Pilot Plant Production of Low-Alcohol Beer by Osmotic Distillation

Osmotic distillation (OD) is a membrane technology frequently applied for dissolved gas removal from liquids and for liquid concentration; recently, there has been increasing interest in the use of this technology to dealcoholize beverages. The aim of this work was to ascertain the feasibility of a semi-industrial scale of beer dealcoholization by OD using a pilot plant. The process was optimized by the variation of technological parameters to determine the effect of different operating conditions on the quality and organoleptic properties of the dealcoholized beer. The most important beer quality parameters were determined before and after the dealcoholization, as well as the volatile composition by gas chromatography and the organoleptic characteristics by a trained panel. The findings indicated that OD is an appropriate process for low-alcohol beer production. Some issues, such as the loss of volatile compounds and the high amount of stripping solution required, limit its growth. The report of the panel showed that beer with an organoleptic profile more characterized by malty features than by ester content could be appropriate for this treatment.