Ask The Brewmasters

Hello Forum,

I have questions for anyone brewing NA (<0.5%) products using a yeast such as Fermentis SafBrew LA-01 which only assimilates glucose and fructose, not maltose or maltotriose.

1) What is your target OG and FG for this product?

2) Are you increasing mash temperature to further limit fermentability of this wort?

3) How large of a pH drop do you see during this fermentation and are you acidifying wort prior to fermentation?

4) If you are packaging this product, are you taking a step to stabilize the product such as adding a preservative or pasteurizing?

Thanks,

Corey

------------------------------
Corey Zschoche
Head Brewer
Callsign Brewing
North Kansas City, MO
------------------------------

Hello Forum,

I have questions for anyone brewing NA (<0.5%) products using a yeast such as Fermentis SafBrew LA-01 which only assimilates glucose and fructose, not maltose or maltotriose.

1) What is your target OG and FG for this product?

2) Are you increasing mash temperature to further limit fermentability of this wort?

3) How large of a pH drop do you see during this fermentation and are you acidifying wort prior to fermentation?

4) If you are packaging this product, are you taking a step to stabilize the product such as adding a preservative or pasteurizing?

Thanks,

Corey

------------------------------
Corey Zschoche
Head Brewer
Callsign Brewing
North Kansas City, MO
------------------------------

Hello Forum,

I have questions for anyone brewing NA (<0.5%) products using a yeast such as Fermentis SafBrew LA-01 which only assimilates glucose and fructose, not maltose or maltotriose.

1) What is your target OG and FG for this product?

2) Are you increasing mash temperature to further limit fermentability of this wort?

3) How large of a pH drop do you see during this fermentation and are you acidifying wort prior to fermentation?

4) If you are packaging this product, are you taking a step to stabilize the product such as adding a preservative or pasteurizing?

Thanks,

Corey

------------------------------
Corey Zschoche
Head Brewer
Callsign Brewing
North Kansas City, MO
------------------------------

A few more things not already mentioned by Matthew and Ashton. 

• Matthew's FG sounds crazy high but we've been pleasantly surprised that a FG of around 5.9P works just fine and is not syrupy sweet. I believe this is because you don't also have alcohol contributing sweetness.
• We only see the pH drop about 0.1-0.3 during fermentation (depending on which NA yeast we use). And if you dry hop, you're going to lose that gain completely. I recommend acidifying first in the brewhouse and then checking and adjusting again when cooled just in case. The magic number you want to get below is 4.2 as above that is where pathogenic bacteria have been known to be able to grow in non-alcoholic beer. Setting a target of 3.9-4.0 isn't a bad idea and won't make your beer taste like a sour.
• Here in Europe I'm starting to see more and more people who don't have the means to pasteurize use a preservative called Nagardo. It has pretty minimal labeling requirements, but I'm not sure what the requirements are in the US.

Hello Forum,

I have questions for anyone brewing NA (<0.5%) products using a yeast such as Fermentis SafBrew LA-01 which only assimilates glucose and fructose, not maltose or maltotriose.

1) What is your target OG and FG for this product?

2) Are you increasing mash temperature to further limit fermentability of this wort?

3) How large of a pH drop do you see during this fermentation and are you acidifying wort prior to fermentation?

4) If you are packaging this product, are you taking a step to stabilize the product such as adding a preservative or pasteurizing?

Thanks,

Corey

------------------------------
Corey Zschoche
Head Brewer
Callsign Brewing
North Kansas City, MO
------------------------------

Responding to your comment about a FG of 5.9 plato sounding surprisingly high.  This is because most brewers are used to looking at FG in terms of apparent extract, which isn't actually a true number.  If you compare it to an average beer's Real Extract, which is the true measurement of extract without the influence of ethanol that reduces the density of the sample and makes the extract appear lower than it actually is, It is actually very much in line with where a "normal" beer would finish in terms of FG.

A few more things not already mentioned by Matthew and Ashton. 

• Matthew's FG sounds crazy high but we've been pleasantly surprised that a FG of around 5.9P works just fine and is not syrupy sweet. I believe this is because you don't also have alcohol contributing sweetness.
• We only see the pH drop about 0.1-0.3 during fermentation (depending on which NA yeast we use). And if you dry hop, you're going to lose that gain completely. I recommend acidifying first in the brewhouse and then checking and adjusting again when cooled just in case. The magic number you want to get below is 4.2 as above that is where pathogenic bacteria have been known to be able to grow in non-alcoholic beer. Setting a target of 3.9-4.0 isn't a bad idea and won't make your beer taste like a sour.
• Here in Europe I'm starting to see more and more people who don't have the means to pasteurize use a preservative called Nagardo. It has pretty minimal labeling requirements, but I'm not sure what the requirements are in the US.

