Quaffers Lean More Toward Nonalcoholic Beer

The head brewmaster for Weihenstephan, the world's oldest brewery, has a secret: He really likes alcohol-free beer. Even though he's quick to say he obviously enjoys real beer more, Tobias Zollo says he savors alcohol-free beer when he's working or eating lunch. It has the same taste but fewer calories than a soft drink, he said, thanks to the brewery's process of evaporating the alcohol. "You can't drink beer every day—unfortunately," he joked. Zollo isn't alone in his appreciation for the sober beverage. Alcohol-free beer has been gaining popularity in recent years as beer consumption shrinks, per the AP. At Weihenstephan, which was founded as a brewery in 1040 by Benedictine monks, nonalcoholic wheat beer and lager now make up 10% of the volume.

The increase over the last few years, since they started making alcohol-free drinks in the 1990s, mirrors the statistics for the rest of Germany's beer industry. Even at Oktoberfest—arguably the world's most famous ode to alcohol—alcohol-free beer is on the menu. All but two of the 18 large tents at the festival offer the drink through the celebration's 16 days. The sober beverage will cost drinkers the same as an alcoholic beer—between about $15 and $17 for a 33-ounce mug—but save them from a hangover.

This year marked the first time an alcohol-free beer garden opened in Munich. "Die Null," which means "the zero" in German, served nonalcoholic beer, mocktails, and other alcohol-free drinks near the city's main train station this summer but was scheduled to close a few day before Oktoberfest opened. Walter Koenig, managing director of the Society of Hop Research north of Munich, says researchers have to breed special hops varieties for alcohol-free beer. If brewers use the typical hops for alcohol-free beer, the distinct aroma gets lost when the alcohol is reduced during the brewing process. But customers don't care about that, Koenig says. "They only want to know that what they are tasting is as good as traditional beers with alcohol," he notes.

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