Booze-Free Beer
By: Sarah Chappell
Published: April 27, 2011

There is a new malt beverage on the shelves, but this one is not suited to a game of Edward Fortyhands: alcohol-free beer. While nonalcoholic beers have been around since prohibition, those drinks can legally contain up to 0.5% ABV despite their name. But rising health consciousness coupled with a need for new products have pushed some large brewing companies to produce beers with 0.0% ABV. Japanese brewery Kirin purports to be the first in line with Kirin Free. As the Wall Street Journal reported, the alcohol-free beverage did remarkably well in Japan, and is now coming to California. The drink is different from beer in one important way: it does not undergo fermentation. It took over 200 tries for Kirin to get the recipe right, but sales suggest that they have managed to mimic the beer flavor well. Perhaps inspired by Kirin, Anheuser-Busch InBev has just announced their own 0.0% ABV drink, Hoegaarden 0.0. Based on the original Hoegaarden beer, Hoegaarden 0.0 will initially be sold in Belgium. Some brave Journal reporters in Brussels tasted it and "found the drink akin to a watered-down lemon Fanta." Based on that assessment, we'll be sticking with the real thing or nothing at all. Photo by kirichkov