Impact of different production methods on selected aroma compounds for non-alcoholic beers by developing an HS-SPME GC–MS method

The flavor of non-alcoholic beers (NAB) depends on production methods like limited fermentation (LF), maltose-negative special yeasts (SY, Saccharomyces chevalieri), thermal dealcoholization (TH) and reverse osmosis (RO). Each leads to different losses and concentrations of aroma compounds (AC). An aroma comparison of NAB production methods using the same wort and alcoholic motherbeers (MB, Lager and Weizen), which has not been done yet, is the aim of this study. Therefore, a gas chromatography-based method for 50 AC was developed using GC-O and headspace SPME GC-MS. Calibration with different solutions showed that thermal dealcoholized beer has the most suitable base, meeting EPA 8270E standards. SY and RO NABs had the most AC. SY beers contained more esters and 4-vinyl guaiacol while RO beers had more hop based AC. Sensory tests confirmed these differences. The study demonstrates that NAB production methods impact aroma composition and sensory quality.