The benefits of alcohol-free beer

Julio Cerezo - Beer Sommelier
Director of Sabeer Beer Academy

Let's admit it: alcohol-free beer today “nothing like in the good old days”, and for once in our life the meaning of this such widely used phrase is strangely positive. Nobody can deny that the taste and smell of alcohol-free beer today is much better than the ones we used to drink just a few years ago.

Through much innovation, master brewers have managed to evolve and perfect their recipes to achieve alcohol-free beer that is a much more pleasant experience for our palates.

It has not been an easy feat, since by definition beer is a drink made from fermented cereal, and whenever fermentation takes place, there will be alcohol. Reducing the percentage of alcohol by just a few tenths of a degree is a relatively simple matter, but at the same time it involves losing some of the fundamental organoleptic properties of our drink.

Fortunately today, there are many alcohol-free beers that retain the flavour of the cereal and hops, as these are the main ingredients that give beer its characteristic taste and smell.

 There are some beers on the market with different intensities in regard to the roast and malt, and therefore the colour of the drink, and brewers even dare to experiment with fashionable styles today, such as alcohol-free IPA.

This all leads us to a scenario that is more reminiscent of times gone by. Apart from the flavour, many alcohol-free beer drinkers choose it for the benefits of beer, compared to brews with a higher alcohol content.

Among the benefits of alcohol-free beer, those that have actually been verified are:

1. Drinking alcohol-free beer does not prevent us from driving or operating heavy plant machinery.
2. Alcohol-free beer can be drunk during pregnancy without this posing a risk to the baby.
3. This beer is compatible with any food diet to control weight, since it has significantly less calories than beer that contains alcohol.
4. Because of the high percentage of water (90%) and content in polyphenol, it is an interesting alternative to isotonic drinks after exercising.
5. This beer contains beneficial elements for our organism, such as vitamin B, folic acid, calcium and potassium.

In short, alcohol-free beer today is a great choice for those occasions when we need to keep off the alcohol, without having to sacrifice the enjoyable taste of beer.

As always, here are some recommendations that you can easily find in your local supermarket. We hope you enjoy them.

Mahou 0,0 Tostada > a lager beer with predominant hints of roast cereal and a slightly bitter taste that confers it a surprisingly authentic taste of beer.

Celestial Sin > an alcohol-free craft IPA, but with all the flavour of exotic hops and constrained bitterness.

Ámbar 0,0 Sin Gluten > alcohol-free beer suitable for people with gluten intolerance and for those who, even though they tolerate gluten, want to reduce it in their diets.

Cheers!