Today in 1995, US Patent 5384135 A was issued, an invention of Henri J. J. Caluwaerts, assigned to Brasserie Du Cardinal Fribourg S.A., for his “Process for the Manufacture of an Alcohol-Free Beer Having the Organoleptic Properties of a Lager Type Pale Beer.” Here’s the Abstract:
A process for the manufacture of an alcohol-free pale beer (AFB) whose organoleptic properties are those of a lager beer, comprising the manufacture of a lager type alcoholic pale beer from pale malts containing 20 to 30% of brown malts, mashed to obtain a wort whose attenuation is of the order of 50% and the dealcoholization of the alcoholic pale beer, by evaporation, under high vacuum, of at least about 50% of the volume of this beer. The concentrate obtained by evaporation may be rediluted with water, flavored and sweetened until a concentration of 4° Brix is obtained in order to produce the AFB. The concentrate may also be subjected to a second vacuum evaporation at a temperature of less than 60° C. until a concentrate assaying between 45° and 65° Brix is obtained which is storable for several months before the redilution into an AFB.