Despite lockdown bringing Dry January to an abrupt halt for much of the population, UK sales of low and no alcohol beer, spirits, cider and wine continue on an upward trend. Sales are up 31.2%1 and with almost a quarter of 18-to-24-year olds now classed as ‘non-drinkers’2, 2021 is set to see the rise and rise of the NOLO drinks category. But creating a no or low alcohol beer that tastes as good as the real thing is no mean feat.
Brewers in search of the perfect 0% beer often struggle to overcome the common residual sweet and worty characters, the lack of hop aroma and a missing mouthfeel in the absence of alcohol. Totally Natural Solutions, a provider of natural hop oil extracts, can help brewers rise to such challenges with its range of HopZero® natural hop oils that are transforming the NOLO category. They have been specifically developed to deliver a fully soluble, natural hop solution to formulating low and no alcohol products that cannot be achieved using traditional hops.
Totally Natural Solutions are innovators in the hop extract market and are committed to solving these types of brewing issues. The sensorial experience of beer drinking should not be compromised by the reduction or removal of alcohol.
The HopZero® range comprises an initial four hop building blocks to develop the base to be similar to beer with alcohol. Each extract has a unique role including improving mouthfeel and body, masking off notes, introducing dryness, rebalancing ester profiles after de-alcoholisation and restoring fruity notes which would be produced in the fermentation process.
HopZero® Body is a hop fraction that adds light hop floral notes to a low or zero alcohol beer, whilst simultaneously building body and fullness. It also delivers a satisfying rounded mouthfeel to low alcohol beers that are formulated using malt extracts or have been diluted from de-alcoholised bases
HopZero® Clarity is a natural hop aroma product that cuts through the sweet, worty characters of low alcohol beer, providing a subtle, spicy hop aroma and leaving a clean refreshing palate.
HopZero® Dry is a unique hop product that introduces a dry and slightly astringent quality to low or zero alcohol products and crisp dry bitterness when used with natural isomerised extract. Excellent in providing the drying palate of Pilsner style lagers or in Stout.
HopZero® Fruity rebalances the ester profile after de-alcoholisation and boosts ester dominated beer styles. has been developed specifically to restore the fruity notes naturally produced during fermentation and missing from traditional low or zero alcohol products.
As well as providing the required flavour profile and improving the sensory experience for the NOLO beer drinker, there are multiple benefits for brewers who use Totally Natural Solutions’ HopZero® hop oil extracts to improve the intensity and consistency of their beer flavours. The hop oil extracts are sustainably supplied from the UK, and offer a large range of application to lager, IPA and Stout beer styles. Once the base beer is made an existing TNS hop extract, such as HopBurst® or HopShot®, can be introduced to deliver the intensity of dry hop aroma or whirlpool flavours but added to the end beer without loss. They can also help reduce the amount of stock that brewers need to hold and simplify the supply chain, a major advantage given the disruption caused to logistics by Brexit.
Totally Natural Solutions has seen interest in its HopZero® range grow by 50% over the past 12 months and it expects that demand to continue to increase throughout 2021 as the thirst for NOLO drinks grows. In the lockdown period alone several high-profile beers have been launched from initial concept to commercial release, as the development time for new products is reduced.
Managing director at Totally Natural Solutions, Colin Wilson, said:
“Brewing high-quality, tasty no or low alcohol beer is a challenge for even the most gifted brewer. Some of the components of hops don’t necessarily have a big impact on flavours or aromas, but they do help to create a smooth mouthfeel so when they’re added to a NOLO product they balance out the lack of alcohol by adding body. That’s essentially what’s behind our HopZero® range. We’ve dedicated a lot of R&D to understanding the sensory interactions and overcoming the base attributes associated with de-alcoholised beers to deliver the HopZero® extracts. They are a completely natural way to balance the taste of low alcohol beer by adding body, improving the mouthfeel and adding dryness without alcohol.”
The Totally Natural Solutions HopZero® range is available from £40.00 for 100ml.
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