# Effect of Production Technique on Pilsner-Style Non-Alcoholic Beer (NAB) Chemistry and Flavor
## 3 Results and Discussion
is forbidden for NABs made in Germany due to the German purity law. However, these products could also be explored by brewers outside of Germany who want to reduce the caloric content of their NAB while still maintaining a balanced taste profile [15]. The basic chemistry of V2, also a \"0.0 NAB\", is particularly unique (Table 1). Unlike the other NABs processed through vacuum distillation and when compared to the other pilsner type NABs tested, V2 had the highest residual extract, fermentable carbohydrate concentrations, calorie content, and pH. Based on the information provided by the manufacturer. V2 was produced by performing vacuum distillation on a beer that was high in extract, fermentable carbohydrates, and pH, instead of dealcoholizing a fully fermented pilsner beer. The product formulation and mashing regime of this product were more complex. One possible route for obtaining a NAB with these characteristics is the usage of a mashing  
Figure 1: (**A**) The composition of protein, dextrins. and fermentable carbohydrates and their relationship to residual extract. (**B**) The average percentage for each individual fermentable carbohydrate (i.e., maltose, maltotriose, fructose, sucrose, and glucose) contribute to the total fermentable carbohydrate profile amongst the different NABs. Error bars are calculated for each measurement and represent 2 \(\times\) the reported %RSD. regime that limits the formation of fermentable sugars and/or by limiting/arresting fermentation. This finding agrees with [PERSON], [PERSON], [PERSON], and [PERSON] [18] who also suggested that pre-processing factors were key considerations in the resulting flavor profiles of NAB. Similarly, although not tested in this study, using some percentage(s) of unique adjuncts (i.e., rye, wheat, unmalled barley, corn, etc.) in grist bills could also be an approach to develop NABs with unique aroma, taste, and mouthfeel [28]. The bitterness units also varied between the different NABs tested. MI2, the IPA, had the highest analytical bitterness (38 IBU) followed by V1 and V4 with each 33 IBU, while C8 had the lowest analytical bitterness of 19 IBU. Across all samples, the mean was 24 IBU, which is in line with previously reported values for pilsner-style NAB [13; 15; 18]. Additionally, across the samples tested, color, carbonation, and pH also varied and agreed with the values reported in previous studies [13; 15; 18]. However, these deviations were more likely related to intended product-specific features than to a specific production technique (Table 1). In 18 of 20 samples, beer color was below 10 EBC, which is in line with the color specifications for pilsner-style beer [13; 15; 18]. Exceptions were C9 and MI2, with the latter being the non-alcoholic IPA used as the hoppy reference. Carbonation ranged from 4.7 to 5.7 (g/L). When compared to the other production techniques, the RF treatments in this study were significantly lower in carbonation on average (-4.8 g/L) (one-way ANOVA based on technique, \(p\) < 0.05, data not shown). From a technological point of view, this finding might not be surprising, but from a quality perspective, it remains questionable why no adjustment of carbonation was performed. Although the sensorial impact of carbonation was not assessed in this study, carbonation is a key consideration in the design of NABs and previous research found consumers to be more satisfied with NABs that were fizzier/more tingling and that had higher CO\({}_{2}\) concentrations [15]. In addition, it has been shown that NABs with higher CO\({}_{2}\) concentrations were also perceived as less \"beer-like\" [16]. In Germany, brewers must legally indicate if they add exogenous carbon dioxide to the ingredient list of their products. Therefore, not wanting to report an additional ingredient could be one possible explanation as to why German brewers are choosing not to adjust CO\({}_{2}\) levels. Foam stability values ranged from 101 to 123 s (Table S1).