Process for the production of non-alcoholic fermented malt beverages

Abstract

The invention relates to a process of producing a fermented malt beverage having an ethanol content of less than 1% ABV, said process comprising the following steps: a) preparing an aqueous malt mixture comprising water and malt; b) preparing a mash by mashing the aqueous malt mixture; c) separating the mash into wort and spent grain; d) holding the wort at a temperature of at least 70⁰C for at least 5 minutes to produce a heated wort; e) cooling the heated wort to a temperature of less than 30⁰C to produce a cooled wort; and f) contacting the cooled wort with live yeast at a temperature of less than 7⁰C for at least 8 hours to produce a fermented wort; wherein the temperature of the wort is maintained below 90 ⁰C between steps c) and f); and wherein boiling of the wort is avoided. The invention further relates to a beer having an ethanol content of less than 1% ABV, said beer having a free dimethyl sulphide content of less than 100 µg / L and a total dimethyl sulphide content of at least 10 µg / L, wherein free dimethyl sulphide represents at most 35% of the total dimethyl sulphide content.

Description

[0001] PROCESS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF NON-ALCOHOLIC FERMENTED MALT BEVERAGES

[0002] Technical field of the invention

[0003] The invention provides a process of producing a fermented malt beverage having an ethanol content of less than 1 % ABV, said process comprising the following steps: a) preparing an aqueous malt mixture comprising water and malt; b) preparing a mash by mashing the aqueous malt mixture; c) separating the mash into wort and spent grain; d) holding the wort at a temperature of at least 70°C for at least 5 minutes to produce a heated wort; e) cooling the heated wort to a temperature of less than 30°C to produce a cooled wort; and f) contacting the cooled wort with live yeast at a temperature of less than 7°C for at least 8 hours to produce a fermented wort; wherein the temperature of the wort is maintained below 90 °C between steps c) and f); and wherein boiling of the wort is avoided.

[0004] The process according to the present invention yields a non-alcoholic fermented malt beverage in which so-called ‘worty’ flavour notes are substantially reduced.

[0005] This invention also relates to a beer having an ethanol content of less than 1% ABV, said beer having a free dimethyl sulphide content of less than 100 pg / L and a total dimethyl sulphide content of at least 10 pg / L, wherein free dimethyl sulphide represents at most 35% of the total dimethyl sulphide content.

[0006] Background of the invention

[0007] Fermented malt beverages such as beer and whiskey are produced by a process that typically comprises the following steps:

[0008] • preparing an aqueous malt mixture comprising water and malt;

[0009] • preparing a mash by mashing the aqueous malt mixture;

[0010] • separating the mash into wort and spent grain;

[0011] • boiling the wort;

[0012] • cooling the boiled wort to a temperature of less than 30°C to produce a cooled wort; and

[0013] • fermenting the cooled wort with active yeast. In the conventional production of beer, wort boiling is a critical process step that serves multiple purposes, including:

[0014] • inactivation of enzymes,

[0015] • sterilization,

[0016] • coagulation and precipitation of proteins,

[0017] • concentration of sugars through evaporation,

[0018] • isomerization of a-acids from hops,

[0019] • conversion of S-methylmethionine into dimethyl sulphide,

[0020] • removal of unwanted volatile flavour components

[0021] During wort boiling two main processes can be distinguished: hot holding and evaporation. During hot holding, different chemical reactions take place, such as: hop isomerization, development of aroma and colour substances, inactivation of enzymes and sterilization. On the other hand, evaporation serves to remove undesired aroma substances, especially dimethyl sulphide (DMS).

[0022] DMS is a malt-derived flavour substance with a very low flavour threshold of 40-60 ppb which is produced by thermal decomposition of S-methylmethionine (SMM). DMS formed by wort boiling is rapidly lost by evaporation but SMM will continue to break down during wort cooling and the DMS formed then will persist into beer. To minimize such DMS formation it is typically recommended to use malts with low SMM content and to extend the wort boiling time to decompose the majority of the precursor and drive off the DMS. DMS is highly undesirable as it presents an unpleasant taste and smell in the final beer.

[0023] Alcohol-free beers may be produced by two basic processes. One applies classical brewing processes followed by alcohol removal by techniques such as reverse osmosis, dialysis or evaporation. Another approach aims at reducing the formation of alcohol during fermentation by contacting boiled wort with yeast under conditions that minimise fermentative production of alcohol (commonly referred to as “restricted alcohol fermentation”).

