No and Low Alcohol
No- and low-alcohol (NoLo) refers to drinks with zero or a significantly reduced alcohol content, designed to offer alternatives to traditional alcoholic beverages like beer, wine, and spirits. “No alcohol” drinks normally contain less than 0.05% alcohol by volume (ABV), while “low alcohol” drinks normally contain between 0.05% and 1.2% ABV.
Vitikit can help producers of low alcohol drinks overcome the sometimes daunting technical challenges with a range of off the shelf and bespoke equipment.
Non fermented beverages – some low alcohol drinks are not fermented at all, but require a range of of mixing, straining and filtering equipment to produce a consistent product. They also generally need a technology to stabilise the product. image of flash pasteuriser
Kombucha- Kombucha is a tea based drinks fermented with a spectrum of microbes which generally float to the surface to from a scoby. To produce kombucha reliably, its important top control the oxygen uptake – which can be done by venturi, by direct dosing or by using a modified fermentation tank wit a wide lid. Its also important to use both heating and chilling jackets on kombucha fermenters because the optimum fermentation temperature is often high. Image of kombucha fermentation tank
Novel yeasts – Yeast strains have been developed which do not metabolise certain common sugars in wort, helping brewers produce lower alc beer. This process needs a brewhouse with a high level of control and accuracy to produce wort with a balanced residual sugar content. Like all low alc beverages, pasteurisation of the product is important. Image of brewhouse
High Temperature Mashing – Mashing at a high temperature leaves a sugar profile more suitable for fermentation with novel yeasts. A high level of control within the brewhouse is important for this to be successfull. A suitable CIP setup is important to avoid cross contamination with conventional yeasts. Image of automation
Arrested fermentation – Its possible to stop an active fermentation early, reducing the abv of the final product. This will leave the finished product at high risk of spoilage due to the abundance of nutrients still present in the product. fast pasteurisation is a must. Image of tunnel pasteuriser
De-alcohoisation – On a larger scale, its possible to remove alcohol from wine, cider, beer or other fermented drinks. This would be through membrane technology or through vacuum distillation. Get in touch with Vitikit for more advice