Hello Forum,

I have questions for anyone brewing NA (<0.5%) products using a yeast such as Fermentis SafBrew LA-01 which only assimilates glucose and fructose, not maltose or maltotriose.

1) What is your target OG and FG for this product?

2) Are you increasing mash temperature to further limit fermentability of this wort?

3) How large of a pH drop do you see during this fermentation and are you acidifying wort prior to fermentation?

4) If you are packaging this product, are you taking a step to stabilize the product such as adding a preservative or pasteurizing?

Thanks,

Corey

------------------------------
Corey Zschoche
Head Brewer
Callsign Brewing
North Kansas City, MO
------------------------------

Responding to your comment about a FG of 5.9 plato sounding surprisingly high.  This is because most brewers are used to looking at FG in terms of apparent extract, which isn't actually a true number.  If you compare it to an average beer's Real Extract, which is the true measurement of extract without the influence of ethanol that reduces the density of the sample and makes the extract appear lower than it actually is, It is actually very much in line with where a "normal" beer would finish in terms of FG.

A few more things not already mentioned by Matthew and Ashton. 

• Matthew's FG sounds crazy high but we've been pleasantly surprised that a FG of around 5.9P works just fine and is not syrupy sweet. I believe this is because you don't also have alcohol contributing sweetness.
• We only see the pH drop about 0.1-0.3 during fermentation (depending on which NA yeast we use). And if you dry hop, you're going to lose that gain completely. I recommend acidifying first in the brewhouse and then checking and adjusting again when cooled just in case. The magic number you want to get below is 4.2 as above that is where pathogenic bacteria have been known to be able to grow in non-alcoholic beer. Setting a target of 3.9-4.0 isn't a bad idea and won't make your beer taste like a sour.
• Here in Europe I'm starting to see more and more people who don't have the means to pasteurize use a preservative called Nagardo. It has pretty minimal labeling requirements, but I'm not sure what the requirements are in the US.

Hello Forum,

I have questions for anyone brewing NA (<0.5%) products using a yeast such as Fermentis SafBrew LA-01 which only assimilates glucose and fructose, not maltose or maltotriose.

1) What is your target OG and FG for this product?

2) Are you increasing mash temperature to further limit fermentability of this wort?

3) How large of a pH drop do you see during this fermentation and are you acidifying wort prior to fermentation?

4) If you are packaging this product, are you taking a step to stabilize the product such as adding a preservative or pasteurizing?

Thanks,

Corey

------------------------------
Corey Zschoche
Head Brewer
Callsign Brewing
North Kansas City, MO
------------------------------

A few more things not already mentioned by Matthew and Ashton. 

• Matthew's FG sounds crazy high but we've been pleasantly surprised that a FG of around 5.9P works just fine and is not syrupy sweet. I believe this is because you don't also have alcohol contributing sweetness.
• We only see the pH drop about 0.1-0.3 during fermentation (depending on which NA yeast we use). And if you dry hop, you're going to lose that gain completely. I recommend acidifying first in the brewhouse and then checking and adjusting again when cooled just in case. The magic number you want to get below is 4.2 as above that is where pathogenic bacteria have been known to be able to grow in non-alcoholic beer. Setting a target of 3.9-4.0 isn't a bad idea and won't make your beer taste like a sour.
• Here in Europe I'm starting to see more and more people who don't have the means to pasteurize use a preservative called Nagardo. It has pretty minimal labeling requirements, but I'm not sure what the requirements are in the US.

Hello Forum,

I have questions for anyone brewing NA (<0.5%) products using a yeast such as Fermentis SafBrew LA-01 which only assimilates glucose and fructose, not maltose or maltotriose.

1) What is your target OG and FG for this product?

2) Are you increasing mash temperature to further limit fermentability of this wort?

3) How large of a pH drop do you see during this fermentation and are you acidifying wort prior to fermentation?

4) If you are packaging this product, are you taking a step to stabilize the product such as adding a preservative or pasteurizing?