[0024] Cold contact fermentation (or cold contact process) is a form of restricted alcohol fermentation that employs very low fermentation temperatures. Alcohol-free beers that have been produced using cold contact fermentation typically have an off-flavour note that is commonly referred to as ‘worty’. This worty flavour note has been attributed to aldehydes that are present in malt and / or formed during wort boiling, notably methional (3-methylthiopropionaldehyde), 3- methylbutanal, 2-methylbutanal and 2-methylpropanal. Methional is formed by the interaction of a-dicarbonyl compounds (intermediate products in the Maillard reaction) with methionine through the Strecker degradation reaction. Similarly, 3-methylbutanal, 2-methylbutanal and 2- methylpropanal are formed by the interactions of a-dicarbonyl compounds with leucine, isoleucine and valine respectively. Since these aldehydes are formed through the Strecker degradation reaction, they are sometimes referred to as “Strecker aldehydes”.

[0025] Desobgo (The wort boiling techniques and energy requirements: A Review, The 1stInternational Conference on Local Resource Exploitation, Ngaoundere, Cameroon (2021), 939-956) provides a review of different wort boiling technologies and estimates the specific energy requirements of each of the technologies. The article discusses a wort boiling technical that was introduced by Maule and Clark in 1985 in which wort was heated up to 93 °C. It also discusses a vacuum boiling system (300 mbar, 69 °C) that was introduced by the company Kaspar Schulz (Bamberg, Germany).

[0026] EP-A 3 760 700 describes a process for treating a wort composition in a kettle, the process comprising the steps of:

[0027] (a) providing a kettle provided with a gas sparging system;

[0028] (b) adding wort from a mash separating step into said kettle;

[0029] (c) heating said wort to a target temperature between 80 and 96°C;

[0030] (d) maintain an average target temperature between 80 and 96°C for a period of 12-45 minutes, and during which period gas sparging of less than 10 g / hL / hr, preferably no gas sparging, takes place;

[0031] (e) raising the temperature of the wort composition to a target temperature of between 97°C and 99°C;

[0032] (f) sparging a gas through the wort composition at an average rate of 80-350 g / hl / hr while maintaining an average target temperature of between 97°C and 99°C for a period of between 15 minutes and 75 minutes; and during which the wort composition does not reach its boiling point; and

[0033] (g) transferring the treated wort composition to a trub separation step.

[0034] WO 2015 / 067737 concerns a process for treating a wort in a kettle, said method comprising the steps of: a) providing: a kettle provided with a gas sparging system suitable for sparging an inert gas into said wort, b) feeding wort from a lautering step into said boiling kettle, said wort being at a temperature below its boiling temperature; c) while sparging an inert gas through the wort, heating said wort to, and maintaining it at a treatment temperature, Ta, which is below the boiling temperature, Tb, of the wort for a duration, tt, comprised between 15 and 90 min, and no longer than required to evaporate at most 4 wt.% of water initially present in the wort; d) transferring the treated wort to a trub separation step.

[0035] WO 2020 / 055233 describes a process of producing a non-alcoholic fermented beer having an alcohol content of less than 1.0 % ABV, wherein either the fermentation produces a nonalcoholic fermented wort or wherein the fermentation produces an alcoholic fermented wort and alcohol is subsequently removed to produce a non-alcoholic fermented wort or a nonalcoholic beer; and wherein the heated wort, the non-alcoholic fermented wort and / or the nonalcoholic beer is contacted with a hydrophobic silicate-based molecular sieve containing SiC>2 and AI2O3 in a molar ratio of at least 15.

[0036] EP-A 0424 756 describes a process for producing a malt beverage having an alcohol content of less than 0.5% alcohol v / v, the process comprising the steps of:

[0037] (1) providing a wort that has an extract content of at least 14% to 20% by weight including fermentable sugars;

[0038] (2) providing a thick yeast slurry containing at least 10% by weight of yeast solids and the balance beer;

[0039] (3) combining the wort with at least 10-20% v / v of the yeast slurry to provide a cell count of at least about 100,000,000 yeast cells / ml of pitched wort, and fermenting sugars in the wort for 0.5-10 hours at a temperature of 3-7.5°C to a target alcohol content;

[0040] (4) removing the yeast from the fermented brew; and

[0041] (5) finishing the fermented brew by aging, diluting if the target alcohol content is greater than 0.5% v / v and carbonating to provide a carbonated malt beverage having an alcohol content of less than 0.5% v / v.

[0042] GB-A 2 181 450 describes a method of making a wort of low fermentability, comprising inactivating beta-amylase in a malt and reacting alpha-amylase with starch within the malt to produce a wort containing a substantially soluble carbohydrate mixture.

