Brewing Low/Non-alcoholic beer

[maltster]

My doctor tells me I may have to give up drinking beer!
But I don't want to give up brewing, so I want to try and make a decent tasting non-alcoholic beer. I'm going to try the "heating in the oven" method after fermentation to boil off the alcohol. Has anyone tried this?
Any suggestions or other ideas for making a n/a beer?

[Tony L]

I would get a second opinion

[mr x]

That's a tough one. I'm not sure you can get non-alcohol beer any better than what you can buy. But you might have better luck with a low alcohol beer....

[derek]

I can get decent beer down to 2.something%, and I remember Keggermeister having a really good low alcohol beer, but I guess the important detail is why does your doctor tell you you have to quit drinking beer? Low alcohol beers can be almost as bad as higher alcohol beers for total calories, and the carbs are just as bad if you're diabetic. otoh, if your liver is hard as a stone, you probably need to quit drinking...

The thought of baking alcohol out of a beer just repulses me. Your end result will taste stewed - just like the stuff you get in cans.

[maltster]

I want to try brewing a low alcohol beer as well. Something in the 2-3% range.
Anyone have a good recipe? Any style will do.

[GAM]

Loved this. maybe more chocolate and or roast and hops.

Style: English Light Mild

Type: All grain
Size: 40 liters

Color: 13 HCU (~9 SRM)

Bitterness: 24 IBU

OG: 1.029
FG: 1.004

Alcohol: 3.2% v/v (2.5% w/w)

Grain: 6kg pale
100g chocolate

Mash: 60% efficiency

Boil: 60 minutes
SG 1.024
48 liters

Hops:
1 oz. Brewers Gold (8.5% AA, 60 min.)
.5 oz. Kent Goldings (5% AA, 30 min.)
.5 oz. Kent Goldings (5% AA, 15 min.)

Sandy

[Jimmy]

I like how we call a beer that has an alcohol content approximately the same as the BMC "lite" beers, non-alcoholic..

[derek]

I like how we call a beer that has an alcohol content approximately the same as the BMC "lite" beers, non-alcoholic..

That wasn't my intent - I'm just doubting the possibility of getting down to what is legally called a "non-alcoholic" beer while retaining decent flavor.

[LiverDance]

Malster I'd be more than happy to help with anything I can on this project. Here are a couple of links to get started on some ideas.

http://www.byo.com/stories/article/indi ... holic-beer" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://hbd.org/brewery/library/NA_KS0597.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Look here: http://www.hefebank-weihenstephan.de/strains.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; at Saccharomycodes ludwigii

[Jimmy]

I like how we call a beer that has an alcohol content approximately the same as the BMC "lite" beers, non-alcoholic..

That wasn't my intent - I'm just doubting the possibility of getting down to what is legally called a "non-alcoholic" beer while retaining decent flavor.

I didn't mean it that way, it was more of a shot at BMC

[maltster]

Thanks for the links LiverDance. Lots of interesting reading there. I think I'll start by experimenting with low-gravity beers.

[maltster]

I'm experimenting with low gravity beers to see how low I can get the alcohol but still make something that tastes good. I'm using the mini-BIAB bag system with a 5l batch size. Not too much wasted if a batch turns out like crap. I brewed my first BIAB batch on Friday. It went fairly well and I can see why it's so popular. It's perfect for small test batches. I was aiming for a OG around 1.025 (5l) but I forgot to change my batch size in Beersmith so I ended up with an OG of 1.043.
The idea was to start with a low OG and aim for a high FG. Mash high 158F, ferment cool 61F and use specialty malts to maximize dextrins and malt flavour. My gain bill was unusual (no base malt);
33% carapils
33% Munich
33% Aromatic
I'm using Nottingham and it's fermenting well at 61F. (I started at 68F until things got going)
I'll dilute it when it's done fermenting since I missed my OG.

Any suggestions for formulating a really low alcohol beer in the 1 - 2% range?

[Graham.C]

I'm experimenting with low gravity beers to see how low I can get the alcohol but still make something that tastes good. I'm using the mini-BIAB bag system with a 5l batch size. Not too much wasted if a batch turns out like crap. I brewed my first BIAB batch on Friday. It went fairly well and I can see why it's so popular. It's perfect for small test batches. I was aiming for a OG around 1.025 (5l) but I forgot to change my batch size in Beersmith so I ended up with an OG of 1.043.
The idea was to start with a low OG and aim for a high FG. Mash high 158F, ferment cool 61F and use specialty malts to maximize dextrins and malt flavour. My gain bill was unusual (no base malt);
33% carapils
33% Munich
33% Aromatic
I'm using Nottingham and it's fermenting well at 61F. (I started at 68F until things got going)
I'll dilute it when it's done fermenting since I missed my OG.

Any suggestions for formulating a really low alcohol beer in the 1 - 2% range?

I don't know for sure but I would be worried about boil off with such a small volume. 1 L is only 5% of your volume for a 5gal batch but for a 5L batch its 20%. That will definitely up your gravity.