Thanks,

Corey

------------------------------
Corey Zschoche
Head Brewer
Callsign Brewing
North Kansas City, MO
------------------------------

I appreciate this thread and the mention of Nagardo had me looking a little more into that product.  Its claimed antimicrobial protections are derived from the edible fungus Sweet Osmanthus Ear (bot. Dacryopinax spathularia).  Seeing this had me thinking...has anyone looked at the addition of hop beta acid extracts to NA beer to provide microbial protection?  I know that beta acids have been used in the production of sausage (particularly Bologna in this research from the Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S095671352100178X) to combat pathogens like listeria.  It is unclear to me in reading the abstract of this paper as to whether the study looked at the efficacy of beta acids in combating gram positive bacteria as a stand alone solution vs. the use of sodium nitrite or in conjunction with sodium nitrite.  It does mention greater efficacy and lower minimum inhibitory concentrations in a slightly acidic, anaerobic environments with "reduced water activity".  Well... beer gets 2 out of 3 there right.  

Obviously, there can be drawbacks to "additives" in beer, be it input cost, consumer perception and confidence, and potential changes in sensory, but the idea of being able to safely provide quality NA products to customers without the capital intensive (not to mention space & energy intensive) investment in pasteurization is certainly intriguing.  (Ashton's mention batch pasteurization in a mash tun also has some intrigue and perhaps he can share an SOP here for that operation?).   If that could be achieved with a hop product, staying true to beer's spirit, then all the better.  So if there isn't research already published on the matter, it would certainly seem to have potential for an enterprising brewing scientist...of which I am far from. 

A few more things not already mentioned by Matthew and Ashton. 

• Matthew's FG sounds crazy high but we've been pleasantly surprised that a FG of around 5.9P works just fine and is not syrupy sweet. I believe this is because you don't also have alcohol contributing sweetness.
• We only see the pH drop about 0.1-0.3 during fermentation (depending on which NA yeast we use). And if you dry hop, you're going to lose that gain completely. I recommend acidifying first in the brewhouse and then checking and adjusting again when cooled just in case. The magic number you want to get below is 4.2 as above that is where pathogenic bacteria have been known to be able to grow in non-alcoholic beer. Setting a target of 3.9-4.0 isn't a bad idea and won't make your beer taste like a sour.
• Here in Europe I'm starting to see more and more people who don't have the means to pasteurize use a preservative called Nagardo. It has pretty minimal labeling requirements, but I'm not sure what the requirements are in the US.

Hello Forum,

I have questions for anyone brewing NA (<0.5%) products using a yeast such as Fermentis SafBrew LA-01 which only assimilates glucose and fructose, not maltose or maltotriose.

1) What is your target OG and FG for this product?

2) Are you increasing mash temperature to further limit fermentability of this wort?

3) How large of a pH drop do you see during this fermentation and are you acidifying wort prior to fermentation?

4) If you are packaging this product, are you taking a step to stabilize the product such as adding a preservative or pasteurizing?

Thanks,

Corey

------------------------------
Corey Zschoche
Head Brewer
Callsign Brewing
North Kansas City, MO
------------------------------

I appreciate this thread and the mention of Nagardo had me looking a little more into that product.  Its claimed antimicrobial protections are derived from the edible fungus Sweet Osmanthus Ear (bot. Dacryopinax spathularia).  Seeing this had me thinking...has anyone looked at the addition of hop beta acid extracts to NA beer to provide microbial protection?  I know that beta acids have been used in the production of sausage (particularly Bologna in this research from the Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S095671352100178X) to combat pathogens like listeria.  It is unclear to me in reading the abstract of this paper as to whether the study looked at the efficacy of beta acids in combating gram positive bacteria as a stand alone solution vs. the use of sodium nitrite or in conjunction with sodium nitrite.  It does mention greater efficacy and lower minimum inhibitory concentrations in a slightly acidic, anaerobic environments with "reduced water activity".  Well... beer gets 2 out of 3 there right.  

Obviously, there can be drawbacks to "additives" in beer, be it input cost, consumer perception and confidence, and potential changes in sensory, but the idea of being able to safely provide quality NA products to customers without the capital intensive (not to mention space & energy intensive) investment in pasteurization is certainly intriguing.  (Ashton's mention batch pasteurization in a mash tun also has some intrigue and perhaps he can share an SOP here for that operation?).   If that could be achieved with a hop product, staying true to beer's spirit, then all the better.  So if there isn't research already published on the matter, it would certainly seem to have potential for an enterprising brewing scientist...of which I am far from. 

