Consumers are increasingly opting for no-and-low alcohol (NOLO) beer, wine, spirits and cocktails to balance enjoyment with their health goals. The trend is driving innovation focused on improving the mouthfeel and balancing sweetness in these drinks, such as International Flavors & Fragrances’ (IFF) enzyme solution that allows brewers to achieve enhanced flavor profiles and the experience of “full-strength beers.”

Such ingredients support the beverage industry and government’s efforts to support NPD and industrial techniques for creating low-alcohol content beverages. The WHO also encourages reducing the alcohol strength in beverages as a strategy to reduce harmful alcohol consumption, especially among minors.

The category is proliferating, especially among European consumers, who are progressively turning to non-alcoholic alternatives. Innova Market Insights’ data suggests that the segment witnessed a net increase of 8% in consumers increasing their intake over the past year. Additionally, there is a 22% rise in those increasing their consumption, while only 14% are decreasing it.

Food Ingredients First sits down with IFF’s Karine Dedman, global marketing manager and Jens Eiken, global product manager for Brewing and Distilling Enzymes, to unlock why consumers are leaning toward NOLO beverages and the challenges formulators face during the “de-alcoholization” process, which also removes the desired aromatic compounds.

Why did IFF choose to focus on low-and no-alcohol specifically?
Dedman: NOLO beers are among the fastest-growing categories in the beer industry. This category is projected to grow by 6.5% in 2024, nearly twice the growth rate of the overall beer category, which is expected to grow by 3.3%. The taste and mouthfeel of NOLO beers have significantly improved since this category first emerged, offering excellent choices for consumers in both retail and increasingly on-trade settings. However, our research indicates that while consumers appreciate the refreshing and light experience NOLO beers provide, they often find them watery and thin in mouthfeel, sometimes too sweet. Additionally, over 50% of consumers who commented on NOLO beers described them as having a worty or bread-like flavor.

What trends are you observing in the segment and what is driving them?
Dedman: Alcohol moderation is driving growth in the NOLO segment for several reasons. Firstly, consumers are seeking the experience without the effects of alcohol. Many enjoy beer for its taste, while others include it in social or relaxing moments, but they do not always want the accompanying effects of alcohol. Additionally, some consumers actively seek to moderate their alcohol intake for health reasons. Another factor is the desire to enjoy beer in no or low-alcohol contexts. No alcohol beers provide an opportunity to extend the great taste and refreshment that beers provide to occasions wher alcohol is less appropriate.

What formulation challenges do NOLO beer manufacturers face?
Eiken: There are two main approaches to producing NOLO beer: breweries produce a regular beer and remove the alcohol, or they prevent the alcohol from forming in the first place. Both methods have their challenges. The development in de-alcoholization technologies have enabled brewers to improve the quality of NOLO beers and to produce NOLO beers at a huge scale. This process can, however, represent an investment in new equipment, which can present a challenge for breweries that are just moving into NOLO production. 

The de-alcoholization process, which reduces alcohol content, also removes some aromatic components. Although breweries can treat the de-alcoholization sidestream to add aromatic components back, it is challenging to return to the full flavor of the reference beer. Limiting alcohol production from the start is often the first method brewers attempt when entering this space, as it does not require new equipment. This is typically done using a yeast that cannot ferment maltose, the main sugar in brewers wort. However, the full flavor and body of beer comes from fermentation, which produces alcohol. Therefore, limiting fermentation will inevitably cap the formation of the lovely beer taste and mouthfeel that consumers have come to love.

How can IFF’s enzyme solution overcome those challenges?
Eiken: Diazyme NOLO is an enzymatic solution that can be combined with existing production methods. It converts some of the sugars that would be fermentable by yeast into non-fermentable oligosaccharides, leading to several benefits. For example, breweries can continue to use their regular yeast, avoiding complex handling and cleaning processes that could lead to cross-contamination and affect productivity. This also helps maintain the taste that consumers recognize in their brands. 

If breweries use a de-alcoholization process to produce NOLO beers, Diazyme NOLO will help enhance taste, mouthfeel, and productivity. In both cases, the enzyme converts some of the fermentable sugars (maltose) into larger non-fermentable isomalto-oligosaccharides. As these are larger molecules, they increase the beer’s mouthfeel, delivering a greater body and improved consumer experience.

Can you explain how the enzyme enhances the taste in NOLO beer? 
Eiken: Limiting fermentation usually results in a worty taste that consumers notice in NOLO beers. Additionally, unfermented sugars, like maltose, glucose and maltotriose, can cause an imbalanced and sweeter taste in these beers. This effect is decreased when using Diazyme NOLO, as the enzyme converts some sugars into non-fermentable oligosaccharides, allowing the residual sugar to be fermented into alcohol. 

In the de-alcoholization process, aromatic compounds are also evaporated. However, when using Diazyme NOLO, less alcohol is formed during fermentation due to the reduced availability of sugars to the yeast (reduced fermentability). This means that less alcohol needs to be evaporated, saving energy and preserving more of the aromatic compounds that are essential for delivering a great-tasting beer.

What are the sustainability benefits of the enzyme?
Eiken: By lowering the alcohol content, Diazyme NOLO reduces the energy required for evaporation in the de-alcoholization process. The higher unfermentable extract achieved with the enzyme allows up to 60% higher throughput if the beer is de-brewed to the same extract specification. Alternatively, brewers can maintain their current production volume while leveraging the enzyme’s efficiency to save up to 37% of grist usage. This benefit supports breweries on their sustainability journey by reducing the grist-associated environmental impacts by up to 37%.

What are your future plans? Are there any upcoming projects you are working on?
Eiken: We are continuously pioneering new processes, solutions and tools in order to support our customers with solutions that reduce their environmental footprint. Recently, IFF has launched the Brewing Sustainability Calculator to simplify sustainable decision-making for brewers. The new online tool reveals how adjustments to raw material inputs can lead to substantial savings in water, energy, CO2 emissions, and land use, to enable brewers to make fact-based decisions on raw material choices.