Do you know the three methods of alcohol detoxification?

Do you still strongly believe that non-alcoholic beer, wine, or gin simply cannot taste as good as the original versions? However, today's innovative technology and in-depth expertise ensure high-quality beverage production, enabling even 0% beverages to provide an outstanding consumer experience.

The origins of non-alcoholic beverages

This concept of non-alcoholic beer is surprisingly old. In medieval Europe, they started making what they called "small beers," which were meant for everyday drinking by the working class. Small beers were a safer substitute for dirty water, with just enough alcohol to kill bacteria. Beer was considered a more nutritious alternative to water and was often part of workers' daily wages.

However, the true origins of non-alcoholic brewing date back to 1919 in the United States. During Prohibition, the production, import, transport, and sale of alcoholic beverages containing more than 0.5% alcohol was banned. Due to the ban, breweries were forced to create a new type of beer that was very pale, less flavorful, and only 0.5% alcohol. This is roughly how the product we now call non-alcoholic beer came into being.

The ban was the real driving force behind the emergence of non-alcoholic alternatives, with the production of the first non-alcoholic wine also dating back to this period.

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Modern non-alcoholic spirits

The creation of non-alcoholic spirits was inspired by modern consumer habits. Interest in non-alcoholic spirits is fueled by growing health consciousness year after year. People are paying more and more attention to their alcohol consumption, which is justified by health considerations and lifestyle choices. In addition, there has been a change in alcohol consumption at the societal level: increasing consideration is being given to those who do not consume alcohol for various reasons, such as pregnancy, medication, or illness.

In recent years, we have seen a rapid development in the range of alcohol-free methods, as no one wants to give up the magical experience of varied drink consumption and cocktail drinking. It is simply that the convincing arguments against alcohol have persuaded many people.

3 methods of dealcoholization

The three most commonly used industrial methods for removing alcohol are vacuum distillation, reverse osmosis, and centrifugation technology, which are mainly used for beers and wines. In all cases, the goal is to preserve the original flavor of the beverage as much as possible while reducing the alcohol content to a minimum.

Vacuum distillation is a gentler version of traditional distillation. Vacuum is used to reduce the pressure, so that the alcohol boils at a much lower temperature (around 30–40 °C) than at normal atmospheric pressure. The lower temperature preserves the flavor and aroma of the beverage, making this method particularly effective for wines and beers, where it is important to retain fruitiness or hop notes.

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During reverse osmosis, the beverage is forced through a semi-permeable membrane under high pressure. This membrane allows smaller molecules, such as water and alcohol, to pass through, but retains larger ones, such as aromatic compounds. The water-alcohol mixture is then separated by distillation, the alcohol is removed, and the water is mixed back into the original flavor concentrate. This is an excellent flavor preservation process, ideal for wines.

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Centrifugal technology is a modern, industrial-scale method that essentially works with the aid of a spinning cone column. The liquid is atomized in thin layers along a rotating column while hot air and/or vacuum are applied. This allows the alcohol and volatile aroma compounds to be gradually "extracted" from the beverage in several steps. It is a precisely controllable process that can even be used for gin.

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+1 Special fermentation: With this method, the aim is not to remove alcohol from an existing beverage, but to prevent significant alcohol content from developing in the first place. During the process, either the intensity of fermentation is limited, or yeast (or bacterial culture) that does not produce ethanol is used. This method is particularly environmentally friendly, as it does not require extra water or heat treatment, nor complex machinery.

How are Abstinence alcohol-free gin products made?

Abstinence distills its fragrant ingredients in small batches using maceration, steam infusion, and hydrolates, without the use of alcohol. With this method of special fermentation, there is no need for separate dealcoholization, as no alcohol is produced during the manufacturing process.