A few more things not already mentioned by Matthew and Ashton. 

• Matthew's FG sounds crazy high but we've been pleasantly surprised that a FG of around 5.9P works just fine and is not syrupy sweet. I believe this is because you don't also have alcohol contributing sweetness.
• We only see the pH drop about 0.1-0.3 during fermentation (depending on which NA yeast we use). And if you dry hop, you're going to lose that gain completely. I recommend acidifying first in the brewhouse and then checking and adjusting again when cooled just in case. The magic number you want to get below is 4.2 as above that is where pathogenic bacteria have been known to be able to grow in non-alcoholic beer. Setting a target of 3.9-4.0 isn't a bad idea and won't make your beer taste like a sour.
• Here in Europe I'm starting to see more and more people who don't have the means to pasteurize use a preservative called Nagardo. It has pretty minimal labeling requirements, but I'm not sure what the requirements are in the US.

Hello Forum,

I have questions for anyone brewing NA (<0.5%) products using a yeast such as Fermentis SafBrew LA-01 which only assimilates glucose and fructose, not maltose or maltotriose.

1) What is your target OG and FG for this product?

2) Are you increasing mash temperature to further limit fermentability of this wort?

3) How large of a pH drop do you see during this fermentation and are you acidifying wort prior to fermentation?

4) If you are packaging this product, are you taking a step to stabilize the product such as adding a preservative or pasteurizing?

Thanks,

Corey

------------------------------
Corey Zschoche
Head Brewer
Callsign Brewing
North Kansas City, MO
------------------------------

Steve... My thinking in regards to Beta Acids were more as a downstream, finishing addition, post fermentation and filtration.   The cited research noted "reduced water activity" as a key component to the success in the study and given that and your comment regarding beta acids being "fairly insoluble in beer" it makes me think that Beta Acids are hydrophobic.  Perhaps nanoemulsion technologies being used in the cannabis space and in downstream products currently used by brewers, like water-soluble terpenes could be employed in the delivery of beta acids to aid in its efficacy?  

I appreciate this thread and the mention of Nagardo had me looking a little more into that product.  Its claimed antimicrobial protections are derived from the edible fungus Sweet Osmanthus Ear (bot. Dacryopinax spathularia).  Seeing this had me thinking...has anyone looked at the addition of hop beta acid extracts to NA beer to provide microbial protection?  I know that beta acids have been used in the production of sausage (particularly Bologna in this research from the Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S095671352100178X) to combat pathogens like listeria.  It is unclear to me in reading the abstract of this paper as to whether the study looked at the efficacy of beta acids in combating gram positive bacteria as a stand alone solution vs. the use of sodium nitrite or in conjunction with sodium nitrite.  It does mention greater efficacy and lower minimum inhibitory concentrations in a slightly acidic, anaerobic environments with "reduced water activity".  Well... beer gets 2 out of 3 there right.  

Obviously, there can be drawbacks to "additives" in beer, be it input cost, consumer perception and confidence, and potential changes in sensory, but the idea of being able to safely provide quality NA products to customers without the capital intensive (not to mention space & energy intensive) investment in pasteurization is certainly intriguing.  (Ashton's mention batch pasteurization in a mash tun also has some intrigue and perhaps he can share an SOP here for that operation?).   If that could be achieved with a hop product, staying true to beer's spirit, then all the better.  So if there isn't research already published on the matter, it would certainly seem to have potential for an enterprising brewing scientist...of which I am far from. 

A few more things not already mentioned by Matthew and Ashton. 

• Matthew's FG sounds crazy high but we've been pleasantly surprised that a FG of around 5.9P works just fine and is not syrupy sweet. I believe this is because you don't also have alcohol contributing sweetness.
• We only see the pH drop about 0.1-0.3 during fermentation (depending on which NA yeast we use). And if you dry hop, you're going to lose that gain completely. I recommend acidifying first in the brewhouse and then checking and adjusting again when cooled just in case. The magic number you want to get below is 4.2 as above that is where pathogenic bacteria have been known to be able to grow in non-alcoholic beer. Setting a target of 3.9-4.0 isn't a bad idea and won't make your beer taste like a sour.
• Here in Europe I'm starting to see more and more people who don't have the means to pasteurize use a preservative called Nagardo. It has pretty minimal labeling requirements, but I'm not sure what the requirements are in the US.

