From Grain to Glass — The Brewing Process & Non-Alcoholic Beer

The Brewing Process

Nine steps, one grain

From barley to beer — a process of weeks of artisan precision, where barley provides the body, flavour and soul of the final drink.

🌾

Barley

Selection of brewing-quality grain

💧

Malting

Steeping, germination and kiln drying

⚙️

Milling

Crushing malt to release starches

🫙

Mashing

Hot water mix — starch → sugar

🔥

Boiling

Wort boiled with hops 60–90 min

❄️

Cooling

Rapid cooling before yeast

🧫

Fermentation

Yeast → alcohol and CO₂

🛢️

Conditioning

Cold storage develops flavour

🍺

Packaging

Filtering, carbonation, bottling

🌾

Step 1 + 2

Barley & Malting

High-quality barley is selected by protein content and diastatic power. It is steeped 48h, germinated 4–5 days to activate enzymes, then kiln-dried. The result is base malt — the heart of every beer.

⭐ Barley's role: starches, enzymes and the base flavour profile.

🫙🔥

Step 3 + 4 + 5

Milling, Mashing & Boiling

Malt is milled and mixed with hot water (65–72°C) for 60–90 min. Enzymes convert starches into fermentable sugars. The wort is then boiled with hops for bitterness, aroma and stability.

🌡️ Key temperature: 65°C favours body; 72°C favours dryness.

🧫🛢️🍺

Step 6 + 7 + 8 + 9

Fermentation to Glass

Cooled wort receives yeast, converting sugars into alcohol and CO₂ over 5–10 days. It conditions cold for weeks (lagering), then is filtered, carbonated and packaged. From barley to your glass.

🍺 Result: beer with full traceability, batch to bottle.

🌾→🍺

1 tonne of brewing barley produces

~600 litres of beer

≈ 1,700 bottles (355ml) or 1,250 cans (473ml)

The Growing Frontier

Non-Alcoholic Beer

Same barley. Same craft. A completely different challenge. Non-alcoholic beer is the fastest growing segment in the global beverage industry — and barley remains at its heart.

$26B

Global market 2026

+111%

Volume growth 2021–2025

9.9%

CAGR 2025–2026

$52B

Projected market 2036

Same as regular beer

Modified step

Exclusive NA step

🌾

Barley

Same quality grain

💧

Malting

Identical

⚙️

Milling

Identical

🫙

Mashing

Identical

🔥

Boiling

Identical

❄️

Cooling

Identical

🧫

Fermentation

Arrested or special yeast

🔬

Dealcohol.

NA only — remove alcohol

🛢️

Conditioning

Flavor re-adjust

🍺

Packaging

≤0.5% ABV

The 3 Methods of Non-Alcoholic Beer Production

Method 1 · Most Common

Vacuum Distillation

Beer is brewed normally, then heated under vacuum at low temperature (35–40°C) to evaporate alcohol without damaging flavours. Used by most commercial NA beers.

Challenge: restoring aroma compounds lost in distillation.

Method 2 · Premium

Reverse Osmosis

Fully fermented beer is pushed through ultra-fine membranes under pressure. Alcohol and water pass; flavour molecules stay. Water is added back for a fuller-tasting NA beer.

Advantage: best flavour retention — no heat applied.

Method 3 · Innovation

Arrested Fermentation

Fermentation is stopped early before significant alcohol develops, or special low-alcohol yeast strains are used. A growing trend among craft NA brewers.

Trend: strains like S. cerevisiae var. chevalieri.

🌾→🔬→🍺

Non-alcoholic beer still needs the same premium barley

Because alcohol is removed after fermentation, NA beer requires identical malt quality — often higher, since barley must compensate for alcohol's body and flavour.

Brewing something great?

Let's talk about traceable, sustainable barley for your beer — alcoholic or not.

Get in Touch