A Non-alcoholic Surprise
The non-alcoholic beer that Frank Trosset, the head brewer and founder at Aslan Brewing Co. (Bellingham, Washington), makes regularly for his father started off as a mistake.
On a brew day a few years back, he had an overflow from his hot liquor tank, and in an attempt to save the water, he transferred it to his mash tun for overnight storage, figuring he’d just heat it the next day. His flow meter wasn’t accurate, so when he mashed in for his brown ale, he realized way too late that there was too much water in the mash tun. Because it was now a thinner mash, “like soup thin,” the temperature in the mash tun rose to 163°F (73°C) or thereabouts.
“I was freaking out because there was so much money wasted, so I could either dump it or go with it. I didn’t think I’d get any significant enzymatic activity, but I was ready to chalk it up as a learning experience.”
After fermentation he says the beer was dry, tasting good and clocking in at about 1.5 percent ABV. He has since refined the process, but still makes the non-alcoholic brown ale—don’s Non-alcoholic, named after his father. It’s brewed with American 2-row, black, chocolate, and Crystal 210 malts.
What started out as accidental, Trosset now does intentionally. After a few days of fermenting, and a week of conditioning he filters the beer into the kettle and holds it there overnight at 180°F (82°C), just slightly above the evaporation temperature for alcohol (173°F/78°C). In the morning, he runs the beer back through the heat exchanger and, rather than sending it back into fermentation, he sends it to the bright tank where it’s carbonated and served. Trosset makes the beer every 14–16 months. The brewery moves about three or four pints per day, “not a barn burner” saleswise, he admits, “but it’s popular in the sense that a non-alcoholic beer can be popular. When people who are interested in such a beer find out that we have one, they usually stop by to try it.”
On the homebrewing front, Trosset says that the same result could likely be achieved with a thinner mash and mashing at temperatures that are well beyond the normal conventions.
“It’s a tricky process because it’s basically mashing in at near-boiling temperatures, and you have to do it fast,” he says. “Mash in too slow, and if it’s not hot enough, your get some beta amylase activity, and it’ll all just take longer.”
When you’re done with fermentation, it’s important to filter as much of the yeast out as possible before returning the beer to the kettle “because you don’t want the terrible flavors that come with boiling yeast.”
“When you’re done, you can drink something that tastes like beer but doesn’t have the effects that come with the alcohol.” —John Holl