BrauBeviale 2023: Yeast innovation and hop oils lead beer trends amid non-alcoholic demand boom

06 Dec 2023 --- Non-alcoholic beer solutions, followed by yeast and hop oil innovations, were trending topics at BrauBeviale in Nuremberg, Germany, recently. Exhibitors presented their latest innovations for alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, highlighting the growing importance of flavors in the industry.

Kalsec’s solutions for non-alcoholic beers are slated to help fill in the gaps of production variance or compounds that have been lost through processing to remove alcohol or compounds that haven’t been created during the production of alcohol because of the way the non-alcoholic beer has been made, Dr. Pattie Aron, director for product management hops, tells Food Ingredients First. 

“Our solutions help fill in those gaps, filling in the ester profiles, filling in some bitterness, filling in all kinds of hot compounds that may have been lost or not created,” explains Aron.

“Regionally, the two biggest markets we see expanding are Europe and the US. The US is accelerating growth, and the younger demographics seem to be picking up these non-alcoholic beverages or choosing healthier options.”

Kalsec’s hop oils have been refined through fractionation, enabling flavor addition. Also Chr. Hansen is observing non-alcoholic beer as a rising trend. “We see that this is a trend that is growing approximately 5% every year,” Sofie Saerens, senior commercial development manager at Chr. Hansen tells us at the event.

Another trend lies in low-alcohol beers. Saerens says not only the non-alcoholic sector is rising but also demand for low-alcohol beers.

Hop oil innovation
Aron says Kalsec has a significant portfolio of hop oil products that have been refined through fractionation — and the company sometimes blends them with natural flavor, and other times they are 100% hop-derived. 

“You can add those post-fermentation hop notes to help drive the happiness or the citrus profile. In our newest product, Lupulock — an encapsulated hop oil — it takes those same hot oil fractions and then combines them with a proprietary encapsulation process in maltodextrin.”

“We get a dry powder that you can physically weigh and dose at a very low amount. It is very concentrated, has a great flavor profile, is shelf stable and can be stored at room temperature,” asserts Aron. 

Hop oils can be used in other F&B applications. Generally, they are labeled as hops or hot extracts. Many of our hop oils can be combined with natural flavors, which can also go into F&B applications. 

The one exception would be that in some markets, we cannot add hop or modified hop acids into F&B because of regulatory constraints. But as far as the hot oils are concerned, those can be labeled as hops, hop oils or hop extracts, depending on the market.

Flavors gaining popularity
Aron says the trends Kalsec has been seeing are consistent and include the non-alcoholic beer space, the beer-adjacent space seems to get a lot of attention, flavors, which historically, in the beer industry, were not as accepted as they are today. Angle Yeast presented its dry yeast solutions at its booth at BrauBeviale. 

“But the non-alcoholic beer space has a lot more flavors, and young consumers are accepting flavors that fit well with our portfolio and what we offer,” highlights Aron.

Saerens is also identifying flavor differentiation as a current industry trend. “People are looking for new, exciting flavors. This is also one of the reasons that we came up with our portfolio of yeast strains. Also, for the non-alcoholic beer side, it basically means to have a lot of different flavors and aromas that you can flavor your beer with.”

Yeast innovations
Angel Yeast is one of the biggest dry yeast producers globally. The company presented its A01 American Beer Yeast. The yeast has a clean, natural and crisp flavor. It offers “excellent” fermentation performance and a wide temperature range. 

A01 has good flocculation and clear beer and has consistent performance and reliable results, Ryan Wu, deputy general manager at Angel Yeast, shares with Food Ingredients First at BrauBeviale.

“A01 is typical American ale yeast with a clean, neutral and crisp flavor, producing low fruity esters. This yeast can be widely adapted for many kinds of American beers, highlighting the characteristics and style of malt and hops.”

Meanwhile, BF27 offers natural strains and is GMO-free, the optimal fermentation temperature ranges from 10-15°C, and it can be used for brewing pilsner, American lagers, and other bottom-fermenting beers, shares Wu.

Chr. Hansen’s SmartBev alcoholic beer range (Image credit: Chr. Hansen).When asked what differentiates Angle Yeast’s products from other solutions, Wu says that the main difference lies in comparing liquid yeast and dry yeast. He asserts that the company has sufficient technology to produce dry yeast and to control contamination.

“We can serve yeast and nutrients for wine and spirits like whiskey, rum and gin. So we have a lot of technology and products that allow us to provide solutions for wine, beer and spirits,” says Wu.

Meanwhile, Chr. Hansen newly launched two yeast strains for non-alcoholic beer, called the NEER Poly and the NEER Punch — a sister and a brother of the company’s original NEER yeast — having different flavor profiles. 

“Now we have a portfolio of three yeast strains to produce different types of non-alcoholic beers going all the way from more neutral aroma and flavor up to very fruity aroma,” Sofie Saerens, senior commercial development manager at Chr. Hansen, tells Food Ingredients First. 

Regarding yeast propagation for alcoholic beers, Chr. Hansen has two yeast strains — the SmartBev lager and the SmartBev ale that customers can use for their propagation. “It’s a yeast that comes in a special format, it’s a frozen block, meaning that the yeast is very actively frozen. You thaw that yeast, and then you can immediately add it to your propagation.”

“In this way, you skip the whole part before — going through the laboratory and propagating up to the cosmic flask,” says Saerens.

By Natalie Schwertheim