2% beer....

No, it's not an idea for diluting beer, but it's worth noting that I've heard of at least 1 beer and 1 cider manufacturer that have released product with an alcohol content of 2% ish. Whilst you might have gathered that I like lots of different beer, and not necessarily the hugely commercial stuff, I have to welcome this development.

Low alcohol beer and cider is a good thing, isn't it? It might focus people's attention onto taste, rather than kick, i.e. drinking to enjoy the drink rather than to get the twirlybeds effect.

I do wonder, however, how it happens. Beer has an alcohol content because the sugar ferments when the beer is being made - I can see maybe 2 or 3 ways that the typical content is reduced.

1. Less sugar is used to feed the yeast - this would probably alter the taste, would it?
2. Less time is allowed for the yeast to ferment the sugars into alcohol....this would probably alter the taste too, I'd imagine....
3. There's A Chemical that can somehow reduce the alcohol content....
4. Dilute With Water?

Hmm. This is a puzzler. Answers on a comment please, or I'll have to find out for myself.

Day 1 Fermentation Report

So, I measured the specific gravity again this evening using a hydrometer, we seem to have 1% alcohol or thereabouts - so something's happening! The stuff - I'm sure there's a proper name for half-fermented worts - tastes a lot less sweet than it did yesterday, and there's a little bit of fizz in it. There's no real taste as yet. It's a dark caramel in colour, and doesn't taste of TCP or anything nasty, so hopefully it's gonna turn out drinkable.

Cat-win, I never thought of asking at all!

Pressure

Positive pressure being exerted by fermentation vessel means that there's definitely something happening. I think I killed the yeast yesterday by exposing it to temperatures that are incompatible with life, but I got another batch of yeast today and threw it into the mixture - it's just about to start bubbling!

The Initial Gravity read at 1.052, which is a little lower than it said on the tin, but that'll hopefully just mean a little less alcohol in the final product rather than taste. Well it's working away now, whatever will be will be.

Incidentally, I got a Logitech Cordless Laser mouse MX620 for my laptop yesterday - a fantastically comfortable piece of input device - I heartily recommend for anyone who's looking for the ball-less, tail-less mouse of their dreams.