So I’ve been perusing the interwebs on the possibility of converting part of a brew to an NA beer. My father hasn’t had a drop of alcohol in 15 years but keeps a case of St Pauli NA on hand at all times and enjoys a sip of each batch of my homebrew when he comes over for dinner. I was curious if it would be possible to convert a part of my homebrew batches to something he could enjoy without completely destroying the original flavors and aromas. I found This Article
from BYO a few years back and am curious if anyone has tried this technique? My father is interested in “good” NA beer and I’m looking for a way to be able to share my hobby with him without subjecting him to more than a sip of my homebrew because of the alcohol content. Any tips or advice?
Pretty good article. Over the past 2 years I’ve used this method to neuter parts of 5 batches for a friend. One thing I do different is heat it on the stove to 180* before moving it to the oven for 1/2 hour. And make sure you do check that temperature frequently. With my oven I usually have to set it at 190-195 to keep the liquid at 170-175.
All the batches I’ve done it on have been malty-types- Irish Red, Porter, Brown, Scottish ale, also a Graf. Supposedly the heat will drive off the hop aroma, so I have not experimented with any hoppy styles. I have not noticed any flavor difference between my regular vs. neutered. I haven’t tested alcohol content of any neutered batch. You can order an alcohol test kit from White Labs(I think NB carries it).
Good luck! :cheers:
