The mystery surrounding non-alcoholic beer Dec22 '07

With holiday parties in full swing, I've been curious to try non-alcoholic beer, for those "in between" days where I would like the taste of beer, but not the alcohol. The majority of the time I drink beer, I really don't care to get buzzed anyway. I mostly just like the refreshing taste. I can do without the headaches and threats of disease.

If you think about it, it makes a lot of sense, specifically for recovering alcoholics. I'd be curious for reasons why the #1 antidote should not simply be non-alcoholic beer.

Non-alcoholic beer seems like the perfect concoction. All of the good stuff; none of the bad stuff.

However, there seems to be a lot of opinions surrounding it. Here are some immediate questions that come to mind:

Is it true that non-alcoholic beer still contains small traces of alcohol?
How does the flavor of a non-alcoholic beer compare with real beer?

The large market beer manufacturers (Miller, Bud, Coors, etc.) all have at least one non-alcoholic beer in their line of beverages. But I've heard these taste terrible. (As if regular beer doesn't taste terrible to first-time drinkers?)

There are also smaller labels that produce non-alcoholic beer, which seem to get more praise:

St. Pauli Girl
Clausthaler

The extra praise is for the taste. Some say these beers actually taste like real beer.

Other than the taste, if non-alcoholic beers still contain small traces of alcohol, doesn't that defeat the purpose?

Light beers

Does "light" beer only have reduced calories, or also reduced alcohol? I've heard both. I've also heard Guinness has the same amount of alcohol as light beers.

Correlation between alcohol and taste

Does alcohol have a taste? If not, why does the overall flavor of a non-alcoholic beer taste different than a real beer? If they're only removing an "invisible taste," shouldn't the outcome be the same (sans being buzzed)?

Perhaps it's due to the brewing process that occurs for real beer. I'm guessing some important steps are left out for non-alcoholic beer production.

I should try it first

I am forming all of these conclusions from opinions and rumors. I suppose I should try non-alcoholic beer myself, to find out the truth.

Categories: Alcohol , Beer , Lifestyle , Offbeat

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matthom is published and produced by Matt Thommes - an independent publishing enthusiast, mobile blogger, content creator, informative writer, web developer from Chicago. Never one to conform, Matt intends to promote the effect the web has on our lives, in an effort to intensify, instruct, and clarify all that is happening around us.