Alcohol-free 101
How alcohol is removed from beer
How is non-alcoholic beer made?
Short answer
Non-alcoholic beer is made from the same four ingredients as regular beer: malt, hops, water and yeast. Brewers then either take the alcohol out after fermentation or keep most of it from forming in the first place.
Taking the alcohol out
Dealcoholization starts with a fully fermented beer. Alcohol boils at a lower temperature than water, so heating the beer (steam distillation) drives the alcohol off. Heat can also change or strip flavor.
Vacuum distillation works the same way under low pressure, so the beer doesn't have to get as hot. Brewers can separate out aromas first and add them back once the alcohol is gone, though some volatile flavors, such as the fruity esters yeast makes, can still be lost.
Reverse osmosis pushes the beer through a fine membrane under high pressure. Water and alcohol pass through, the larger flavor molecules stay behind, and water is added back without the alcohol. Membranes use pressure instead of heat, but systems big enough for a brewery cost a lot, which puts them out of reach for many small breweries.
Keeping alcohol from forming
Yeast makes alcohol from sugar, so less fermentation means less alcohol. Brewers can stop fermentation early, or use special yeasts that can't ferment maltose or maltotriose, two of the sugars from malt, so they turn very little of the sugar into alcohol. Lallemand, which sells one such yeast, says beer brewed with it must be pasteurized so it doesn't keep fermenting after it's packaged.
Other ways
Some brewers make a more concentrated beer, remove the alcohol and then add water. Some skip fermentation entirely and build the beer's flavor through the recipe instead.
Why there can still be a trace
In the United States, a malt beverage labeled "non-alcoholic" must contain less than 0.5% alcohol by volume, and one labeled "alcohol free" must contain none. So a dealcoholized or lightly fermented beer can keep a trace of alcohol and still be sold as non-alcoholic.
Labeling and legal details here apply to the United States (federal rules).
Sources
- How Is Alcohol Free Beer Made? 4 Methods Explained, Beavertown Brewery
- Guide to Making Non-Alcoholic Beer Through Fermentation, Escarpment Labs (brewing yeast supplier)
- LalBrew LoNa, Lallemand Brewing
- Malt Beverage Labeling: Alcohol Content, Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB)
Checked against its sources on October 11, 2026. We recheck every explainer at least every six months. This isn’t health advice: for questions about pregnancy, medication or your health, ask your own clinician.