Mad Professor 0.0% Beer ideas needed

[Thodd]

Howdy -

I'm in need of some ideas...

In a couple of weeks I have a friend coming to visit who is T-Total due to medical reasons. Absolutely zero alcohol allowed.

I thought I would lend my homebrew skills to try and make something "beer like" for him but have run into all sorts of issues such as:

- Boiling after fermentation won't remove all the alcohol, it leaves some behind and I simply can't have that no matter what small amount there is (even 0.5% is too much)

- I don't have access to force carbonate - and priming anything with sugar and yeast will create alcohol.

I thought about giving up and instead of creating beer, just creating some kind of Hop Soda.... but then I had a brain wave.

What if I bought some of the 0.0% alcohol free beer available at the supermarket - and then improve it by adding flavour to it directly in the glass after it was poured.

Using a strong Aroma Hop like Cascade, Citra etc... what if I simply dropped a 20g hop pellet tea bag into the beer in the glass for a couple of mins.
Alternatively I could create a Hop Tea before hand and add a bit of that to the beer in the glass instead.
or - use one of the Hop Essence oils you could buy?

I'm really clutching at straws here trying to think of something..... anyone with any ideas? No matter how crazy.... get your Mad Professor hats on.!

 

[MickDundee]

I think even the 0% beers you get in the shops have a small amount of alcohol in them.

 

[simon12]

No idea what it would be like but brew a strong beer and don't ferment it then mix it with dry hopped sparkling water when serving.

 

[Thodd]

I've got hold of something called Bavaria 0.0% which they claim is a zero Alcohol beer.

http://bavaria1719.co.uk/beers.php

"Bavaria 0.0% was the first zero alcohol beer in the world. And because of the unique way it is brewed, unlike other non-alcohol beers, no alcohol is ever removed. Why? Because there is 0.0% alcohol created in the brewing process, and 0.0% alcohol in the bottle."

I'm going to add a Hop Tea to one of these to see if it makes it actually taste nice.

 

[GermLish]

If I find one I give it to a friend, he hates the taste of alcohol.

However here a link http://www.alcoholfree.co.uk/what-meant-alcoholfree-a-5.html

Alcohol-free: Contains 0.05% alcohol or less
De-alcoholised: Contains 0.5% alcohol or less
Low-alcohol: contains more than 0.5% but no more than 1.2%

 

[Dutto]

Okay, here goes.

The joy of a decent beer is the taste of malt with the accompanying aroma and bitterness of hops. It must not be "flat" and it also helps if it has a decent head on it; but the head isn't essential.

The large tins of malt extract we buy from Homebrew shops is strongly flavoured and (as far as my palate is concerned) inedible either on its own or spread on a slice of toast; so here's my idea.

To make 2.5 litres you will need:

o A jar of this type of Malt Extract ...

http://www.hollandandbarrett.com/shop/product/holland-barrett-malt-extract-60004303

o Some hops. (Leaves rather than pellets.)

o A 2 litre bottle of Sparkling Spring Water. (Chilled in the fridge.)

The Holland & Barrett type of malt extract has plenty of "malt taste" but without the bitterness that is found in the stuff we use for brewing. (I spread it on toast and have even eaten it by the spoonful on occasion. DON'T get the version with added cod liver oil.)

To make the brew:

Preparation

Make a fairly weak "hop tea" using boiling water in a coffee cafeteria like this one ...
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/9122161.htm

Pour the resulting "hop tea" into a jug, mix in an appropriate amount of Malt Extract and put it in the fridge to cool.

Serving

Pour about half of the Sparkling Spring Water into a large jug.

Stir in a sufficient amount of the Hop Tea/Malt Extract liquid to give the required colour and taste.

Pour into a pint glass and serve before the bubbles dissipate.

Comments

1. I have NEVER made this brew but it should work.

2. Be aware that when the Hop Tea/Malt Extract liquid is mixed with the spring water it may cause a violent release of CO2.

3. I very much recommend that you try it out before serving it as the recipe may require "tweaking" ... :whistle: :whistle:

... all the way to pouring it down the sink!

Hope this helps. :thumb: :thumb:

 

[Thodd]

cheers everyone - some good ideas there.
I think half the battle is the fact that alcohol provides so much mouth feel in a beer that its absence is a pretty large hurdle to overcome.