[0043] EP-A 2 575 433 describes a method for preparing a cereal based beverage with low levels of one or more off- flavours and / or precursors thereof, wherein the method involves reduced energy input, the method comprising the steps of:

[0044] • providing a cereal plant or part thereof, wherein said cereal plant comprises: (a) a first mutation that results in a total loss of functional lipoxygenase (LOX)-1 ; and (b) a second mutation resulting in a total loss of functional LOX-2; and (c) a third mutation resulting in a total loss of functional S-adenosylmethionine:methionine S-methyltransferase (MMT);

[0045] • optionally malting at least part of said cereal, thereby obtaining malted cereal;

[0046] • mashing said cereal and / or malted cereal and optionally additional adjuncts, thereby obtaining a wort;

[0047] • heating said wort optionally in the presence of additional ingredient(s), wherein at the most 4% of the wort volume is evaporated, thereby obtained heated wort;

[0048] • processing said heated wort into a beverage; thereby preparing the cereal derived beverage with low levels of one or more off- flavours and / or precursors thereof.

[0049] Montanari et al. (Production of Alcohol-Free Beer, Beer in Health and Disease Prevention (2009), 61-75) is an overview article that discusses methods for the production of alcohol-free beer.

[0050] Summary of the invention

[0051] The inventors have unexpectedly discovered that undesirable worty flavour notes in nonalcoholic fermented malt beverages that have been produced by cold contact fermentation can be reduced substantially by avoiding wort boiling and by holding the wort for at least 5 minutes at a low temperature in the range of 70-90°C prior to fermentation.

[0052] Accordingly, a first aspect of the invention relates to a process of producing a fermented malt beverage having an ethanol content of less than 1% ABV, said process comprising the following steps: a) preparing an aqueous malt mixture comprising water and malt; b) preparing a mash by mashing the aqueous malt mixture; c) separating the mash into wort and spent grain; d) holding the wort at a temperature of at least 70°C for at least 5 minutes to produce a heated wort; e) cooling the heated wort to a temperature of less than 30°C to produce a cooled wort; and f) contacting the cooled wort with live yeast at a temperature of less than 7°C for at least 8 hours to produce a fermented wort; wherein the temperature of the wort is maintained below 90 °C between steps c) and f); and wherein boiling of the wort is avoided. Although the inventors do not wish to be bound by theory, it is believed that although removal of the volatile substances contributing to the worty flavour is limited, as virtually no evaporation occurs during the wort holding step, this drawback is more than compensated for by the reduced formation of these same volatile substances during the wort holding step.

[0053] By avoiding wort boiling, formation of dimethyl sulphide from S-methylmethionine is suppressed. In other words, in the present process only a fraction of the S-methylmethionine in the wort is converted into dimethyl sulphide. Consequently, the beers obtained by the present invention are characterized by an extraordinary high S-methylmethionine content, and a low content of dimethyl sulphide.

[0054] Accordingly, another aspect of the invention relates to a beer having an ethanol content of less than 1 % ABV, said beer having a free dimethyl sulphide content of less than 100 pg / L and a total dimethyl sulphide content of at least 10 pg / L, wherein free dimethyl sulphide represents at most 35% of the total dimethyl sulphide content.

[0055] Detailed description of the invention

[0056] The present invention provides a process of producing a fermented malt beverage having an ethanol content of less than 1% ABV, said process comprising the following steps: a) preparing an aqueous malt mixture comprising water and malt; b) preparing a mash by mashing the aqueous malt mixture; c) separating the mash into wort and spent grain; d) holding the wort at a temperature of at least 70°C for at least 5 minutes to produce a heated wort; e) cooling the heated wort to a temperature of less than 30°C to produce a cooled wort; and f) contacting the cooled wort with live yeast at a temperature of less than 7°C for at least 8 hours to produce a fermented wort; wherein the temperature of the wort is maintained below 90 °C between steps c) and f); and wherein boiling of the wort is avoided.

[0057] The term “alcohol” as used herein refers to ethanol, unless indicated otherwise.

[0058] The term “malt” as used herein refers to malted cereal grain, such as malted barley. The term “100% malt beer” as used herein refers to a beer that has been produced from malt only, i.e. without using any non-malted adjuncts (e.g., non-malted starch sources and / or sugar syrups).

[0059] The term “or” as used herein should be construed as “and / or”, unless specified otherwise.

[0060] The term “a” or “an” as used herein is defined as “at least one” unless specified otherwise.

[0061] The term “iso-alpha acids” as used herein refers to substances selected from the group of isohumulone, isoadhumulone, isocohumulone, pre-isohumulone, post-isohumulone and combinations thereof. The term “iso-alpha acids” encompasses different stereo-isomers (cis- iso-alpha acids and trans-iso-alpha acids). Iso-alpha acids are typically produced in beer from the addition of hops to the boiling wort. They may also be introduced into the beer in the form of pre-isomerised hop extract. Iso-alpha-acids are intensely bitter with an estimated threshold value in water of approximately 6 ppm.

