Development of non-alcohol beer-taste beverages
Overcoming the obstacles to creating tasty new non-alcohol beer-taste beverage
Asahi Dry Zero is a non-alcohol beer-taste beverage developed by Asahi that achieves the trifecta of zero alcohol, zero sugar and zero calories.* Its dry taste and creamy head give it the satisfying drinkability of a true beer. Asahi is working on developing technology for producing non-alcohol beer-taste beverages as satisfying as their alcoholic counterparts, and using new methods to improve their flavor.
*Under Japan’s nutrition labeling standards, ‘zero calories’ means energy below 5 kilocalories (per 100 milliliters), and ‘zero sugar’ means sugar below 0.5 grams (per 100 milliliters).
Using a wort-free complete formulation method to recreate the taste of beer
The characteristic taste of beer comes from a complex array of elements. The flavor and aroma produced by yeast fermentation are key among these elements. Since adding yeast to wort usually produces alcohol, unfermented wort must be used to achieve an alcohol content of 0.00%. But using unfermented wort alone would not create the aroma produced by yeast fermentation, making it impossible to achieve a taste that comes as close as possible to true beer. When developing Asahi Dry Zero, Asahi overcame this obstacle by creating a production method that recreates the taste of beer using completely wort-free methods of blending flavors and components.
Inverting ideas to achieve beer-like characteristics
This new production method enables unrestricted flavor production by eliminating the need to control the wort-derived off-flavors or heavy aromas. Asahi examined various components to isolate the elements that make up the characteristic taste of beer, and found an aromatic component reminiscent of beer called 3-methyl-2-butene-1-thiol (MBT). While MBT creates an off odor that is usually avoided, Asahi discovered that a small amount of it can be added to simulate beer’s characteristic fermented aroma and harmonized flavors. This technology has been patented* and has been useful in creating the flavors of several products.
*Patent Nos. 5433114 and 5717830