Alken-Maes now distributes non-alcoholic beer on tap

© Alken-Maes

Alken-Maes is the first brewer to distribute non-alcoholic beer on tap. Thanks to an innovative dispensing system, this non-alcoholic beer on tap will soon be available in the hospitality industry, at festivals and events such as Pukkelpop, the ING Arena in Antwerp, Le Botanique in Brussels and in the La Gantoise and Racing Genk clubs.

A first in Belgium: Alken-Maes has launched the large-scale distribution of 0.0% non-alcoholic beer on tap. Difficult to deploy on a large scale, Alken-Maes has apparently found a method to prevent the formation of alcohol in beer: an innovative dispensing system. First, the barrel production line and the brewery's cleaning procedures were adapted. Then, the barrels are kept under observation for two weeks before being delivered. As for the adaptations on the customer side, for fixed dispensing installations, the pipe connecting the barrel to the pump is surrounded along its entire length by a sheath through which water at a temperature close to 0 degrees circulates. For mobile pumps, the pipe must be replaced after each barrel. “Non-alcoholic beer must be 100% cooled throughout the circuit and must be in a very clean and hygienic pipe at all times,” explains Jan Deveux, quality manager of tapping techniques at Alken-Maes, quoted by De Tijd. “If you open a keg of non-alcoholic beer and let it flow through a normal tap system, you can get 0.2 or 0.3% alcohol in just a few days. That results in a low-alcohol beer with 0.2 or 0.3 percent alcohol, and that's not what the brewer wants.”

Initially, Alken-Maes will deploy 200 mobile tapping installations to offer customers 0.0% beer on tap, in addition to the brewer's existing 0.0% tapping installations. “We will start with the football clubs KAA Gent and KRC Genk, cultural and music centers such as Trix and Botanique, and events such as the Tour of Flanders and Pukkelpop. We want to offer non-alcoholic lagers in as many meeting places as possible throughout Belgium, but with the experience of a perfectly served pint,” concludes Kenny Willems, director of out-of-home sales at Alken-Maes.