06/09/2026
Non-alcoholic beer is often seen as a completely separate category of beverages.
In reality, its story begins the same way as regular beer.
The foundation remains the same: water, malt, hops, and yeast. The same brewing processes are used as in traditional beer production.
Malt
Malt forms the foundation of the final product.
It contributes to color, body, and part of the flavor profile.
Many of the bread-like, grainy, caramel, and malt-forward notes people associate with beer come from malt itself, regardless of alcohol content.
Hops
Hops do much more than provide bitterness.
They contribute a significant part of the aroma profile, including citrus, floral, herbal, piney, and fruity notes.
That is why modern non-alcoholic IPAs, lagers, and other styles can retain many of the characteristics of their alcoholic counterparts.
Fermentation
Non-alcoholic beer is not made by simply mixing ingredients together.
In most cases, fermentation still takes place. During this stage, much of the drink’s flavor and aroma profile is developed.
The difference is that the producer either removes the alcohol afterward or uses techniques that limit its formation.
Alcohol
This is one of the final stages that distinguishes non-alcoholic beer from regular beer.
Different technologies are used to reduce alcohol content, and this is where one of the greatest production challenges lies.
Preserving aroma, body, and balance after alcohol removal is far more difficult than it may seem.
What matters
Non-alcoholic beer is not a carbonated soft drink with a beer flavor.
It is the result of a complete brewing process in which one key parameter is adjusted — alcohol content.
That is why modern non-alcoholic beers are increasingly viewed not as a separate category, but as another expression of familiar beer styles.
At FRS, we pay attention not only to the category itself, but also to how successfully a producer preserves the character and style of a product regardless of its alcohol content.
