We see it everywhere these days. Beer shops, breweries and even in the supermarket you will find the Beer Advent Calendar. OnderNulPuntVijf is selling an Alcohol-Free Beer Advent Calendar this year, so we went in search of where the phenomenon actually comes from. It will come as no surprise that the Advent calendar refers to the season of Advent. These are the 4 Sundays before Christmas in Christianity. The season of Advent can therefore start on November 27, but also on December 3. Especially in Germany and Austria, but also in Scandinavian countries, you still regularly see Advent wreaths. That is a wreath with 4 large candles (and sometimes 24 small candles in between). In the period before Christmas, a candle is lit every week (or every day). The advent of the Advent calendar has a very practical reason. In the period before Christmas, many children regularly asked their parents when it would be Christmas time. And adults also looked forward to Christmas. Combining the tradition of the Advent period with this way of counting down, calendars were created over 100 years ago. Chocolates were often hidden behind 24 shutters for the children to keep them sweet for a while. More recently, several variants have appeared. In 2005, the first "December Calendar" scratch card appeared. This one has 31 squares instead of 24 but has the same principle. And nowadays you can not think of it that there is an advent calendar. Socks, perfume, sex toys and of course beer. There are also countless digital advent calendars. A number of companies are counting down to Christmas in this way. Look here for an overview of all beer Advent calendars that are now available. We came across the first Beer Advent Calendar ourselves in 2012 in Germany. Since 2010, the Austrian beer shop Kalea has been making a Beer Advent Calendar. And they still sell them in different varieties. If you have come across a Beer Advent Calendar from before that time, we will adapt this paragraph with love. Of course you can also make your own Advent calendar (with or without beer). To do this, buy 24 items and package and number them. Very nice to give to someone else who then also makes a calendar for you. An (empty) beer crate is suitable for this. There are also empty beer-advent boxes for sale that you can fill yourself. We also come across these online. It is even more fun to design an Advent box yourself and design it to your house style and personal branding. Last year OnderNulPuntVijf released the first Alcohol-free Beer Advent Calendar. Because a customer brought us to this thought (thanks Kim) we were able to make some of you happy with this. It was a bit of cutting and pasting back then. This year OnderNulPuntVijf will present its first real branded advent calendar. Some of the beers in the calendar consist of our toppers from the shop. And some of the beers you can only get your hands on this way. If you bought it, it will come to you at the end of November and it will undoubtedly be a party.

When I walk past a shop where they sell craft beers, I often can't resist: I have to take something with me. This will be recognizable for many beer lovers. Once they arrive home, they don't always go straight into the fridge, but find their place next to the other beers I plan to drink. But how do you store beer the best way and what should you pay attention to? In this article we give five tips for the best storage of your beer. Let's start by saying that there is a difference in beer type when it comes to storage. An IPA is best when it is fresh, where you can keep a dark beer longer and that often benefits the taste. Non-alcoholic beer has a shorter shelf life than beer with alcohol, so it's even more important that you store it properly. Besides the fact that the taste can change, cans can also expand and in some cases even start leaking at too high a temperature. That's a shame, but it's also messy. 1. Keep the beer at the constant temperature If you don't want to put your beer in the fridge right away, choose a place where there is a constant temperature of about 10-15 degrees. A kitchen cupboard seems obvious, but this is not the best place. Because appliances in the kitchen can get hot and because cooking is natural, the temperature changes here too often. Opt for a pantry or even more original: the crawl space of your house. Some people also keep their beer outside. This is not recommended because the weather is not really the most stable right now and the cap can rust. 2. Do not expose the beer too much to sunlight This goes without saying: always keep beer in a dark place. UV radiation will start a chemical process that ensures that your beer no longer smells (and tastes) so good. 3. Make sure it's not too humid If you store beer in a humid place, you will first see this on the label. Secondly, it can also affect your cap or can, causing mold and the beer to be no longer airtight. This way the beer can get infected and you obviously don't want that. 4. You put bottles with a crown cap upright To prevent the beer from coming into contact with the metal of the crown cap, it is best to store beer in bottles upright. Any sediment then also sinks to the bottom, where it belongs. This makes less difference for cans, but if possible put them upright. 5. Don't forget your beer! Last but not least: don't forget to drink your beer. An extensive collection is nice, but don't forget that beer is a natural product and that the taste changes. We recommend that you always keep a few tasty beers in the fridge so that there is always something cold and you can enjoy it right away.

