Is it really possible to brew a non-alcoholic IPA that tastes good?

The question comes up all the time. In bars, on our social media, in our tanks in Renens: "Can a non-alcoholic IPA really have any taste?"

Let's be honest. For a long time, non-alcoholic IPAs were often just hoppy water that didn't commit to anything. Too sweet, flat, or downright bland. The kind of thing that makes you want to go straight back to a real beer.

But things have changed. You can brew a killer "alcohol-free" IPA. However, if the expectation is for a perfect 0.0%, there's an important point to clarify. Absolute 0.0% technically exists, but it requires huge compromises in flavor.

We made a different choice: 0.5% . This isn't by chance; it's a calculated balance between what Swiss law allows and what we want in the glass. So, how do you keep the aromatic punch of an IPA while removing (almost) all the alcohol? Here's the technical behind-the-scenes look.

A 0.0% option exists, but not without sacrificing flavor.

A 0.0% ABV beer does exist. In fact, other industrial and craft breweries do it. But to achieve this, they have to use complex methods: vacuum distillation or reverse osmosis . Basically, they brew a real beer, then extract the alcohol using industrial machinery.

The problem? These techniques destroy some of the aromas. The essential oils in hops—those that give them notes of mango, grapefruit, or resin—are fragile. When heated or filtered too aggressively, they are lost along with the alcohol.

The 0.5% is something else entirely. We maintain a true fermentation with live yeasts working to create complexity. This tiny dose of alcohol is enough to extract and preserve the aromatic compounds of the hops.

Besides, 0.5% is nothing. A ripe banana already contains up to 0.2% natural alcohol. Fresh orange juice? Between 0.1 and 0.3%. Sourdough bread, which everyone loves? Around 0.2%. Kefir or kombucha can reach up to 1%. And nobody panics when drinking their morning juice.

Alcohol extracts and carries the hop aromas

Here's something that can't be said enough: alcohol isn't just there to create a good atmosphere. In an IPA, it plays a key role in extracting aromas.

The essential oils of hops dissolve better in alcohol than in water. Alcohol acts as a natural solvent that captures and diffuses these aromas throughout the liquid.

Without alcohol, this extraction is much less efficient. The hops release fewer compounds, and those that end up in the beer are less stable. The result: more subtle aromas, a diminished intensity.

Alcohol also adds body and roundness to the palate . It masks some of the bitterness and balances the flavors. When it's completely removed, the beer can seem more watery, sweeter, or conversely, too bitter without any counterbalance.

That's why brewing an alcohol-free IPA isn't just "doing it the same as usual but without the ethanol." You have to rethink everything. This is where all our fermentation techniques become essential - temperature, timing, choice of yeasts - every parameter counts triple.

The near absence of alcohol is compensated for with massive dry hopping

To maintain the punch of a 0.5% IPA, we push the technical dial to the max.

Dry hopping becomes our best friend. We add a massive amount of hops directly to the fermentation tank, at room temperature, after the yeast has done its job. There's no heat to evaporate the aromas. The hops infuse gently and release their essential oils – the ones that give those explosive notes of tropical fruit and citrus.

In our Diversion IPA , we use Polaris and Mosaic hops, two varieties bursting with aroma, and we don't skimp on the quantities. Special yeasts are our other weapon. Some strains work slowly and naturally produce very little alcohol while developing fruity esters that enrich the aromatic profile.

Fermentation is stopped at the right time to keep the alcohol content below 0.5%, while still retaining enough substance for the beer to have body and texture. Then, it is pasteurized to stabilize everything and prevent any refermentation in the bottle.

The 0.5% is our perfect balance between taste and Swiss legislation

In Switzerland, a beer is considered "alcohol-free" as soon as its alcohol content falls below 0.5% . This legislation gives us valuable technical flexibility.

We could technically get down to 0.0% with complete dealcoholization. But that would require heavy industrial equipment that costs a fortune in energy and would destroy part of what we've worked so hard to build with our hops.

0.5% is our technical comfort zone. Low enough to be legally "alcohol-free", high enough to maintain a real fermentation that creates aromatic complexity and texture.

In our Diversion range ( IPA , wheat beer , and shandy ), the result speaks for itself: flavors that stand the test of time . These aren't copies of our 6.4 % Embuscade or our 5.0% Moonshine . These are true craft beers designed to be delicious at 0.5%.

Cheers 🍻