Alcohol-free beer is gaining popularity, even at Oktoberfest

MUNICH — 

The caput brewmaster for Weihenstephan, the world's oldest brewery, has a secret: He truly likes alcohol-free beer.

Even though he's speedy to accidental helium evidently enjoys existent brew more, Tobias Zollo says helium savors alcohol-free brew erstwhile he's moving oregon eating lunch. It has the aforesaid sensation but less calories than a brushed drink, helium said, acknowledgment to the brewery's process of evaporating the alcohol.

"You can't portion brew each time — unfortunately," helium joked past week astatine the Bavarian authorities brewery successful the German municipality of Freising, astir 30 kilometers northbound of Munich.

Zollo isn't unsocial successful his appreciation for the sober beverage. Alcohol-free brew has been gaining popularity successful caller years arsenic brew depletion shrinks.

At Weihenstephan, which was founded arsenic a brewery successful 1040 by Benedictine monks, non-alcoholic wheat brew and lager present marque up 10% of the volume. The summation implicit the past fewer years, since they started making alcohol-free drinks successful the 1990s, mirrors the statistic for the remainder of Germany's brew industry.

"The radical are unluckily — I person to accidental that arsenic a brewer — unluckily drinking little beer," Zollo said Friday, the time earlier Oktoberfest officially started. "If there's an alternate to person the crisp and caller sensation from a emblematic Weihenstephan beer, but conscionable arsenic a non-alcoholic version, we privation to bash that."

Even astatine Oktoberfest — arguably the world's astir celebrated ode to intoxicant — alcohol-free brew is connected the menu.

All but 2 of the 18 ample tents astatine the festival connection the portion done the celebration's 16 days. The sober beverage volition outgo drinkers the aforesaid arsenic an alcoholic brew — betwixt 13.60 and 15.30 euros ($15.12 and $17.01) for a 1-liter mug — but prevention them from a hangover.

"For radical who don't similar to portion intoxicant and privation to bask the Oktoberfest arsenic well, I deliberation it's a bully option," Mikael Caselitz, 24, of Munich said Saturday wrong 1 of the tents. "Sometimes radical consciousness similar they person much amusive with alcohol, which is not a bully happening due to the fact that you tin besides person amusive without alcohol."

He added: "If you privation to travel and portion alcohol-free beer, cipher volition justice you."

This twelvemonth marked the archetypal clip an alcohol-free brew plot opened successful Munich. "Die Null," which means "the zero" successful German, served non-alcoholic beer, mocktails and different alcohol-free drinks adjacent the city's main bid presumption this summertime but was scheduled to adjacent a fewer time earlier Oktoberfest opened.

Walter König, managing manager of the Society of Hop Research northbound of Munich, said researchers person had to breed peculiar hops varieties for alcohol-free beer. If brewers usage the emblematic hops for alcohol-free beer, the chiseled aroma gets mislaid erstwhile the intoxicant is reduced during the brewing process.

But customers don't attraction astir that, König said Friday arsenic helium prepared for Oktoberfest.

"They lone privation to cognize that what they are tasting is arsenic bully arsenic accepted beers with alcohol," helium said.