Differences Between Non-alcoholic And Light Beer: Nowadays we can find non-alcoholic beers, the so-called 0.0% beers, and also light beers, which can cause confusion among consumers. We explain the differences between these three varieties.
Beer is with us in many moments. Despite the joy it provides, the shadow of a beer belly, not to mention the one that alcohol casts on our health, is always there. For this reason, new products emerge to invite us to continue enjoying its sweetness, reducing its harm to a minimum. Or so they promise. The truth is that it is not entirely clear what the difference is. Or is it? Today we review what is different about them.
Beer is beer, period. Unless we come across the “new” zero-alcohol beers, non-alcoholic beers, or even light beers. What are the latter and what differences do they have with traditional and new zero-alcohol beers?
What is non-alcoholic beer?
According to Royal Decree 678/2016, of December 16, which approves the quality standard for beer and malt beverages in Spain, non-alcoholic beer is “beer with an alcohol content of less than 1% by volume.” Note that the fact that it has a “without” does not mean that it is actually non-alcoholic. There will always be a minimum amount (less than 1%) of alcohol. On the other hand, according to the same RD, a beer with a low alcohol content is considered to be “beer with an alcohol content of between 1 and 3% by volume.”
Non-alcoholic beer is not as new as we might imagine. In fact, its origin probably dates back to the “Prohibition” that took place in the United States back in the last century. Due to the illegality of this substance, the Americans brewed “near beer”, a sort of “almost beer” without alcohol content (more or less), made this way thanks to an evaporation treatment.
Alcohol evaporates at 78°C, rather than at 100°C for water. This premise is the one used in the distillation of spirits and also in these first alcohol-free beers, although with completely opposite meanings (concentrate the first, eliminate the second). Heating the beer, however, is not the best method to preserve its quality because flavours and aromas are lost.
Currently, there are three methods that can be used to remove alcohol: reverse osmosis, which is expensive and not very cost-effective; continuous vacuum rectification; and interrupted fermentation. Without going into detail, the first is a purely physical process where the alcohol is separated from the rest. Vacuum rectification takes advantage of all modern distillation technology to separate the alcohol from the rest of the fermented product. In interrupted fermentation, the yeast is controlled and stopped at the right time to prevent it from converting the sugars in the must into alcohol.
What is 0.0% beer?
0.0 beer is, by law, a beer without alcohol. Its name, 0.0, refers to the fact that its alcohol content is less than 0.05%, which means it fully complies with the law. Curiously, there is no official legal definition of what can be considered 0.0 and what cannot. They are called this by consensus within the sector (with alcohol equal to or greater than 0.05 we could round up to 0.1 and have a conventional “non-alcoholic” beer).
The 0.0 is a consequence of the state of the art of continuous vacuum rectification technology. They achieve great precision when removing this part of the drink while respecting the rest of the characteristics as much as possible.
What is light beer?
Light beer is a beer with a low alcohol content, according to Royal Decree 678/2016, since its content is below 3% but above 1%. It has its origin, rather, in marketing. Like 0.0, they are not included in a separate designation by law. We can consider them.
Their main contribution to the table is that they reduce the calorie content they provide: between 25 and 30 kcal per 100 millilitres. Or so they claim, because, as we will see later, we will find even fewer calories in beers than in light beers. Therefore, these can only be considered “light” in comparison with normal beers.
What are the differences between non-alcoholic, 0.0%, and light beers?
Although we have already seen that, by definition, they are very different, we are going to delve a little deeper into the technical differences, as a summary, between zero-alcohol, zero-alcohol and light beers. These are some of their essential differences:
The amount of alcohol: the light ones, the most alcoholic
Of course, the big difference is the amount of alcohol, and not only at the product level but also at the level of legislation, as we have seen before. At a glance, and always according to Royal Decree 678/2016, of December 16, approving the quality standard for beer and malt beverages, with nuances of the industry consensus:
Low-alcohol beers (<3% alcohol by volume)
- Light beers
Non-alcoholic beers (<1% alcohol by volume)
- Beers with <0.05%: 0.0
- Beers with >0.04%: no
Manufacturing process: distillation or fermentation
The basis of this difference is in its production process:
- Non-alcoholic beers are usually made by continuous vacuum distillation.
- Light beers, however, are generally obtained through a controlled fermentation process. Other treatments are usually added to this so that the dry weight shows low values in terms of kcal.
Calories and nutrients: the ones without, lighter
As we mentioned some time ago, beer has good nutritional properties (note that this is not the same as being healthy). Among them, it contains a good amount of folic acid, proteins and various minerals and micronutrients. And what about its caloric intake?
- A commercial beer contains about 45 kcal per 100 ml (it is slightly higher in the case of craft beers ).
- A light beer contains between 25 and 30 kcal per 100 ml.
- A non-alcoholic beer contains between 10 and 20 kcal per 100 ml.
Is the caloric content of a sin less than that of a light beer? Yes. This is mainly due to the amount of alcohol in the drink, basically. In fact, beer does not contain any other caloric substances. The main source of its caloric content is found almost exclusively in alcohol, despite the name or marketing that may be attributed to it.