After 3 months of practical experience Dry January, Sober October, Tournée Minérale, 40 days of fasting... there are plenty of initiatives that encourage you to temporarily abstain from alcohol. And of course we wholeheartedly support these initiatives. And of course we participate in it ourselves. I myself have not been drinking alcohol for more than 10 years in the period from Carnival to Easter. This was also the reason to start with OnderNulPuntVijf. During that period I enjoy our own non-alcoholic beer offer. This year I decided to use the "doubler" during my alcohol-free period. Instead of the more than 40 days that I normally do not drink, I decided not to consume C2H5OH (the chemical formula of alcohol) for 3 months. Or at least not above zero point five percent . Below you can read my experiences and I have some tips for you. Difficult At times I struggled with my decision. The seven weeks that is an annual non-drinking period normally fly by. It is no longer a problem for me not to drink during that period. So doubling that period didn't really seem like a problem to me. The big difference for me, however, was that I didn't see the end of the period well and that I found difficult. Not to drink a nice tripel or stout ("with" of course). on Fridays and Saturdays was sometimes hard. Additional challenges were that my birthday was during this period and we went on a short vacation during this period. There you are in the Jopen church in Haarlem with all that goodies and you can only limit yourself to a Jopen Non IPA Ginger (not a punishment by the way). Positive But what a wonderful time it is. I think the benefits are well known, but now I can enjoy them again: I sleep much better, I feel fitter and my daughter told me that my skin was a lot nicer. Problems become challenges all at once (and not just because it sounds more positive). And you get into action mode faster. And then of course the hangovers that you don't have and your liver that doesn't have to work overtime. And now? After the abstinence period, you are more aware when you drink a beer or a glass of wine "with". And I naturally do that more in moderation. A Friday afternoon drink is also nice with an alcohol-free beer and I have now “learned” again that it can also be done without alcohol. Tips As I write, it has occasionally been difficult not to drink. The most important tip I have if you also want to stop drinking (for a period of time) is that you really have to agree with yourself. You can have countless reasons to quit, but if you're not 100% behind it, you won't succeed. I also advise you to build up the duration of your alcohol-free period. Don't drink for a week and then a month. The fasting period of more than 40 days is a nice challenge after that. And who knows, you'll do like me and extend it to 3 months or even a year or more. The third tip I can give you is to keep it for a longer period of time not to drink is to read a lot about it and look up a lot of information about it. The book by Clare Pooley ("The Sober Diaries"), the Instagram account of Simon Chapple (@besoberandquit) and the podcast by Kate & Mandy (Love Sober Podcast) are three recommendations that I can give you. And as a final tip, I will of course say that you can continue to drink delicious alcohol-free beer during your abstinence. Check our shop for lots of goodies and then you will notice that quitting alcohol does not mean that you no longer have to enjoy yourself.

Vegan products are becoming increasingly popular in the Netherlands. We are often asked whether our beer is vegan. In this article we take you into the world of beer and explain which beers are and are not vegan. What do we mean by vegan? Vegan means: the product does not contain any animal raw materials, but no animal products are used during the preparation either. For example, a vegan does not eat animal products such as milk and cheese, but he also does not wear leather. But beer is a natural product, right? Beer is made from grain, water, hops and yeast. Those are products that are vegan. Sometimes, however, some things are added to the beer that makes it no longer vegan. Think of honey to sweeten the beer or lactose. Lactose is sometimes added to make the beer creamier and you see this more often with stouts. In these cases, the beer is no longer vegan, because it contains animal products. There is another reason why not all beer is vegan, and it has to do with the filtering. During fermentation, 'bits' often appear in the beer. They also call it sediment. It is not pleasant to have too much sediment in your beer, which is why the beer is filtered. These filters are often made from animal products because it is cheap and works well and quickly. If so, then the beer is no longer vegan. How can I know if the beer I buy is vegan? If brewers brew (and/or filter) vegan, they usually state this on the label. So do you see nothing on the label and are you vegan? Then it is advisable to check with the brewer whether they brew vegan. At OnderNulPuntVijf we have a separate page for all beers that are vegan. Below we describe a few breweries that brew vegan. BRULO: Formerly called Coast Beer Co. is an alcohol-free only brewer that makes beautiful vegan craft beers. Taste, quality and creativity are central. They have only been around since 2019 and have already released more than 10 beers. The eye in the design of the logo and the cans was chosen because of the sober and alert character of the beer. They are based in Edinburgh, Scotland . Freedl: When German expertise, Italian lifestyle and ingredients from the Alps meet, you know it's good. These two beers in. the flavors Classic and Calma are a chic and tasty vegan alternative to beer. Lowlander: This Dutch brewery mainly brews with botanical ingredients: flowers, plants, herbs. Besides that, they also give something back to nature to fight climate change. You can see more about this in this video.

