The head brewmaster for Weihenstephan, the world's oldest brewery, has a secret: He really likes alcohol-free beer.
Even though he's quick to say he obviously enjoys real beer more, Tobias Zollo says he savours alcohol-free beer when he's working or eating lunch. It has the same taste but fewer calories than a soft drink, he said, thanks to the brewery's process of evaporating the alcohol.
鈥淵ou can't drink beer every day 鈥 unfortunately,鈥 he joked last week at the Bavarian state brewery in the German town of Freising, about 30 kilometres (20 miles) north of Munich.
Zollo isn't alone in his appreciation for the sober beverage. Alcohol-free beer has been gaining popularity in recent years as beer consumption shrinks.
At Weihenstephan, which was founded as a brewery in 1040 by Benedictine monks, non-alcoholic wheat beer and lager now make up 10 per cent of the volume. The increase over the last few years, since they started making alcohol-free drinks in the 1990s, mirrors the statistics for the rest of Germany's beer industry.
鈥淭he people are unfortunately 鈥 I have to say that as a brewer 鈥 unfortunately drinking less beer," Zollo said Friday, the day before Oktoberfest officially started. "If there鈥檚 an alternative to have the crisp and fresh taste from a typical Weihenstephan beer, but just as a non-alcoholic version, we want to do that.鈥
Even at Oktoberfest 鈥 arguably the world's most famous ode to alcohol 鈥 alcohol-free beer is on the menu.
All but two of the 18 large tents at the festival offer the drink through the celebration's 16 days. The sober beverage will cost drinkers the same as an alcoholic beer 鈥 between 13.60 and 15.30 euros (US$15.12 and US$17.01) for a 1-litre mug (33 fluid ounces) 鈥 but save them from a hangover.
鈥淔or people who don't like to drink alcohol and want to enjoy the Oktoberfest as well, I think it's a good option," Mikael Caselitz, 24, of Munich said Saturday inside one of the tents. "Sometimes people feel like they have more fun with alcohol, which is not a good thing because you can also have fun without alcohol.鈥
He added: 鈥淚f you want to come and drink alcohol-free beer, nobody will judge you.鈥
This year marked the first time an alcohol-free beer garden opened in Munich. 鈥淒ie Null,鈥 which means 鈥渢he zero鈥 in German, served non-alcoholic beer, mocktails and other alcohol-free drinks near the city's main train station this summer but was scheduled to close a few day before Oktoberfest opened.
Walter Ko虉nig, managing director of the Society of Hop Research north of Munich, said researchers have had to breed special hops varieties for alcohol-free beer. If brewers use the typical hops for alcohol-free beer, the distinct aroma gets lost when the alcohol is reduced during the brewing process.
But customers don't care about that, Ko虉nig said Friday as he prepared for Oktoberfest.
鈥淭hey only want to know that what they are tasting is as good as traditional beers with alcohol,鈥 he said.
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