[0062] The term “hydrogenated iso-alpha acids” refers to substances selected from dihydro-iso-alpha acids, tetrahydro-isoalpha acids, hexahydro-iso-alpha acid and combinations thereof.

[0063] The term “hulupones” as used herein refers to substances selected from cohulupone, n- hulupone, adhulupone and combinations thereof. Hulupones are oxidation products of hop beta-acids.

[0064] The free dimethyl sulphide content of a beer equals the concentration of dimethyl sulphide (DMS) that is present in the beer as determined by means of HS-GC / MS using the method that is described by Stafisso et al. (DETERMINATION OF DIMETHYL SULPHIDE IN BREWERY SAMPLES BY HEADSPACE GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY MASS SPECTROMETRY (HS-GC / MS, Italian Journal of Food Science ■ January 2011 , 19-27).

[0065] The total dimethyl sulphide content of a beer equates the concentration of dimethyl sulphide that is present in beer after it has undergone a treatment to quantitatively convert S- methylmethionine (SMM) into DMS, as described in the aforementioned paper by Stafisso et al. Thus, SMM content of a beer in DMS equivalent can be calculated by subtracting the free DMS content from the total DMS content.

[0066] The fermented malt beverage that is produced by the present process preferably is a beer, even more preferably a lager beer. In a preferred embodiment, the present process is used to produce a non-alcoholic fermented malt beverage having an alcohol content of less than 0.5% ABV, more preferably of less than 0.1 % ABV.

[0067] The malt that is applied in the aqueous malt mixture of step a) preferably is selected from malted barley, malted sorghum, malted wheat, malted rye and combinations thereof. Most preferably, the malt employed is malted barley.

[0068] The aqueous malt mixture that is prepared in step a) of the present process, besides water and malt, may contain adjuncts. Preferably, malt represents at least 10 wt.%, more preferably at least 30 wt.%, even more preferably at least 50 wt.% more preferably at least 60 wt.% of the dry matter that is present in the aqueous malt mixture.

[0069] According to another preferred embodiment, malt and unmalted cereal grain together represent at least 70 wt.% more preferably at least 85 wt.% of the dry matter that is present in the aqueous malt mixture. Even more preferably, all dry matter in the aqueous malt mixture is provided by malt and unmalted cereal grain. Most preferably all dry matter in the aqueous malt mixture is provided by malt.

[0070] In the mashing step of the present process, enzymes present in the malt (notably amylases) are allowed to break down starch into fermentable sugars, such as maltose. The mashing step may suitably be carried out as an infusion mashing or a decoction mashing.

[0071] During the preparation of the mash in the present process, the temperature of the aqueous malt mixture preferably is maintained below 95°C, more preferably is maintained below 90°C, even more preferably below 85 °C during the mashing step b).

[0072] The mashing step b) of the present process preferably comprising heating of the aqueous malt mixture to a temperature of at least 60 °C, more preferably to at least 65 °C and most preferably of at least 70 °C.

[0073] The separation of the mash in wort and spent grain may suitably be carried out in a solid-liquid separation device. Examples of such solid-liquid separation devices include lauter tuns, mash / lauter vessels and mash filters. In the present process, the temperature of the wort between steps c) and f) preferably is maintained below 86 °C, more preferably is maintained below 84 °C and most preferably is maintained below 82 °C

[0074] Preferably, the wort is held at a temperature in the range of at least 70 °C for 10-100 minutes, more preferably for 30-90 minutes, even more preferably for 35-85 minutes, and most preferably for 40-80 minutes.

[0075] According to a particularly preferred embodiment, the wort is held at a temperature in the range of 73-85°C for at least 5 minutes, preferably for 10-100 minutes, more preferably for 30- 90 minutes, even more preferably for 35-85 minutes, and most preferably for 40-80 minutes.

[0076] The holding of the wort in step d) is preferably carried out at a pressure of at least 0.8 atm., more preferably at a pressure of 0.85-1.5 atm., most preferably at a pressure of 0.9-1 .2 atm.

[0077] According to a particularly preferred embodiment of the present process, gas is sparged through the wort during at least a part of the time period during which the wort is held at a temperature at least 70°C and less than 90°C.

[0078] Preferably, the gas that is sparged through the wort in the present process is selected from air, nitrogen, carbon dioxide and steam. More preferably the gas is selected from air and nitrogen.

[0079] In one preferred embodiment, the sparging gas is nitrogen. Nitrogen offers the advantage that is inert and that sparging does not give rise to chemical reactions.

