Flemish brewery launches innovative alcohol-free draught beer

Brewery The Musketeers from Sint-Gillis-Waas, East Flanders province, has in the Antwerp pub Mombasa launched the alcohol-free draught beer Troubadour Zestra. That reported the Flemish newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws. Alcohol-free beer can usually only be offered in bottles or cans.

Alcohol-free beers are becoming so popular that pubs are asking to offer them on draught instead of in bottles or cans. Breweries obviously want to follow that demand, but non-alcoholic beers are very sensitive to flavour changes or excessive CO2 formation from the moment a keg is opened. But the Troubadour Zestra would retain its original flavour nicely after the keg is opened, according to its makers.

“We are particularly proud of this breakthrough,” brewer Stefaan Soetemans told Het Laatste Nieuws. “Thanks to the addition of a natural ingredient and advanced brewing techniques, we have overcome the problems.”

According to Soetemans, this represents “an important step forward in the market of alcohol-free beer”. “This opens up new opportunities for both the catering and distribution sectors, where demand for alcohol-free options continues to grow,” he declared.

Alcohol-free draught beers are not new worldwide. Experts have been experimenting with them for some time for larger events and festivals. “It’s true that testing has been going on at mega breweries in recent years, but those kegs then have to be emptied within one or two days to avoid loss of flavour or excessive CO2 formation,” Soetemans explained. “Our Troubadour Zestra is specifically for pubs, which take longer to empty a keg. The Zestra retains its flavour for at least two weeks. This also preserves the distinctive pub experience of a freshly tapped glass of beer.”

Troubadour Zestra is a blonde beer that combines hop bitterness, fruity notes and a soft maltiness. It is a variant of the well-known Troubadour beer. The addition “Zestra” refers to citrus zest and the adjective “zesty” – which means lively and spicy. The Troubadour Zestra does contain 0.3% alcohol, but anything under 0.5% can legally be called alcohol-free.

^{#FlandersNewsService | A woman serving draught beer in a bar ​ © BELGA PHOTO IMAGEBROKER}