I'm gonna try the malt extract from holland and barratt with a hop tea and sparkling water - and just adding some hop tea directly to the Bavaria Non-Alcoholic drink and I'll report my findings.

I'm pretty sure we all know the outcome already :-?

 

[Alexislife]

Could you not dry hop a bottle or two the night before?

I've done this with shop bought lager to get used to a hops profile before and it worked well. Just uncap, add hop, recap, chill then serve by pouring through a tea strainer.

 

[Thodd]

Cheers for all these ideas Guys they've been really useful.
This is what I ended up doing.

1. Bought Holland and Barratt Malt Extract and brewed up a strong LME in 1 litre of water - I added 40g Target Hop pellets to bitter it (very strong) and boiled for 30 mins. After the boil I ended up with 500ml which I've bottled and capped.

2. Made a very strong Hop Tea - added 700ml of boiling water to a jug with a spoonful of Malt Extract and soaked 40g of Crystal Leaf Hops for 30 mins. Strained and bottled and capped.

3. I also opened 3 bottles of the Bavaria 0.0% Alcohol-free, stuffed one with LOADS of Crystal Leaves - stuffed one with less Crystal Leaves - and stuffed one with Fuggle pellets - I then recapped the 3 bottles. (of all the methods I think this might work)

Finally I have 1 litre of Sparkling Spring water and 6 spare bottles of the Alcohol Free Bavaria stuff.

The plan is to use the Malt Brew, and Hop Tea, almost like flavourings - one for bitter one for hop aroma/flavour. And add little bits of them to a glass of the Bavaria stuff to see if they improve it.
If that fails I'll use them a bit like cordial and add them to an empty glass and add the sparkling water to dilute them.

I'm pretty sure that all this will taste utter dreadful - but it'll be fun and keep my T-Total friend occupied creating mad drinks while I enjoy a real brew.

 

[Personal91]

I think even the 0% beers you get in the shops have a small amount of alcohol in them.

i was just about to say this :/

there was the case where a man when to a bar and was only drinking '0%' beer and he was breathalsied by police as he drove home and was over the limit

 

[Personal91]

Cheers for all these ideas Guys they've been really useful.
This is what I ended up doing.

1. Bought Holland and Barratt Malt Extract and brewed up a strong LME in 1 litre of water - I added 40g Target Hop pellets to bitter it (very strong) and boiled for 30 mins. After the boil I ended up with 500ml which I've bottled and capped.

2. Made a very strong Hop Tea - added 700ml of boiling water to a jug with a spoonful of Malt Extract and soaked 40g of Crystal Leaf Hops for 30 mins. Strained and bottled and capped.

3. I also opened 3 bottles of the Bavaria 0.0% Alcohol-free, stuffed one with LOADS of Crystal Leaves - stuffed one with less Crystal Leaves - and stuffed one with Fuggle pellets - I then recapped the 3 bottles. (of all the methods I think this might work)

Finally I have 1 litre of Sparkling Spring water and 6 spare bottles of the Alcohol Free Bavaria stuff.

The plan is to use the Malt Brew, and Hop Tea, almost like flavourings - one for bitter one for hop aroma/flavour. And add little bits of them to a glass of the Bavaria stuff to see if they improve it.
If that fails I'll use them a bit like cordial and add them to an empty glass and add the sparkling water to dilute them.

I'm pretty sure that all this will taste utter dreadful - but it'll be fun and keep my T-Total friend occupied creating mad drinks while I enjoy a real brew.

Have you tried mighty malt or super malt ? both have a strong malt taste , try both types ( its better from a glass bottle) and then try it with a little carbonated water to give the bubbles sensation :)

 

[Thodd]

I've never heard of Mighty/Super malt - a quick google says they are in the World Food section of most supermarkets!
I'll check them out! Cheers :thumb:

 

[Personal91]

I've never heard of Mighty/Super malt - a quick google says they are in the World Food section of most supermarkets!
I'll check them out! Cheers :thumb:

depending on what part of the country your in they should be at your local corner shop etc

as said before, please try the glass bottled versions as they are superior - just think about when you try coca-cola in a can and then when you have it from a glass bottle - miles diffrence in taste and feel in the mouth :thumb: