NA beer

Yes, i know, its a wierd title....

I was recently diagnoised as having Hemochromotosis. I like beer, i like the way it tastes. I really don't drink much hard liquor anymore either. Part for having what I have means no more drinking. I know that NA beers are comercially available but most of them either suck, or cost way to much (imports are like 7.99 a six pack) Is there a way to make your own NA beer?

thanks!

Yes.

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mringer said:

Yes, i know, its a wierd title....

I was recently diagnoised as having Hemochromotosis. I like beer, i like the way it tastes. I really don't drink much hard liquor anymore either. Part for having what I have means no more drinking. I know that NA beers are comercially available but most of them either suck, or cost way to much (imports are like 7.99 a six pack) Is there a way to make your own NA beer?

thanks!

Click to expand...

You might be able to brew a normal batch then distill it to remove the alcohol. I have no idea what that would do to the flavor and is technically illegal though. Otherwise maybe brew a batch w/ 1/3rd less fermentables or more hops than normal to balance the sweetness and keg/force carb without using any yeast to ferment.

i believe that the process evan! linked to is legal if you do what the article says and only what the article says.

it'd be difficult if not impossible to explain why i think this without running afoul of the site's terms of service so it's probably best that we all leave it at that. but if anybody disagrees, feel free to send me a private message. i certainly could be wrong.

As it happens I have a batch fermenting, half of which will become NA for my brother-in-law following the process in the article Evan! linked to. I am considering modifying that process by using puney_the_youkel's French Coffee Press method to add back some hop aroma and flavor since some of that will be driven off in the process of removing the alcohol. For my purposes I'll use an ounce of my homegrown cascades in 2-3 cups of water for the half batch.

Tenchiro said:

You might be able to brew a normal batch then distill it to remove the alcohol. I have no idea what that would do to the flavor and is technically illegal though.

Click to expand...

Distilling off the alcohol would only be illegal if you condensed and captured the distillate. If you're just boiling off the alcohol and letting it escape into the air, then you're fine. If you're trying to make a NA beer, then your product is what's left behind, not what's distilled off.

Actually it's only distilling if you're capturing the evaporated alcohol and collecting it - otherwise it's just evaporation.

True but letting all that alcohol vapor out into the open around a heat source has to be dangerous, without capturing it you would have to make sure you are well ventilated.

mringer said:

Yes, i know, its a wierd title....

I was recently diagnoised as having Hemochromotosis. I like beer, i like the way it tastes. I really don't drink much hard liquor anymore either. Part for having what I have means no more drinking. I know that NA beers are comercially available but most of them either suck, or cost way to much (imports are like 7.99 a six pack) Is there a way to make your own NA beer?

thanks!

Click to expand...

My FIL has that as well, I think. He believes he got it in 'Nam. He doesn't drink in excess, but usually has a beer or two most of the time we go out, or go work in the garage. I don't think his doctor has said anything about it. Not sure how bad it is yet though either.

That is one thing that cheeses me off about NA beer. It's made to taste like Miller Lite, and then they take out half the flavour! I'd be happy drinking a DECENT NA beer if I were to be DD for the night.

Hmm... NA IPA....

See also, BierMuncher's thread on this topic...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/creating-na-how-i-neutered-my-beer-39433/

This might be a silly/dumb question, but how much difference is there between boiling off the alcohol and just kegging a low grav wort?

I do realize the yeast have done some work in changing the wort, but most of that is just reducing the sugar content. Right?

But, if you steep just enough grain (base + specialty to taste) to get ~1.014-1.018, then boil the hops (reduced amount) to get the preferred bitterness and aroma. Finally, either put into a sanitized cornie when the wort is hot or add campden tablet when cool to prevent wild yeast or bacteria infecting it.

Chill, carb, and serve.

Anyone every try this? Maybe even used the second runnings off of an AG batch (ie cheap leftover material).

This place makes me think too much

Brew-Happy said:

This might be a silly/dumb question, but how much difference is there between boiling off the alcohol and just kegging a low grav wort?

I do realize the yeast have done some work in changing the wort, but most of that is just reducing the sugar content. Right?

But, if you steep just enough grain (base + specialty to taste) to get ~1.014-1.018, then boil the hops (reduced amount) to get the preferred bitterness and aroma. Finally, either put into a sanitized cornie when the wort is hot or add campden tablet when cool to prevent wild yeast or bacteria infecting it.

Chill, carb, and serve.

Anyone every try this? Maybe even used the second runnings off of an AG batch (ie cheap leftover material).

This place makes me think too much

Click to expand...

Bumping for thoughts on this. Not highjacking just offering an idea that is bouncing around in my head.

I searched but only found threads on boiling off the alcohol. I realized the alcohol will add to the profile, but this might work.

Thoughts or experience doing this?

Brew-Happy said:

Bumping for thoughts on this. Not highjacking just offering an idea that is bouncing around in my head.

I searched but only found threads on boiling off the alcohol. I realized the alcohol will add to the profile, but this might work.

Thoughts or experience doing this?

Click to expand...

Yeah, I think I'd prefer real beer, but if an NA is the desired outcome, then this method might warrant serious thought. The ability to carb at home could make a real NA beer a distinct possibility.

It might be worth a 1 gallon purchase of ingredients just to see what happens.

Brew-Happy said:

This might be a silly/dumb question, but how much difference is there between boiling off the alcohol and just kegging a low grav wort?

I do realize the yeast have done some work in changing the wort, but most of that is just reducing the sugar content. Right?

But, if you steep just enough grain (base + specialty to taste) to get ~1.014-1.018, then boil the hops (reduced amount) to get the preferred bitterness and aroma. Finally, either put into a sanitized cornie when the wort is hot or add campden tablet when cool to prevent wild yeast or bacteria infecting it.

Chill, carb, and serve.

Anyone every try this? Maybe even used the second runnings off of an AG batch (ie cheap leftover material).

This place makes me think too much

Click to expand...

It's not the same, not by a long shot. There are esters and flavor compounds created by the fermentation. De-alcoholized beer tastes NOTHING like unfermented wort.

edit: i now see that in the paragraphs below i'm not really addressing your question, BrewHappy, sorry i should've read closer. the second runnings or any low gravity wort you make will be extremely sweet, and not taste anything like beer. i think your best bets are to brew mainly low gravity beer (if some alcohol is ok) or to remove the alcohol as described.

since i took the time to type it all out i'll include my other response as well:

boiling the alcohol off of a high gravity beer and brewing a low gravity beer are going to yield significantly different results.

when you make wort you've got this solution of a certain percentage of fermentable sugars and a certain percentage of unfermentable content (dextrins, proteins, hop oils). high gravity worts have higher amounts of unfermentables AND fermentables, and when they ferment out, they'll have "bigger" flavors than a lower gravity beer. you're not going to get the same flavor from a 1.030 beer that you'd get from making a 1.060 beer and removing the alcohol.

that being said, there are a lot of recipes for flavorful and enjoyable beers on here that are relatively low in alcohol, and still really good. if alcohol content is an issue but a little alcohol is ok, i'd take a look at milds and blondes. you can also make some hop-focused lower gravity beers that have great hop flavor but are low in alcohol.

Evan! said:

It's not the same, not by a long shot. There are esters and flavor compounds created by the fermentation. De-alcoholized beer tastes NOTHING like unfermented wort.

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Thank you. now i can flush that thought out of my head and get back to work or the next distraction