We are getting more and more demand for gluten free beer. Not only from people who are allergic to gluten, but also from customers who are more conscious of what they (don't) eat and drink. Time for us to delve into the world of gluten and gluten-free beers. What exactly is gluten? The Nutrition Center has the answer to that question: "Gluten is a mixture of proteins that occurs naturally in certain grains, such as wheat." More specifically, they are the proteins gliadins and glutenins. These serve as reserve food for the plants and are water-soluble. Gluten is found in wheat, spelt, rye and barley. Gluten is therefore found in bread, pizza and pastries. But it's also found in pasta, soups, sauces, sweets, ice cream and... beer. How can it bother you? There are people who are allergic to gluten. They then lead to celiac disease and should actually not eat or drink gluten. There are also people who do not have celiac disease but are still sensitive to gluten. Why is it in (non-alcoholic) beer? Most beers are made from barley or wheat, which automatically means there is gluten in the beer. There is no difference between beer with or without alcohol. How is gluten-free (alcohol-free) beer made? This is possible by using oats or the ancient grain teff instead of the normal grain when brewing beer. It originally contains no gluten. But more commonly, the gluten is removed from a normally brewed beer. The beer is then "deglutanized". The product then contains less than 20 ppm gluten (= 20 mg/kg product) gluten in the product and can therefore bear the official Crossed Grain quality mark. You can find more information on this at the the National Celiac Association (NCA). Which gluten-free non-alcoholic beer is there? We have a range of gluten free alcohol free beers in our shop. You can find the complete overview here. We carefully check whether a beer is gluten-free before placing it in this category. If you come across gluten-free non-alcoholic beers yourself, please let us know.

Last Tuesday was World Women's Day. As part of that, I interviewed someone from Pink Boots Society, the network of female professionals in the beer industry. In that conversation she said something that got me thinking about my taste development in non-alcoholic beer. She talked about the beer (with alcohol) that has become her favourite: Cantillon artisanal kriek. And how there was once a time when she found it necessary to add crumbled sugar cubes in order to drink that mildly sour beer. I like to drink non-alcoholic beer, but there was a time when I drank it with considerably less pleasure. Is that because the non-alcoholic beer was less tasty then? Or does it mainly have to do with how my own taste has developed? Did you like 'real' beer right away? The first is undeniably true. But like all beer, you have to learn to drink non alcoholic. Many aficionados who say they only like beer with alcohol think that's just nonsense. Because if something is good, you don't have to learn to drink it. At times like that, I like to start a discussion. Then I take my conversation partners with me in a small thought experiment: to the moment in their secondary school days when they tasted 'real' beer for the first time. Did you like that right away, I ask? Most have to admit that beer with alcohol also takes some getting used to. It is not strange that this is the case. It has to do with the primal function of taste. It is in our genes that we like or dislike certain smells and tastes. Our brain automatically likes aromas and taste impressions of foods that are originally good for you. But there are also smells and tastes that act as an alarm signal for things that are not good for our health: sour or bitter, for example. “Blèh!” our consciousness shouts If there is one thing that is not good for our body, it is alcohol. It is therefore not surprising that our consciousness automatically shouts 'Blèh!' the first time we allow an alcoholic snack to reach our mouth. We need to train our awareness that it's okay to have a beer. And most of us manage to do that quite nicely. The reverse situation occurs if you start drinking non-alcoholic beer. Your consciousness has created certain schemas about how beer should be. And that non-alcoholic beer only partially meets that requirement. It doesn't taste nearly as exuberant as beer that does contain alcohol. To really enjoy beer without alcohol, you don't just have to first wean off a whole load of deep-seated subconscious expectations that your taste has about beer. You also have to put everything you've taught yourself