the production of alcohol; they are made by simply adding aromas to a neutral, non-alcoholic base liquid and are designed to mimic the flavor profile of full-strength spirit categories such as gin and whisky. Lyre’s products, for instance, result from the addition of natural essences and extracts to a proprietary non-alcoholic liquid. Others, such as Spiritless, do involve distillation and dealcoholization processes and are designed to replace actual spirits in non-alcoholic cocktails, yet they cannot be labeled as the full-strength category they take inspiration from. Some would even argue that non-alcoholic spirits don’t actually exist.
For beer and wine, the array of production methods for removing alcohol is expanding to cater to growing consumer demand for high-quality no- and low-alcohol alternatives. Understanding the evolving science behind these methods offers an opportunity to examine the progress that’s been made for improving non-alcoholic beer and wine, and which category each method is best suited to.
From perfume to wine
Alongside a growing range of proprietary technologies, beverage manufacturers employ two primary methods for alcohol removal: reverse osmosis and vacuum distillation. The latter is one of the most popular dealcoholization techniques, particularly within the wine industry. Here, the distillation process is carried out under reduced pressure, significantly reducing ethanol’s boiling point; the lower temperature means that alcohol evaporates before all volatile compounds are boiled off, leaving a lower-alcohol liquid with flavors and aromas close to the original product.
Initially developed to extract aromas for perfume making, the spinning cone method is essentially a type of vacuum distillation and is now regarded as ideal for retaining a liquid’s integrity, particularly when applied to wine. “Compared to other methods, the spinning cone has shown that it is far superior in preserving the flavors and texture of the original wine,” says Mark Naim, the director of enological projects at leading Cava firm Codorníu.
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