Hello Forum,

I have questions for anyone brewing NA (<0.5%) products using a yeast such as Fermentis SafBrew LA-01 which only assimilates glucose and fructose, not maltose or maltotriose.

1) What is your target OG and FG for this product?

2) Are you increasing mash temperature to further limit fermentability of this wort?

3) How large of a pH drop do you see during this fermentation and are you acidifying wort prior to fermentation?

4) If you are packaging this product, are you taking a step to stabilize the product such as adding a preservative or pasteurizing?

Thanks,

Corey

------------------------------
Corey Zschoche
Head Brewer
Callsign Brewing
North Kansas City, MO
------------------------------

I appreciate this thread and the mention of Nagardo had me looking a little more into that product.  Its claimed antimicrobial protections are derived from the edible fungus Sweet Osmanthus Ear (bot. Dacryopinax spathularia).  Seeing this had me thinking...has anyone looked at the addition of hop beta acid extracts to NA beer to provide microbial protection?  I know that beta acids have been used in the production of sausage (particularly Bologna in this research from the Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S095671352100178X) to combat pathogens like listeria.  It is unclear to me in reading the abstract of this paper as to whether the study looked at the efficacy of beta acids in combating gram positive bacteria as a stand alone solution vs. the use of sodium nitrite or in conjunction with sodium nitrite.  It does mention greater efficacy and lower minimum inhibitory concentrations in a slightly acidic, anaerobic environments with "reduced water activity".  Well... beer gets 2 out of 3 there right.  

Obviously, there can be drawbacks to "additives" in beer, be it input cost, consumer perception and confidence, and potential changes in sensory, but the idea of being able to safely provide quality NA products to customers without the capital intensive (not to mention space & energy intensive) investment in pasteurization is certainly intriguing.  (Ashton's mention batch pasteurization in a mash tun also has some intrigue and perhaps he can share an SOP here for that operation?).   If that could be achieved with a hop product, staying true to beer's spirit, then all the better.  So if there isn't research already published on the matter, it would certainly seem to have potential for an enterprising brewing scientist...of which I am far from. 

A few more things not already mentioned by Matthew and Ashton. 

• Matthew's FG sounds crazy high but we've been pleasantly surprised that a FG of around 5.9P works just fine and is not syrupy sweet. I believe this is because you don't also have alcohol contributing sweetness.
• We only see the pH drop about 0.1-0.3 during fermentation (depending on which NA yeast we use). And if you dry hop, you're going to lose that gain completely. I recommend acidifying first in the brewhouse and then checking and adjusting again when cooled just in case. The magic number you want to get below is 4.2 as above that is where pathogenic bacteria have been known to be able to grow in non-alcoholic beer. Setting a target of 3.9-4.0 isn't a bad idea and won't make your beer taste like a sour.
• Here in Europe I'm starting to see more and more people who don't have the means to pasteurize use a preservative called Nagardo. It has pretty minimal labeling requirements, but I'm not sure what the requirements are in the US.

Hello Forum,

I have questions for anyone brewing NA (<0.5%) products using a yeast such as Fermentis SafBrew LA-01 which only assimilates glucose and fructose, not maltose or maltotriose.

1) What is your target OG and FG for this product?

2) Are you increasing mash temperature to further limit fermentability of this wort?

3) How large of a pH drop do you see during this fermentation and are you acidifying wort prior to fermentation?

4) If you are packaging this product, are you taking a step to stabilize the product such as adding a preservative or pasteurizing?

Thanks,

Corey

------------------------------
Corey Zschoche
Head Brewer
Callsign Brewing
North Kansas City, MO
------------------------------

A few more things not already mentioned by Matthew and Ashton. 

• Matthew's FG sounds crazy high but we've been pleasantly surprised that a FG of around 5.9P works just fine and is not syrupy sweet. I believe this is because you don't also have alcohol contributing sweetness.
• We only see the pH drop about 0.1-0.3 during fermentation (depending on which NA yeast we use). And if you dry hop, you're going to lose that gain completely. I recommend acidifying first in the brewhouse and then checking and adjusting again when cooled just in case. The magic number you want to get below is 4.2 as above that is where pathogenic bacteria have been known to be able to grow in non-alcoholic beer. Setting a target of 3.9-4.0 isn't a bad idea and won't make your beer taste like a sour.
• Here in Europe I'm starting to see more and more people who don't have the means to pasteurize use a preservative called Nagardo. It has pretty minimal labeling requirements, but I'm not sure what the requirements are in the US.