about how beer 'should' be with the garbage. Really so good that you don't miss the alcohol There used to be a brewery that advertised with the slogan: “So good, you don't miss the alcohol.” That was definitely a bold statement, because in that 'Stone Age' of non-alcoholic beer it was really something for go-getters. Fortunately, non alcoholics have undergone enormous development. I now really come across beers that can easily stand up to that claim. From the Polish Maltgarden, for example, or from the Rügener Insel-Brauerei. In the Netherlands, too, brewers are marketing non-alcoholic beers that are particularly worthwhile. How about vandeStreek, Maximus or De Leckere. From this perspective, Utrecht appears to be the alcohol-free beer epicenter of the Low Countries. In the past, non-alcoholic beer was less tasty. One last tip in this regard. If a newly released non-alcoholic beer doesn't convince you, don't just serve it off. Certainly for smaller, craft breweries, they constantly adapt and improve their beers where necessary. For example, I often come across that an alcohol-free product that is only 'so-so' at first has really improved a bit later. Just like a lanky teenager with greasy hair and acne on his face can stand in front of you at some point further in time. Grown into a nice young man.

Afgelopen dinsdag was Wereldvrouwendag. In het kader daarvan interviewde ik iemand van Pink Boots Society, het netwerk van vrouwelijke professionals in de bierindustrie. In dat gesprek zei ze iets dat me aan het denken zette, over mijn smaakontwikkeling bij alcoholvrij bier. Ze vertelde over het bier (met alcohol) dat inmiddels haar favoriet is: ambachtelijke kriek van Cantillon. En hoe er ooit een tijd was dat ze het nodig vond om er verkruimelde suikerklontjes bij te doen om dat zachtzure bier te kunnen drinken. Ik drink graag alcoholvrij bier, maar er was een tijd dat ik het met aanzienlijk minder plezier dronk. Ligt dat eraan dat het alcoholvrije bier toen minder lekker was? Of heeft het vooral ermee te maken hoe mijn eigen smaak zich heeft ontwikkeld? Vond je ‘écht’ bier meteen al lekker? Dat eerste is ontegenzeggelijk ook waar. Maar net als al het andere bier, moet je non alcoholic leren drinken. Veel liefhebbers die alleen van bier mét alcohol zeggen te houden, vinden dat maar onzin. Want iets dat goed is, hoef je het niet te leren drinken. Op dat soort momenten ga ik graag de discussie even aan. Dan neem ik mijn gesprekspartners mee in een klein gedachtenexperiment: naar het moment in hun middelbare schooltijd dat ze voor het eerst ‘écht’ bier proefden. Vond je dat toen al meteen lekker, vraag ik dan? De meesten moeten toegeven dat bier met alcohol ook bepaald wennen is. Dat dat zo is, is niet raar. Het heeft te maken met de oerfunctie van smaak en proeven. Het zit in onze genen dat we bepaalde geuren en smaken wel of niet lekker vinden. Aroma’s en smaakindrukken van voedingsmiddelen die van oorsprong goed voor je zijn, vindt ons brein automatisch lekker. Maar er zijn ook geuren en smaken die werken als een alarmsignaal, voor dingen die niet goed zijn voor onze gezondheid: zuur of bitter bijvoorbeeld. ‘Blèh!’ roept ons bewustzijn Als er iéts niet goed is voor ons lijf, is het alcohol wel. Het is dan ook niet verwonderlijk dat ons bewustzijn automatisch ‘Blèh!’ roept, wanneer we voor het eerst een alcoholische versnapering toelaten tot onze mond. We moeten ons bewustzijn trainen dat het oké is om wel een biertje te drinken. En de meesten van ons lukt dat vrij aardig. De omgekeerde situatie doet zich voor als je alcoholvrij bier gaat drinken. Je bewustzijn heeft bepaalde schema’s gecreëerd over hoe bier hoort te zijn. En dat alcoholvrije bier voldoet daar maar ten dele aan. Dat smaakt lang zo uitbundig niet als bier waar wel alcohol inzit. Om echt plezier te beleven aan bier zonder alcohol, moet je niet alleen eerst een hele vracht diepgewortelde onderbewuste verwachtingen afbouwen die je smaak erop na houdt over bier. Je moet ook nog eens alles wat je jezelf hebt aangeleerd over hoe bier ‘hoort’ te zijn, bij het oud vuil zetten. Echt zo lekker dat je de alcohol niet mist Er was vroeger een brouwerij die reclame maakte met de kreet: “Zo lekker, dat je de alcohol niet mist.” Dat was absoluut een boude uitspraak, want in dat ‘Stenen Tijdperk’ van alcoholvrij bier was het nog echt iets voor doorzetters. Gelukkig heeft non alcoholic een enorme ontwikkeling doorgemaakt. Ik kom nu echt bieren tegen die aan die claim moeiteloos stand kunnen houden. Van het Poolse Maltgarden bijvoorbeeld, of van de Rügener Insel-Brauerei. Ook