[0080] In another preferred embodiment, the sparging gas is air. Although the inventors do not wish to be bound by theory, it is believed that the oxygen that is present in air oxidizes precursors of volatile off-flavour compounds. These volatile off-flavours are subsequently carried off by the sparging gas. Thus, the wort that is obtained after sparging with air has a substantially reduced content of oxidizable flavour precursors compared to a wort that has not been sparged with air, and is less prone to developing off-flavours after the heating of the wort.

[0081] In the present process, gas may be sparged through the wort by introducing the gas near the bottom of a vessel that contains the wort and allowing gas bubbles to travel upwards through the wort. In a preferred embodiment, the gas is sparged through the wort when the wort is held at a temperature in the range of 72-86 °C, more preferably at a temperature in the range of 74-84 °C and most preferably a temperature in the range of 75-82 °C.

[0082] The total amount of gas that is sparged through the wort when it is held at a temperature that is within one of the aforementioned temperature ranges preferably is at least 20 gram per hl of wort, more preferably 50 to 1 ,200 grams per hl of wort, even more preferably 100 to 1 ,000 grams per hl of wort and most preferably 150 to 800 grams per hl of wort.

[0083] In the present process, the gas may be sparged through the wort continuously or intermittently. Preferably, the gas is sparged intermittently. More preferably, the process comprises alternating periods in which the wort is sparged (sparging period) and in which it is not sparged (rest period). Preferably, the process comprises at least 2 sparging periods and at least resting periods. More preferably, the process comprises 3-30 sparging periods and 3-30 resting periods.

[0084] The sparging periods preferably have a duration of 0.5-15 minutes, more preferably of 0.8-12 minutes and most preferably of 1-10 minutes. During the sparging periods the gas is preferably sparged through the wort at a rate that is within the range of 40 to 3,000 g / hl / hr, more preferably within the range of 60 to 2,400 g / hl / hr, even more preferably within the range of 80 to 1800 g / hl / hr and most preferably within the range of 100 to 1400 g / hl / hr.

[0085] The rest periods preferably have a duration of 0.5-15 minutes, more preferably of 0.8-12 minutes and most preferably of 1-10 minutes.

[0086] Preferably, the total period during which gas is sparged through the wort is at least 1 minute, more preferably 5 to 80 minutes, even more preferably 10 to 60 minutes and most preferably 15 to 45 minutes.

[0087] Preferably, the gas is sparged through the wort at a flow rate that is within the range of 20 to 1 ,500 g / hl / hr, more preferably within the range of 30 to 1 ,200 g / hl / hr, even more preferably within the range of 40 to 900 g / hl / hr and most preferably within the range of 50 to 700 g / hl / hr. In case of intermittent sparging, the flow rate equals the average flow rate over the complete period of intermittent sparging. In a preferred embodiment of the present process, the heated wort produced in step d) of the present process is subjected to a trub removal step prior to the contacting with live yeast in step f). Trub removal is preferably carried out in a whirlpool.

[0088] Trub removal is preferably carried out when the heated wort has temperature in the range of 30 to 70 °C, more preferably in the range of 40 to 50 °C.

[0089] According to a particularly preferred embodiment, hot trub is removed from the heated wort prior to step f) and an anionic flocculant is added to the wort prior to the removal of the hot trub. The inventors have found that addition of anionic flocculant to the wort effectively reduces formation of off-flavour notes during wort heating and / or aids the removal of off-flavour generating components together with the hot trub.

[0090] Examples of anionic flocculants that may be used in the present process include tannin, carrageenan, alginate and combinations thereof.

[0091] In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, the anionic flocculant is tannin, more preferably tannic acid. Brewtan® B is an example of a commercially available tannic acid that may be used an anionic flocculant in the present process.

[0092] In accordance with another embodiment of the invention the anionic flocculant is selected from carrageenan, alginate and combinations thereof. More preferably, the anionic flocculant is carrageenan, most preferably kappa-carrageenan. Whirlfloc® is an example of a kappa- carrageenan that may be used an anionic flocculant in the present process.

[0093] According to a particularly preferred embodiment, the present process employs a combination of at least two anionic flocculants, including tannin and carrageenan, more preferably including tannic acid and kappa-carrageenan.

[0094] The total amount of the anionic flocculant that is added to the wort is preferably in the range of 0.5-20 grams per hL of wort, more preferably in the range of 1-15 grams per hL of wort, most preferably in the range of 2-11 grams per hL of wort.