Hello Forum,

I have questions for anyone brewing NA (<0.5%) products using a yeast such as Fermentis SafBrew LA-01 which only assimilates glucose and fructose, not maltose or maltotriose.

1) What is your target OG and FG for this product?

2) Are you increasing mash temperature to further limit fermentability of this wort?

3) How large of a pH drop do you see during this fermentation and are you acidifying wort prior to fermentation?

4) If you are packaging this product, are you taking a step to stabilize the product such as adding a preservative or pasteurizing?

Thanks,

Corey

------------------------------
Corey Zschoche
Head Brewer
Callsign Brewing
North Kansas City, MO
------------------------------

Has anybody here any experience / insight into using Nagardo as a means of controlling Diastaticus / Wild Yeast in Finished Beer for kegging beer, in the absence of Flash Pasteurisation? 

A few more things not already mentioned by Matthew and Ashton. 

• Matthew's FG sounds crazy high but we've been pleasantly surprised that a FG of around 5.9P works just fine and is not syrupy sweet. I believe this is because you don't also have alcohol contributing sweetness.
• We only see the pH drop about 0.1-0.3 during fermentation (depending on which NA yeast we use). And if you dry hop, you're going to lose that gain completely. I recommend acidifying first in the brewhouse and then checking and adjusting again when cooled just in case. The magic number you want to get below is 4.2 as above that is where pathogenic bacteria have been known to be able to grow in non-alcoholic beer. Setting a target of 3.9-4.0 isn't a bad idea and won't make your beer taste like a sour.
• Here in Europe I'm starting to see more and more people who don't have the means to pasteurize use a preservative called Nagardo. It has pretty minimal labeling requirements, but I'm not sure what the requirements are in the US.

Hello Forum,

I have questions for anyone brewing NA (<0.5%) products using a yeast such as Fermentis SafBrew LA-01 which only assimilates glucose and fructose, not maltose or maltotriose.

1) What is your target OG and FG for this product?

2) Are you increasing mash temperature to further limit fermentability of this wort?

3) How large of a pH drop do you see during this fermentation and are you acidifying wort prior to fermentation?

4) If you are packaging this product, are you taking a step to stabilize the product such as adding a preservative or pasteurizing?

Thanks,

Corey

------------------------------
Corey Zschoche
Head Brewer
Callsign Brewing
North Kansas City, MO
------------------------------

This is an interesting question and I would recommend making it into its own post. As it stands, it's kind of buried in someone else's post (and it's been 2 days and no one has answered). That's a long way of saying I think you're more likely to get more attention and more information if you make a fresh post!

Has anybody here any experience / insight into using Nagardo as a means of controlling Diastaticus / Wild Yeast in Finished Beer for kegging beer, in the absence of Flash Pasteurisation? 

A few more things not already mentioned by Matthew and Ashton. 

• Matthew's FG sounds crazy high but we've been pleasantly surprised that a FG of around 5.9P works just fine and is not syrupy sweet. I believe this is because you don't also have alcohol contributing sweetness.
• We only see the pH drop about 0.1-0.3 during fermentation (depending on which NA yeast we use). And if you dry hop, you're going to lose that gain completely. I recommend acidifying first in the brewhouse and then checking and adjusting again when cooled just in case. The magic number you want to get below is 4.2 as above that is where pathogenic bacteria have been known to be able to grow in non-alcoholic beer. Setting a target of 3.9-4.0 isn't a bad idea and won't make your beer taste like a sour.
• Here in Europe I'm starting to see more and more people who don't have the means to pasteurize use a preservative called Nagardo. It has pretty minimal labeling requirements, but I'm not sure what the requirements are in the US.

Hello Forum,

I have questions for anyone brewing NA (<0.5%) products using a yeast such as Fermentis SafBrew LA-01 which only assimilates glucose and fructose, not maltose or maltotriose.

1) What is your target OG and FG for this product?

2) Are you increasing mash temperature to further limit fermentability of this wort?

3) How large of a pH drop do you see during this fermentation and are you acidifying wort prior to fermentation?

4) If you are packaging this product, are you taking a step to stabilize the product such as adding a preservative or pasteurizing?

Thanks,

Corey

------------------------------
Corey Zschoche
Head Brewer
Callsign Brewing
North Kansas City, MO
------------------------------