in Nederland brengen brouwers alcoholvrije bieren op de markt die bijzonder de moeite waard zijn. Wat dacht je van vandeStreek, Maximus of De Leckere. Zo gezien lijkt Utrecht het alcoholvrij-bier-epicentrum van de Lage Landen. Vroeger was het alcoholvrije bier minder lekker. In verband daarmee nog een tip tot slot. Als een pas uitgebracht alcoholvrij bier je niet overtuigt, serveer het dan niet zonder meer af. Zeker voor kleinere, ambachtelijke brouwerijen geldt, dat ze hun bieren steeds aanpassen en verbeteren waar dat nodig is. Zo kom ik vaak tegen dat een alcoholvrij dat eerst maar ‘zo-zo’ is, een poos later echt stukken is verbeterd. Net zoals een slungelachtige puber met vet haar en acné op z’n gezicht, op enig moment verderop in de tijd voor je kan staan. Uitgegroeid tot een leuke jongeman.

With an increase of 500% in ten years, non-alcoholic beer is on the rise. The arrival of non-alcoholic specialty beers in particular increased enormously. We are all familiar with the IPAs, the stouts and a number of other special craft beers. Nowadays we also see another type of beer that is popping up more and more, namely sports beer. Is this beer significantly different from other non-alcoholic beers? We went to investigate. Isotonic beer What you often see on non-alcoholic (sports) beers is: isotonic effect. Of course, this sounds like magic to our ears and makes us all want it. However, this is purely marketing, because all non-alcoholic beers are isotonic. Isotonic refers to a solution (non-alcoholic beer) whose number of dissolved particles per liter is equal to that of another solution (our blood). This means that the water, carbohydrates, minerals and vitamins from beer can be quickly absorbed into our blood, which promotes our recovery. The good news is that all non-alcoholic beer is isotonic! Nutrients Compared to alcoholic beer, non-alcoholic beer contains double the amount of carbohydrates. After sports it is important that the reserves are replenished, making this very desirable. Besides water, non-alcoholic beer also contains protein: about 1 gram per 250 ml. This is slightly less than alcoholic beer, but still good for recovery. In terms of calories, an alcohol-free beer is about half that of an alcoholic beer. Vitamins Because beer is made from barley, it also contains various B vitamins. If yeast is also added after the brewing process, the beer also contains vitamin B12, which is more difficult for vegans or vegetarians to find because it is often found in animal products. Minerals The following minerals can be found in non-alcoholic beer: sodium, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, silicon and magnesium. A lot of potassium, in particular, is lost through sweat. However, these are relatively small numbers if you look at the recommended daily amount. Every little bit counts, right?! Fibres Finally, non-alcoholic beer naturally contains fiber from the barley. However, with 0.25 grams per 250, you should drink quite a bit to meet your recommended general daily requirement of 30 grams. Drinking alcoholic beer after exercise This is actually not recommended. Why? Because the body is recovering from the effort and at the same time also has to process the alcohol. The body then works twice as hard. It is better to recover with alcohol-free before starting a beer with alcohol. Our topper: the Thrive As you have read, non-alcoholic beer is a very good recovery drink for after exercise. It contains necessary nutrients, vitamins, minerals and fiber naturally and can be quickly absorbed by the body. Now the labels of the beer often do not state exactly how much of each ingredient is in it. The sports beer Thrive is very outspoken in this. They describe their non-alcoholic beer as the ultimate sports beer and we understand why. Their 330 ML can contains a whopping 10 grams of protein. That is almost ten times as much as in normal non-alcoholic beer. As we know, the non-alcoholic beer naturally also contains other necessary nutrients and substances for recovery, so Thrive is a very good choice in our opinion. Conclusion All non-alcoholic beer is a good beer for after sports, not just special sports beers. If you opt for a sports beer because you want to recover even faster, find out whether ingredients have really been added that make the beer better than a 'normal' non-alcoholic beer so that you are not misled by marketing. Also, choose a beer that is not too high in carbonation, so that it is pleasant to drink. If you want to feed your body with a lot of protein after exercise, go for the Thrive!

