# Effect of Production Technique on Pilsner-Style Non-Alcoholic Beer (NAB) Chemistry and Flavor
## 1 Introduction
The same study found that Northern California consumers preferred sweeter NAB with citrus, tropical, stone fruit aromas associated with increases in terpene alcohols and esters which they assumed were extracted from dry-hopping. Interestingly, an associated study [16] found that NAB with certain flavor profiles related to the inclusion of particular chemical constituents was related to how \"beer-like\" consumers perceived NAB to be. Unfortunately, the authors were only able to speculate on which techniques might be driving particular flavors because the production methods for most of the NAB evaluated in these studies were largely unknown. Yet, these results are supported by both [PERSON] and [PERSON] [19] who observed that late hopping positively affected the sensory quality of low alcoholic pilsner type beer, along with [PERSON], [PERSON], and [PERSON] [14] who more recently postulated that dry-hopping could help increase the consumer popularity of alcohol-free beer because it can modify and mask aromas resulting from thermal dealcoholization and restricted fermentations. Based on all these previous studies there is general agreement that quality defects in pilsner-style NAB result from the lack of fermentation derived aroma compounds as well as the occurrence of a \"worty\" aroma. Recently, [PERSON], [PERSON], [PERSON], [PERSON], [PERSON], and [PERSON] [17] found that the worry character in a NAB produced through a restricted fermentation was related to 27 odor active compounds with methional, 3-methylbutanal, (E)-\(\beta\)-damascenone, 5-ethyl-3-hydroxy-4-methyl2(5H)-furanone, and phenylacetaldehyde being the most important to consider. Therefore, it is clear that the influence of different NAB production techniques on NAB flavor has been discussed before. However, studies that have directly compared the comprehensive chemical and sensory analysis of similar NABs but resulting from different production techniques used in the industry are still rare. One reason for this is that the NABproduction process applied by brewers to make specific commercial products is typically highly confidential. Similarly, although larger brewers have been analyzing competitor products for decades and thereby have ascertained a remarkable amount of knowledge on NAB, most of this data remains unpublished. Additionally, many of the previous studies mentioned were not able to fully deconstruct the volatile and nonvolatile profiles of the NAB they evaluated because they lacked access to the broad range of analytical assays required for this and thus mostly focused on sensory analysis and/or a few chemical classes. Only two studies have directly assessed the broad impact of production techniques on NAB quality. [PERSON], [PERSON] and [PERSON] [13] found that the flavor profiles of German NABs were dependent on production methodology and that physical dea-coholization resulted in NAB that was more sour and bitter (although the methodology such as vacuum distillation/membrane was not specified), while NAB produced through restricted fermentation and/or combination of methods was sweeter. In addition, consumers in this study preferred sweet NAB with light fruity aroma and did not prefer NAB that was sour and bitter with malty aroma. However, one disadvantage of this study was that the chemical analysis was limited and the volatile drivers for consumer preference remained speculative. Comparatively, [PERSON], [PERSON], [PERSON], and [PERSON] [18] recently explored a range of different NAB lagers and unlike the results in [PERSON], [PERSON], and [PERSON] [13], the authors proposed that pre-processing factors (i.e., raw materials used) and/or post-brewing processes (i.e., the use of additive flavor compounds or dry-hopping) have more of an impact on NAB flavor than the choice of production method. This study also reported that NAB with high bitterness and astringency was least liked by consumers, while NAB that was produced using a combination of methods was the most preferred by consumers.