The non-alcoholic beer available in Italy today is good and wholesome, as well as having about half the calories of traditional beer. And to be able to be consumed without contraindications for health, driving and work activities requiring absolute sobriety. Our market survey of 15 products.
1) Non-alcoholic beer, market survey in Italy
The sampling performed by GIFT(Great Italian Food Trade), as usual, considers:
- major industrial brands,
- the private labels of the large-scale retail trade (GDO). To date only Coop, in this category,
- the MDDs (Distributor Brand) of discount stores (Eurospin, Lidl and Todis).
2) Non-alcoholic beer, how much alcohol?
The first distinction between products on the market called‘non-alcoholic beer‘ is the alcohol content. In the absence of harmonized regulations at the EU level, in Italy we rely on national rules that allow the use of this designation on beers with an alcohol content by volume <1.2%. (1)
The 15 sampled non-alcoholic beers, as shown in the table at the foot of the page, can be distinguished into two sub-categories:
- 9 beers are substantially free of alcohol (sometimes expressed as <0.05% vol.),
- Instead, 6 beers contain an albeit modest amount of alcohol (<0.5% vol.).
3) Tasty beer without ‘side effects’
The difference in alcohol content is relevant for those who intend to avoid alcohol completely. Prohibited for pregnant and lactating women as well as minors, alcohol poses serious risks if consumed before driving, operating machinery and performing any activity that requires complete attention.
Excessive and prolonged alcohol consumption is also associated with increased risk of developing several forms of cancer (breast, bowel, liver, mouth and throat, esophagus and stomach), as the World Cancer Research Fund reminds us. (2)
4) Non-alcoholic beer, half calories
Another unfavorable consequence of habitual alcohol consumption is the risk of overweight and obesity. Alcohol alone (net of other ingredients) provides 7.1 kcal/g. And these are ’empty’ calories, i.e., devoid of any nutritional value.
On average, non-alcoholic beers have half as many calories as ordinary beers (e.g., Heineken 0.0, 21 Kcal/100 ml, compared to classic Heineken, 42 Kcal/100 ml). The energy intake of the 15 beers under consideration ranged from 14 (Poretti) to 26 Kcal/100ml (Clausthaler).
5) Nutrition table, the transparency that is missing
The nutrition table is due on the label of all beverages with alcohol content <1.2%, although it is missing in 2 of the 15 non-alcoholic beers examined. It is not required on alcoholic beverages, however, because of an unjustifiable exemption that the European Commission persists in preserving.
Residual sugars remain to some extent (from <0.5 g/100 ml in Poretti to 3.1 g/100 ml in Bavaria) because the traditional method of brewing non-alcoholic beer stops its fermentation into alcohol. More modern plants, on the other hand, extract alcohol and some flavors in the first process step and reinsert only the flavors at the end of production. (3)
6) Ingredients, flavorings and additives
The ingredient list always deserves attention, even on non-alcoholic beer labels. Some products contain ‘natural flavorings,’ definitely to be preferred over generic ‘flavorings’ (instead of chemical synthesis).
Citric acid and glucose syrup are sometimes used to balance the flavor, which is then stabilized by pasteurization (as of use in industrial beers, which differ from craft beers that are always ‘raw’).
The vast majority of non-alcoholic beer labels qualify as clean label, unlike non-alcoholic aperitifs that are instead chock-full of additives, as seen in our previous survey.
7) The tasting
The taste test, entrusted to a panel of non-expert tasters, shows that most of the 15 non-alcoholic beers under review are no match for ordinary beers. The favored products, in our humble judgment, are:
– Wieninger Bier Weizen No alcohol, for the best flavor. A German weiss beer, available in smaller distribution channels (e.g., Tigre supermarkets in Rome) and sometimes at Eataly,
– Best Bräu non-alcoholic, Polish product sold by Eurospin. A winner in value for money, albeit with faulty and unreadable printing of the wording on the cans.
8) Italian beer, laws to be remade
Non-alcoholic beer-a real must in Spain-is beginning to gain ground in Italy as well. Assobirra notes a dynamic trend, (4) which is in fact confirmed by the growing supply.
However, Made in Italy beer is discriminated against by the Italian legislature itself:
- for half a century, Italian beer law has required only domestic producers to meet a parameter (malt concentration, expressed in Plato degree) that has forced them to face higher costs and pay more excise taxes (pegged precisely to Plato degree, in Italy) than foreign competitors (5,6),
- still, non-alcoholic brewers are forced to allocate alcohol extracted during production to waste. Instead of allowing it to be reused, in the food supply chain rather than others (e.g., chemical, pharmaceutical). So much for the proclamations about circular economy and supporting business competitiveness, food waste is prescribed ex lege.
9) Alcohol, a cultural tare.
Italy has already distinguished itself through a lively controversy against recent European reforms that introduced the possibility of producing totally dealcoholic wines. Without understanding, unfortunately, the high growth potential of innovative products that can supplement the income of farmers and businesses.
Instead, the market opportunities offered by zero-alcohol beverages deserve attention, as alternative consumption opportunities (including at work, before driving, i.e., by vulnerable segments of the population) and safeguarding collective health, without sacrificing quality production.
Marta Strinati and Dario Dongo
Notes
(1) Law August 16, 1962, no. 1354 reads in Article 2(1):
‘The designation “non-alcoholic beer” is reserved for the product with a Plato degree of not less than 3 and not more than 8 and an alcoholic strength by volume of not more than 1.2 percent.’
https://www.normattiva.it/uri-res/N2Ls?urn:nir:stato:legge:1962-08-16;1354
(2) Alcohol and cancer risk. World Cancer Research Fund https://www.wcrf-uk.org/preventing-cancer/what-can-increase-your-risk-of-cancer/alcohol-and-cancer-risk/
(3) Dario Dongo, Andrea Adelmo Della Penna. Non-alcoholic beer, health and wellness. Questionnaire for a dissertation. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 22.3.20
(4) According to AssoBirra’s Annual Report 2021 (p. 61), ‘In 2021, the per capita beer consumption figure is even higher than the previous two years, marking 35.2 liters compared to 34.9 in 2019 and just 31.7 in 2020. Among beers, the rise of specialty beers stands out: 17.82% of the total, compared to 14.52 in 2020, at the expense of lagers (81.29% vs. 84.18) while low-no-alcohol beers (1.43% vs. 1.30), expected to be the protagonists of the next trend, mark a small but significant growth‘. https://www.assobirra.it/annual-report-assobirra/
(5) Marta Strinati. Italian beer grappling with low-cost competition. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 24.9.14
(6) Dario Dongo. Italian beer, new regulations. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 20.3.2018
Professional journalist since January 1995, he has worked for newspapers (Il Messaggero, Paese Sera, La Stampa) and periodicals (NumeroUno, Il Salvagente). She is the author of journalistic surveys on food, she has published the book "Reading labels to know what we eat".
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