It is well known that drinking alcohol is not exactly healthy. Nevertheless, a beer or a glass of wine should certainly be possible from time to time. Unless you want to get pregnant, it is important to stop drinking alcohol in time. Yet one in twenty women drinks alcohol during pregnancy. How harmful is this now? Below we explain exactly how it works. Alcohol before pregnancy It is best to stop drinking alcohol while trying to conceive. This applies to the woman, but also to the man. Alcohol reduces fertility. It is also possible that you are already pregnant without knowing it and in this case the alcohol you drink is immediately harmful to the baby. Alcohol during pregnancy It is not recommended to drink alcohol if you are pregnant. The alcohol that you drink enters your blood, and the baby will also receive this via the placenta. The baby cannot process the alcohol as well as the mother, so it is very harmful. The risks of drinking alcohol during your pregnancy are miscarriage, a premature baby, a baby that is underweight, damage to the baby's brain and organs. Alcohol after childbirth If you are breastfeeding, it is also not wise to start drinking alcohol again. Do you want to drink? Then wait a few hours per drink before feeding again. Alcohol ends up in the milk via the blood and of course you do not want to pass this on to your newborn. But am I not allowed to do anything at all? Fortunately, there are many alcohol-free alternatives on the market. You can now buy non-alcoholic wine, non-alcoholic spirits and non-alcoholic beer. There are also more and more hip sodas that make you forget that you miss the taste of alcohol. It is important to pay attention to the following difference: alcohol-free and low-alcohol. Alcohol-free (in the Netherlands, but also in most European countries) contains really 0.0% alcohol. So you can safely drink this before, during and after your pregnancy without it harming the baby. Low-alcohol can still contain a few per milligrams of alcohol and is therefore not recommended. View all non-alcoholic drinks here at OnderNulPuntVijf Source: AlcoholInfo

We thought about it for a long time: How can the shipping of our beers be made sustainable? We came to the conclusion that there are two things we can work on: sending our packages carbon-free and limiting waste as much as possible. Regarding the first one, we have taken the initiative to offset the CO2 associated with sending the packages. We could leave that to the couriers, but unfortunately they are not yet ready to compensate for all CO2. After doing a calculation (on the back of a cigar box) we quickly found that if we could plant one tree per order we would offset more than enough CO2 to ship your package. One tree offers 314 kg of CO2 absorption*, while shipping a package is between 260 and 530 grams per package** (depending on the shipping method). We therefore compensate for the CO2 of sending our packages multiple times. But does that mean that we will plant trees ourselves every month? We don't do that (yet). We have engaged an organization to help us with this. We looked for a reputable organization and found it in Trees for the Future. This organization has been committed to planting more trees for more than 30 years and they have now planted 220 million trees. And they don't just do that randomly, but very cleverly. For example, they plant trees around a piece of agricultural land that has become unusable because all nutrients have disappeared from the soil. By planting trees around it, the agricultural land becomes usable again and the local population has also been helped on their way. More than 58 thousand fields have already been restored by this organization. Another important sustainability aspect for our shop is that products sometimes reach their sell-by date. And because we only want to sell delicious beers, we get them from the web shop. But having to throw away those bottles and cans, which are almost always Yummy at that moment, would hurt us. That's why we partnered with To Good To Go. As soon as we have beers that are approaching their sell-by date, or if a can or bottle is damaged, we offer them at a reduced price on the To Good To Go app. And our experience shows that the beers always get a good final destination. If you have any questions about this blog or have ideas on how we can deal with sustainability even better, please let us know and send an email to info@ondernulpuntvijf.com. You can also find more information on our website. *According to Trees for the Future, a tree removes an average of 15.7 kg of CO2 from the air per year. Assuming a very conservative lifespan of 20 years per tree, this means that a tree absorbs an average of 314 kg of CO2. **Source: Research by EY in collaboration with Thuiswinkel.org (Link)