[0095] In the present process, the flocculant is preferably added before or during the heating of the wort in step d). Preferably, the flocculant is added at least 3 minutes, more preferably at least 5 minutes and most preferably at least 8 minutes before the end of the heating step d). According to a particularly preferred embodiment of the present process, a source of hop acids is added to the wort, preferably before the contacting of the cooled wort with live yeast. The source of hop acids is preferably added to the wort in an amount providing 1 to 80 mg / L of hop acids selected from iso-alpha acids, hydrogenated iso-alpha acids, hulupones and combinations thereof. More preferably, the source of hop acids is added to the wort in an amount providing 2 to 40 mg / L of the hop acids, most preferably 3 to 30 mg / L of the hop acids.

[0096] Preferably, the source of hop acids is a source of iso-alpha acids selected from isomerised hop extract, isomerised hop pellets and combinations thereof. Preferably, the source of isoalpha acids is added to the wort in an amount providing 1 to 80 mg / L, more preferably 2 to 40 mg / L and most preferably 3 to 30 mg / L of iso-alpha acids.

[0097] Preferably, the source of hop acids is added to the wort during step d) or during trub removal in a whirlpool.

[0098] In the process according to the invention, the wort is contacted with live yeast. The yeast is preferably selected from Saccharomyces pastorianus, Saccharomyces uvarum, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and combinations thereof, more preferably the yeast is Saccharomyces pastorianus.

[0099] The contacting of the cooled wort with live yeast preferably comprises inoculation of the wort with at least 105cells / mL of yeast, preferably of 3x105-3x107cells / mL of yeast. Typically, the yeast is allowed to form a settled layer on the bottom of the vessel that holds the inoculated cooled wort or it is allowed to form a floating layer below the surface of the wort. Most preferably, the yeast is allowed to form a settled layer on the bottom of the vessel.

[0100] Preferably, the cooled wort is contacted with live yeast at a temperature of -2 to 5°C, preferably of -1 to 4°C.

[0101] According to the present process, the cooled wort is contacted with live yeast at the referred temperatures for at least 4 hours, more preferably 8 to 72 hours, even more preferably 12 to 48 hours.

[0102] Preferably, the contacting of the cooled wort with live yeast yields a fermented wort having an ethanol content of not more than 0.5% ABV, more preferably of not more than 0.1 % ABV. Following the contacting with live yeast, the fermented wort may be subjected to one or more additional process steps such as conditioning, filtering, carbonation and packaging (e.g. bottling or casking).

[0103] The present invention also pertains to fermented malt beverages that are obtainable, preferably fermented malt beverages that are obtained the process of the present invention.

[0104] A further aspect of the invention relates to a beer having an ethanol content of less than 1% ABV, said beer having a free dimethyl sulphide content of less than 100 pg / L and a total dimethyl sulphide content of at least 10 pg / L, wherein free dimethyl sulphide represents at most 35% of the total dimethyl sulphide content.

[0105] Preferably, the beer of the present invention is obtainable, more preferably obtained by the process of preparing a fermented malt beverage that is described above.

[0106] In a preferred embodiment, the beer has an alcohol content of less than 0.5% ABV, preferably of less than 0.1 % ABV.

[0107] The beer of the present invention preferably was produced from malted and / or unmalted cereal grain. Preferably, the beer contains cereal protein selected from barley protein, sorghum protein, wheat protein, rye protein and combinations thereof. Most preferably, the cereal protein is barley protein.

[0108] The non-alcoholic beer of the present invention is preferably obtained by cold contact fermentation. Non-alcoholic beers obtained by cold contact fermentation as opposed to nonalcoholic beers obtained by de-alcoholisation, contain a substantial amount of maltose. Accordingly, the beer of the present invention preferably contains at least 3 g / L, more preferably 5-40 g / L and most preferably 8-25 g / L of maltose.

[0109] The beer of the present invention differs from ordinary beers in that it has been exposed to substantially less heat. The Thiobarbituric Acid Number (TAN) of a beer is indicative for the heat load to which the beer has been exposed. According to a preferred embodiment, the beer according to the invention has a TAN of less than 20, more preferably of 2 to 18, even more preferably of 4 to 16. The TAN of a beer can be determined by the spectrophotometric method that is described in Manual, Analysis Methods for the Brewery Industry, Spectroquant® Prove, Release 07 / 2017, 101-103. The beer of the present invention is characterised in that free dimethyl sulphide represents a relatively low fraction of the total dimethyl sulphide content of the beer. Preferably, free dimethyl sulphide represents at most 30%, more preferably 0.1-25%, even more preferably 0.2-20% and most preferably 0.4-10% of the total dimethyl sulphide content.

[0110] The total dimethyl sulphide content of the beer of the present invention preferably is in the range of 15-300 pg / L, more preferably in the range of 20-200 pg / L, even more preferably in the range of 30-170 pg / L and most preferably in the range of 40-150 pg / L.

