Understanding and improving bubble characteristics in non- and low-alcoholic beers.

While in 2017, merely 8.3% of all Belgians would drink alcohol-free beers often to very often, this number increased to 30.1% in 2019. This development can not only be attributed to increased consumer interest but also to substantial quality-related improvements in the field of non-alcoholic and low-alcoholic beers (NABLAB’s). However, the market segment of NABLAB’s in Belgium lags behind the European average. One of the reasons might be the demand of Belgians for high quality regarding visual appearance and beer texture. A major conclusion of my master thesis was that fewer bubbles formed in non-alcoholic beers than in their alcoholic counterparts, despite similar levels of CO2. Interestingly, this experimentally established difference was also detected by a sensorial tasting panel. Therefore, this project focusses on understanding and improving bubble characteristics in NABLAB’s. To this end, the chemical and physical attributes of commercial beers will be linked to their effervescence, foaming properties and mouthfeel. Subsequently, the impact of beer and gas composition on the bubble frequency, bubble size and foaming properties is investigated and their underlying mechanisms will be unravelled. In the last work package, innovative strategies to steer the bubble characteristics of NABLAB’s will be developed and sensorially validated. In the short term, this project supports the brewing sector in the transition to healthy and high-quality products with a clean label.