I am now the go-to guy for journalists from newspapers and radio when it comes to their questions about enjoying non-alcoholic beer. Recently it happened again. In one and the same week they called from the NRC (a Dutch newspaper) and the daily newspaper De Limburger. And such a conversation always starts with the question: why is it that non-alcoholic beer has taken off so enormously in recent years? My answer is twofold: that is up to the beer lovers and the brewers. Success factor beer lovers Beer lovers are developing an increasing health awareness. This ensures that they increasingly do not automatically turn to alcohol when they feel like beer. In addition, more and more consumers are opening up to other colours, smells and flavors in beer. Gone are the days when beer should be clear and golden yellow. As a result, countless 'new' beer styles are on the rise, which lend themselves very well to making a non-alcoholic variant. Perhaps even better than the lager that is still the most consumed beer in the world. The 'physical' and the 'biological' method But brewers also contribute to the success of non-alcoholic beer. The technological possibilities for brewing beer that are at least 99.5% free of alcohol have undergone a spectacular development in recent years. Broadly speaking, there are two ways to make non-alcoholic beer: a 'physical' and a 'organic'. Advanced technology In the 'physical' approach, brewers first brew beer with alcohol. They then remove the alcohol using an advanced technological process. In many cases this is done with vacuum distillation. Then the beer only has to be heated to a degree at 35, a temperature at which it does not suffer too much damage. The alcohol evaporates. That is why you saw large breweries hand out free hand sanitizer to healthcare institutions on a large scale last spring, during the first corona lockdown. What the evaporated alcohol leaves behind in taste and character in beer, brewers then have to rebuild in the dealcoholized beer. That is quite a job and a craft in itself. To this end, at Heineken, they first meticulously deconstructed all the odors and flavors in their renowned lager into all chemical components. That may sound a little dubious. But don't forget: although beer has long been a natural and artisanal product, all the delicious smells and flavors are the result of chemical connections. It always has been and always will be, so nothing crazy. The Phoenix What is also possible: a brewery adjusts its beer recipe before it goes into the installation that removes the alcohol from the beer. They use this method in Lieshout at Royal Swinkels Family Brewers. Their installation, the Fenix (the Phoenix), is perhaps the most advanced in the Netherlands at the moment. The image below gives you an impression of the Fenix. This includes Swinkels' 0.0%: if you ask me the best non-alcoholic lager in the Netherlands at the moment. Another example of a 'deacoholised' beer is Sportzot from the De Halve Maan brewery. This family brewery from Bruges uses reverse osmosis to extract alcohol from their famous Belgian blond Brugse Zot. You understand that producing non-alcoholic beer via the 'physical' method is only possible with state of the art technology. A very capital-intensive affair, only reserved for breweries with a lot of money. Only in this way is it possible to make beer that is really 0.0. The installations that brewers use for this are hardly reminiscent of the old brewery trade. They would not look strange in a place like the ports of Antwerp or Rotterdam. That doesn't mean I disapprove of it though. There have always been technological developments and improvements in the brewing profession. The wooden mash tun and stirrer have long since been renounced. And there was a reason for that. A much more interesting question for me as a beer sommelier and enthusiast is: how do brewers make the best beer? Without skimping on quality! Cold fermentation It costs a lot less if a brewery wants to make non-alcoholic beer via what I call the 'organic' method. It is much more artisanal. This approach is close to the way brewing has been done for millennia. The big difference is that brewers work with yeast that produces very little alcohol. In this way, brewers can ensure that no more than 0.3 to 0.5% alcohol is produced in their beer. Fermentation takes place at a very low temperature. Brewers also play with the composition of their recipe. In this way they can ensure that fewer sugars enter the wort, which the yeast converts into alcohol. The yeast strains that brewers use for this were originally known as a by-product of