[0111] The free dimethyl sulphide content of the beer preferably is in the range of 0.1-40 pg / L, more preferably in the range of 0.2-20 pg / L and most preferably in the range of 0.3-10 pg / L.

[0112] The difference between the total dimethyl sulphide content and the free dimethyl sulphide content is indicative of the S-methylmethionine content of the beer. For the beer according to the present invention, the difference between the total dimethyl sulphide content and the free dimethyl sulphide content preferably is in the range of 16-250 pg / L, more preferably in the range of 25-190 pg / L and most preferably in the range of 30-140 pg / L.

[0113] According to a particularly preferred embodiment, the non-alcoholic beer contains less than 3 pg of free dimethyl sulphide per gram of maltose. More preferably, the non-alcoholic beer contains 0.01-2 pg of free dimethyl sulphide per gram of maltose. Even more preferably, the non-alcoholic beer contains 0.02-1 pg of free dimethyl sulphide per gram of maltose. Most preferably, the non-alcoholic beer contains 0.03-0.5 pg of dimethyl sulphide per gram of maltose.

[0114] The non-alcoholic beer preferably contains at least 0.5 pg of total dimethyl sulphide per gram of maltose. More preferably, the non-alcoholic beer contains 1 -20 pg of total dimethyl sulphide per gram of maltose. Even more preferably, the non-alcoholic beer contains 2-15 pg of total dimethyl sulphide per gram of maltose. Most preferably, the non-alcoholic beer contains 3-12 pg of total dimethyl sulphide per gram of maltose.

[0115] According to a particularly preferred embodiment, the beer of the present invention contains bitterness providing hop acids. The beer preferably contains 1 to 80 mg / L, more preferably 2 to 40 mg / L and most preferably 3 to 30 mg / L of hop acids selected from iso-alpha acids, hydrogenated iso-alpha acids, hulupones and combinations thereof. The beer of the present invention preferably contains 1-80 mg / L, more preferably 2-40 mg / L and most preferably 3-30 mg / L of iso-alpha acids.

[0116] The beer preferably has a free amino nitrogen (FAN) content of 40 to 150 mg / L, more preferably of 50 to 130 mg / L and most preferably of 60 to 100 mg / L. The FAN content of a beer can suitably be determined using EBC method 4.10.

[0117] The non-alcoholic beer of the present invention preferably contains per mg of FAN less than 0.5 pg of free dimethyl sulphide, more preferably 0.003-0.3 pg of free dimethyl sulphide, even more 0.005-0.2 pg of free dimethyl sulphide, and most preferably 0.008-0.1 pg of free dimethyl sulphide.

[0118] The non-alcoholic beer preferably contains per mg of FAN at least 0.2 pg of total dimethyl sulphide, more preferably 0.3-4 pg of total dimethyl sulphide, even more 0.5-3 pg of total dimethyl sulphide, and most preferably 0.6-2 pg of total dimethyl sulphide.

[0119] According to a particularly preferred embodiment, the beer of the present invention is a 100% malt beer.

[0120] The invention is further illustrated by the following non-limiting examples.

[0121] Examples

[0122] Example 1

[0123] Alcohol-free 100% malt lager beers having a specific gravity at 20 °C of 1.018 and an ethanol content of less than 0.03% ABV were prepared by a cold contact fermentation process.

[0124] The mashing step was carried out as follows:

[0125] • ground barley malt and water were combined in a weight ratio of 1 :3

[0126] • pH was adjusted to 5.6 with HCI solution

[0127] • calcium chloride was added to increase calcium content to 40 ppm.

[0128] • mashing in at 56 °C in 15 minutes

[0129] • protein rest at 56 °C for 5 minutes

[0130] • heating to 72 °C in 27 minutes

[0131] • saccharification rest at 72 °C for 20 minutes • heating to 78 °C in 6 minutes

[0132] • mashing off rest at 78 °C for 2 minutes

[0133] The mash was separated into spent grain and wort using a Meura Mash Filter. For both experiments the pH was lowered to 5.7, using HCI, before the wort boiling / heating step.

[0134] In one experiment (Boiled), the wort was boiled at atmospheric pressure for 60 minutes. In another experiment (Non-boiled), the wort was kept at a temperature of 80 °C for 60 minutes.

[0135] The worts so obtained were analyzed to determine the concentrations of free dimethyl sulphide, total dimethyl sulphide and Strecker aldehydes. The results are shown in Table 1.

[0136] Isomerized hop extract (Isomerized Kettle Extract containing 54% iso-alpha acids) was added to each wort (14.8 mg / L) 15 minutes before the end of the heating / boiling period, following which trub was removed in a whirlpool.

