On Wednesday 14th December, Wiper and True launch our first alcohol-free offering: a 0.5% lager called Tomorrow, brewed in the German Helles style. This is a beer that we’ve been building up to for years, and in this blog we’d like to tell you a little bit more about the technique used to brew Tomorrow, and why we think that de-alcoholising ultimately creates the truest and best expression of an alcohol-free lager.
There are various ways to make low and no-alcohol beers. Typically, these methods include diluting down a higher percentage beer using water, or using a yeast that can only digest certain sugars, therefore producing little to no alcohol content. It’s a matter of personal taste, but during our own research panels and blind taste tests, we’ve typically found that alcohol-free beers brewed using these two approaches scored lower. After all, some of the nuance in a beer is likely to be lost when it is quite literally watered down, or brewed without the quality ingredients that would be carefully selected for an alcoholic recipe.
The De-Alcoholiser: The Truest Expression of a Lager
And so, over the years, whenever conversation turned to how Wiper and True would approach making an alcohol-free lager, there was only ever one option that lined up with our strict quality control procedures and vision for our beers: the fantastically named ‘de-alcoholiser’ machine. Brewing alcohol-free lager with this bit of kit means that can confidently create the truest expression of a proper, full-flavoured lager - without compromise on technique or ingredients. We design and brew using the high quality ingredients you’d expect from a Wiper and True beer, allowing the yeast to ferment the sugars from the malt as normal. In this case, Pilsner malts grown in Germany create a soft, bready backbone and a bright golden appearance. Traditional German Hallertauer Tradition and Spelter hops add a grassy, slightly herbal snap, combining with the malt to create a balanced, well-rounded beer. Crucially to a great lager, we allow the beer to develop complex and full flavours through an extra-long, extra-cold lagering - or maturation - period.
All of the Flavour, 0.5% of the Alcohol
At this point we have created a premium, traditional German-style Helles, at 5.0% ABV; a beer we’d be thrilled to serve to our customers and a really true expression of the style. The beer is then gently processed through a 60-hour long period of dealcoholisation, which involves using reverse osmosis to slowly remove the alcohol. The beer is pushed at high pressure through a very fine membrane; a sympathetic process which preserves the full spectrum of a traditional lager’s carefully produced flavour profile while removing almost all alcohol - only 0.5% ABV remains. Creating an alcohol-free beer in this way also allows us to maintain consistency between batches, hitting our stringent quality control measures time and time again. Wiper and True are the first brewery of our size in the UK to be using this innovative, market-leading technology, and we’re thrilled at the quality of beer it enables us to produce.
To finally be in a position to produce the alcohol-free lager that we’ve always dreamt of brewing feels like a brilliant step forward for us. Our alcohol-free lager is available in can and on draught, so you can enjoy Tomorrow wherever you like. Order cans online now, or visit one of our two Bristol taprooms to sample a freshly poured, perfectly served pint, available from this week onwards. From next week, Tomorrow will be available in venues and shops across Bristol and beyond.