viticulture. But today they are widely cultivated by brewer's yeast producers, especially for low-alcohol beers. You can order them online for a few euros. This means that every homebrewer who works a bit hygienically can brew his own non-alcoholic beer. Great opportunities for 'small' brewers Probably all smaller, independent brewers in the shop of OnderNulPuntVijf use this 'organic' method of cold fermentation. VandeStreek Bier from Utrecht has become successful with it. More than half of their turnover now comes from low-alcohol beers. Which is not surprising, because they are really top of the bill. Have you tried their new Fun House NEIPA yet? More and more beautiful non-alcoholic options are also coming from Belgium that are well worth getting acquainted with. I was positively surprised by Pico Nova from Brussels Beer Project. Finally, a recommendation: the non-alcoholic version of Cornet, from the De Hoorn brewery. With a beautiful generous head and a surprising amount of taste, without the enormous sweetness that is characteristic of this beer with alcohol. It is fair to say that Cornet Oaked Alcohol Free was created with Swinkels technology. More and more beers can be discovered from large and small brewers that are at least 99.5% free of alcohol and that you enjoy drinking. And all developments are far from over. A nice prospect to raise a glass, don't you think? In that sense: cheers!

Dry January is becoming more and more popular. We can write a separate blog about why that is. But we regularly get the question whether you can drink alcohol-free beer during your month "without". And the beers we sell are even not completely zero percent in alcohol for the most part. Are you allowed to drink them? The short answer is YES! Dry January is an agreement you make with yourself not to drink alcohol for a month. You have your own reason(s) for that. That could be your health or that you want to sleep better. But losing weight and saving money can also be arguments. The most frequently mentioned reason for participating in Dry January is that you want to break a pattern. You want to be able to say NO to an (unhealthy) habit. Screenshot: NPO3 But that doesn't mean you have to be boring or that you have to drink less tasty drinks. With the rise of many tasty non-alcoholic alternatives, you would be crazy not to discover that world. From my own experience I can report that “below zero point five” fits Dry January perfectly. I myself have not been drinking alcohol for 15 years between Carnival and Easter (say the Catholic version of Dry January). And to be honest: in the beginning I was very principled. I didn't even eat a cherry bonbon and I also declined chicken stewed in wine. I honestly felt guilty when I drank a Palm beer with 0.25% alcohol* in a restaurant. But that Palm did make me think. Less than 0.5% alcohol in a drink still gives all the benefits I strive for with my alcohol-free period (sleep better, lose weight, be able to say no). And this way I have incorporated alcohol-free and low-alcohol beer into my dry period. And that is very nice. What could be against it then? From the organization of IkPas they say about non-alcoholic beer: "we will never actively promote it as an alternative, because you still keep the association with alcohol." To which they follow with: “in moderation and if it helps you to complete your challenge, of course we don't forbid it!” The thought behind this negative attitude is that if you drink alcohol-free beer (or wine, or gin, or… ) you still keep thinking about alcohol. And that is partly true, especially for people who have a serious problem with alcohol. We advocate embracing non-alcoholic beers, also during Dry January On the other hand, non-alcoholic drinks help you cope with a life without (or at least less) alcohol. For example, we see more and more beer geeks who discover alcohol-free beers during the week so that they can continue to check in on Untappd without a hangover. In the meantime, more non-alcoholic beer is drunk on Friday afternoon drinks than beer "with". We therefore argue in favor of embracing non-alcoholic (and low-alcohol) beers, also during Dry January, so that this is an incentive to drink a little lower during the rest of the year. Finally, we would like to say that, despite our differing position with regard to non-alcoholic beer, we wholeheartedly welcome the IkPas initiative. We recommend that if you participate in Dry January that you sign up on their site or download the app. There are several tips and resources that can help you through a dry January. Cheers! *In the beginning Palm Green was 0.25%; now, like so many commercial AF beers, it has become 0.0% and it is called Palm 0.0