[0137] Table 1

[0138] Next, the worts were cooled to 2 °C, followed by adjustment of pH to 4.2 (using lactic acid) and inoculation with 175 g / hL of wet yeast (Saccharomyces pastorianus). The inoculated worts were kept at 1 °C for 42 hours. Next, 30 g / hl of PVPP was dosed, followed by beer membrane filtration. The beers so obtained were standardized at 4.5 Plato and analysed. The results of the analyses are summarized in Table 2.

[0139] Table 2 The alcohol-free beers so obtained were further subjected to a blind evaluation by an expert panel. The panel found that the beer according to the invention had less worty off-flavour notes than the beer that had been produced from boiled wort.

[0140] Example 2

[0141] Alcohol-free beers are prepared in the same way as described in Example 1 , except that this time both worts are kept at a temperature of 80 °C for 60 minutes and that anionic flocculant (6 g / hL of Brewtan® B) is added to one of the two worts 15 minutes before the end of the heating step.

[0142] The beers so obtained are blindly evaluated by an expert panel. The taste of the beer made from the wort to which anionic flocculant has been added is preferred.

[0143] Example 3

[0144] Example 2 is repeated except that this time instead of Brewtan® B, Whirlfloc® G (5 g / hL) is used as anionic flocculant.

[0145] The beers so obtained are blindly evaluated by an expert panel. Again, the taste of the beer made from the wort to which anionic flocculant has been added is preferred.

[0146] Example 4

[0147] Alcohol-free beers are prepared in the same way as described in Example 1 , except that this time both worts are kept at a temperature of 80 °C for 60 minutes and that one of the worts is sparged with air during the heating period at a flow rate of 7.7 liter / hl / minute (596 g / hl / hr).

[0148] The beers so obtained are blindly evaluated by an expert panel. The taste of the beer made from the wort that has been sparged with air is preferred.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A process of producing a fermented malt beverage having an ethanol content of less than 1% ABV, said process comprising the following steps: a) preparing an aqueous malt mixture comprising water and malt; b) preparing a mash by mashing the aqueous malt mixture; c) separating the mash into wort and spent grain; d) holding the wort at a temperature of at least 70°C for at least 5 minutes to produce a heated wort; e) cooling the heated wort to a temperature of less than 30°C to produce a cooled wort; and f) contacting the cooled wort with live yeast at a temperature of less than 7°C for at least 8 hours to produce a fermented wort; wherein the temperature of the wort is maintained below 90 °C between steps c) and f); and wherein boiling of the wort is avoided.

2. Process according to claim 1 , wherein the wort is held at a temperature of at least 70°C for 10-100 minutes.

3. Process according to claim 1 or 2, wherein gas is sparged through the wort during at least a part of the time period during which the wort is held at a temperature at least 70°C and less than 90°C.

4. Process according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein a source of hop acids is added to the wort before the contacting of the cooled wort with live yeast, said hop acids being selected from iso-alpha acids, hydrogenated iso-alpha acids, hulupones and combinations thereof.

5. Process according to claim 4, wherein the source of hop acids is a source of iso-alpha acids selected from isomerised hop extract, isomerised hop pellets and combinations thereof.

6. Process according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein hot trub is removed from the heated wort prior to step f) and an anionic flocculant is added to the wort prior to the removal of the hot trub7. Process according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the cooled wort is contacted with live yeast at a temperature of -3 to 5°C, preferably of -1 to 4°C.

8. Process according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the cooled wort is contacted with live yeast for 8-60 hours, preferably 12-48 hours.

9. Process according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the fermented malt beverage is beer.

10. Process according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the beverage is a 100% malt beverage.

11. A beer having an ethanol content of less than 1 % ABV, said beer having a free dimethyl sulphide content of less than 100 pg / L and a total dimethyl sulphide content of at least 10 pg / L, wherein free dimethyl sulphide represents at most 35% of the total dimethyl sulphide content.

12. Beer according to claim 11 , said beer having a maltose content of at least 3 g / L.

13. Beer according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the beer contains at least 0.5 pg of total dimethyl sulphide per gram of maltose.

14. Beer according to any one of claims 11-13, said beer having a Thiobarbituric Acid Number of less than 20.

15. Beer according to any one of claims 11-14, wherein free dimethyl sulphide represents 1- 35% of the total dimethyl sulphide content.

16. Beer according to any one of claims 11-15, wherein the difference between the total dimethyl sulphide content and the free dimethyl sulphide content preferably is in the range of 15-300 pg / L.

17. Beer according to any one of claims 11-16, wherein the beer is obtainable by a process according to any one of claims 1-10.

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