Producing and consuming items that are natural, wild, and unprocessed by contemporary industrial techniques is in style. That applies to food, wine, and, to a growing extent, beer.
The United States is one of many that has a large number of breweries that make unpasteurized beer. But exactly what is it? Here is all the information you should know about before consuming unpasteurized beer.
Table of Contents
- What Is Unpasteurized Beer?
- Unpasteurized Beer History
- Unpasteurised Beer vs Pasteurised Beer
- Who Produces Unpasteurized Beer? Unpasteurized Beer Brands
- Is Unpasteurized Beer Safe to Drink?
- FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
What Is Unpasteurized Beer?
Unpasteurized beer is exactly what its name implies: beer that hasn’t been pasteurised. It is a product that is mostly identified by what it isn’t. Numerous commercial beers in cans and bottles are pasteurised in the same manner as other products.
To eliminate any bacteria and stop any yeast that may still be present in the beer from growing, the cans and bottles are run under a hot water spray that is approximately 140 degrees.
Beers that aren’t pasteurised bypass that stage. The untreated beers must be kept consistently refrigerated and drunk as soon after the manufacture date as feasible to preserve them fresh. Unpasteurized beer and unpasteurized milk are comparable, which is true.
Do you understand what pasteurisation entails, though? Most likely not. So let me start with a brief explanation: pasteurisation is the process of heating a liquid, like beer, to a temperature that destroys bacteria and potentially harmful microbes.
It is approximately 212°F (100°C). Many brewers have turned to pasteurisation to stabilise and sterilise their products without having to alter the beer itself.
Unpasteurized Beer History
Prior to the 1870s, at the height of the Franco-Prussian War, all beers were pasteurised (or the War of 1870). Louis Pasteur, the inventor of pasteurisation, aimed to improve the flavour of French beer. According to the Edinburgh Review, he was “studying the illnesses of beer.”
The French were knowledgeable about wine, but beer degrades more quickly. Pasteur observed that lactic, acetic, and butyric acids might degrade beer that was fermenting between 77 and 95 degrees.
Wild yeasts had the propensity to add off notes like rubber if the fermentation occurred spontaneously outside. Therefore, Pasteur introduced a safeguard. Pasteur made the decision to take action. Pasteur patented his pasteurisation procedure in 1873, which transformed the way beer was processed and packaged.
When fermentation is about finished, he told the brewers to bottle the beer and then briefly expose the bottles to a temperature between 122 and 131 degrees Fahrenheit.
Through this management, any stray germs of undesired ferments are eliminated, which keeps the beer safe for extended periods of time. This is essentially what is done when beer is pasteurised, a technique that is being carried out on a very wide scale.
Unpasteurised Beer vs Pasteurised Beer
Beer pasteurisation has advantages, including a significantly longer shelf life, the ability to help standardise flavour, and the ability to store beer at room temperature without worrying about deterioration. However, there are some disadvantages as well, which is why more and more craft breweries are choosing to forgo that phase.
This quick heating and cooling are bad for the flavour of the beer because it tends to lose its scents and “flatten” its flavour. Unpasteurization has one straightforward benefit: the brew is fresher and tastier as a result.
Interested in the answer to What Is Beer Made Of? Visit our guide on beer ingredients!
Who Produces Unpasteurized Beer? Unpasteurized Beer Brands
Many craft breweries today choose not to pasteurise part or all of their beers. Craft breweries make their beers to be drank in the tap room or within a short period of time at a site near the brewery because pasteurisation equipment is pricey.
Consider the beer served in your neighbourhood taproom and the beer that is sold in the same city or region as the craft brewery where it was made – for example, hazy New England IPAs. It may be stated on the label or in marketing materials for some unpasteurized beers, but just because it doesn’t say unpasteurized doesn’t imply it isn’t.
Furthermore, most kegged beer is unpasteurized. Here are some unpasteurized beer brands to look for:
- Allagash
- Ayinger
- Bison Brewing
- Brooklyn Brewery
- Budweiser Budvar
- Deschutes Brewery
- Dogfish Head
- Great Divide Brewing Co.
- Kona Brewing Company
- Lakefront Brewery
- Lindemans
- Logsdon Farmhouse Ales
- North Coast Brewing Co.
- Orval
- Rush River Brewing
- Schneider Weisse
- Sierra Nevada
- Samuel Smith’s
- Trappistes Rochefort
- Widmer Brewing Company
- Weihenstephaner
- Wychwood
Is Unpasteurized Beer Safe to Drink?
Beer without pasteurisation is safe. Drink an unpasteurized beer, as a general rule, within between 45 to 60 days after the date of manufacturing, and make sure you are purchasing from a location that kept the beer cold from production until it was opened and in your possession.
FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
No, the unpasteurized beer won’t make you sick as long as you don’t drink bad, old beer. Live yeast is present in unpasteurized beer, which means it is not pasteurised. It is not known whether drinking this kind of beer poses any health problems. In fact, according to some, consuming unpasteurized beer is similar to consuming kombucha because both beverages contain probiotics. However, drinking unpasteurized beer is much more enjoyable and rewarding.
Unpasteurized beer normally keeps for 120–180 days after the date of packaging, although it must be kept in the refrigerator to do so. Some brands expire after two months.
To keep it simple – a beer that hasn’t been pasteurised is referred to as unpasteurized beer. This indicates that no heat was applied to the bottles to destroy any bacteria. For this reason, unpasteurized beer frequently has a greater flavour than pasteurised beer.
Many beers have been released by Birra Peroni. Since there is no indication of the contrary on the labels, the majority of them are unquestionably pasteurised. Although there is no official declaration confirming it, one of their beers, Birra Peroni Cruda, is thought to be unpasteurized (non-pastorizzata) and unfiltered.
