Method

Reverse osmosis

Pressure drives the liquid through membranes that separate water and ethanol from a flavor concentrate, then the parts are reassembled without (most of) the alcohol.

Reverse osmosis is a membrane story. The beer or wine is pushed against filters that pass small molecules — water, ethanol — and hold back a thicker flavor fraction. The permeate is dealt with (often distilled) so the ethanol can be discarded or reused; the flavor fraction is put back together with de-alcoholized liquid.

It is genuine alcohol removal. It is also easy to underspecify. “Filtered” on a can might mean RO, cold sterile filtration, or a finishing step that has nothing to do with ethanol. We will not upgrade a vague filter claim to reverse osmosis.

6bottles reviewed with this method. Other methods are listed below.

From the cellar

Reviewed with this method