VOA新闻杂志2024--Alcohol-free Beer Becomes More Popular in Germany

The head brewmaster for Weihenstephan, the world's oldest brewery², has a secret.

The secret is that he really likes to drink alcohol-free beer.

Tobias Zollo is quick to say that he enjoys real beer more. Still, the expert brewer¹ says he enjoys alcohol-free beer when he is working.

Alcohol-free beer has the same taste as usual beer but has fewer calories, he said.

The caloric reduction is a result of the brewery's process of evaporating the alcohol.

"You can't drink beer every day - unfortunately," he joked recently at the Bavarian state brewery in the German town of Freising, located about 31 kilometers north of Munich.

Zollo is not alone in his enjoyment³ for alcohol-free beer. The drink has been gaining popularity in recent years as interest in the alcoholic⁴ version decreases.

Christian⁵ monks⁷ established Weihenstephan as a brewery in 1040. The operation began to produce non-alcoholic wheat beer and lager in the 1990s. Now those non-alcoholic drinks account for 10 percent of its total beer production. The same is true, generally, across Germany's beer industry.

"The people are unfortunately - I have to say that as a brewer - unfortunately drinking less beer," Zollo said recently. He spoke⁸ the day before the start of Oktoberfest, a 16-day celebration held yearly in Munich.

Zollo said that if there is a way to offer a choice that has "the crisp and fresh taste from a typical Weihenstephan beer, but just as a non-alcoholic version, we want to do that."

Celebrants can choose that version at all but two of the 18 large tents at the event. The alcohol-free beer will cost the same as an alcoholic beer.

Oktoberfest celebrant Mikael Caselitz of Munich seemed to approve of the drink choices.

"For people who don't like to drink alcohol and want to enjoy the Oktoberfest as well, I think it's a good option," he said.

The 24-year-old continued, "Sometimes people feel like they have more fun with alcohol, which is not a good thing because you can also have fun without alcohol...If you want to come and drink alcohol-free beer, nobody will judge you."

Oktoberfest began in the early 1800s.

This year marked the first time an alcohol-free beer garden opened in Munich. "Die Null," which means "the zero" in German, served non-alcoholic beer and other alcohol-free drinks near the city's main train station this summer.

Walter Ko?nig is managing director of the Society of Hop⁹ Research. He said researchers have had to create special hops¹⁰ for alcohol-free beer. If brewers use the usual hops for alcohol-free beer, the special smell gets lost when the alcohol is reduced during the brewing¹¹ process.

But alcohol-free beer buyers do not care about that, Ko?nig said recently as he prepared for Oktoberfest. He explained, "They only want to know that what they are tasting is as good as traditional beers with alcohol."

Words in This Story

brewery -- n. a place where beer is produced

monk⁶ -- n. a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery¹²

crisp -- adj. notably¹³ sharp and clear

typical -- adj. having the essential characteristics of a group

option -- n. something that may be chosen

hops -- n. the dried flower clusters of the hemp family used especially to give a bitter flavor to beer

1 brewer   

n. 啤酒制造者

参考例句：

• Brewer is a very interesting man. 布鲁尔是一个很有趣的人。
• I decided to quit my job to become a brewer. 我决定辞职，做一名酿酒人。

2 brewery   

n.啤酒厂

参考例句：

• The brewery had 25 heavy horses delivering beer in London.啤酒厂有25匹高头大马在伦敦城中运送啤酒。
• When business was good,the brewery employed 20 people.在生意好的时候，这家酿造厂曾经雇佣过20人。

3 enjoyment   

n.乐趣；享有；享用

参考例句：

• Your company adds to the enjoyment of our visit. 有您的陪同，我们这次访问更加愉快了。
• After each joke the old man cackled his enjoyment.每逢讲完一个笑话，这老人就呵呵笑着表示他的高兴。

4 alcoholic   

adj.（含）酒精的，由酒精引起的；n.酗酒者

参考例句：

• The alcoholic strength of brandy far exceeds that of wine.白兰地的酒精浓度远远超过葡萄酒。
• Alcoholic drinks act as a poison to a child.酒精饮料对小孩犹如毒药。

5 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

6 monk   

n.和尚，僧侣，修道士

参考例句：

• The man was a monk from Emei Mountain.那人是峨眉山下来的和尚。
• Buddhist monk sat with folded palms.和尚合掌打坐。

7 monks   

n.修道士，僧侣( monk的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The monks lived a very ascetic life. 僧侣过着很清苦的生活。
• He had been trained rigorously by the monks. 他接受过修道士的严格训练。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

9 hop   

n.单脚跳，跳跃；vi.单脚跳，跳跃；着手做某事；vt.跳跃，跃过

参考例句：

• The children had a competition to see who could hop the fastest.孩子们举行比赛，看谁单足跳跃最快。
• How long can you hop on your right foot?你用右脚能跳多远？

10 hops   

跳上[下]( hop的第三人称单数 )； 单足蹦跳； 齐足（或双足）跳行； 摘葎草花

参考例句：

• The sparrow crossed the lawn in a series of hops. 那麻雀一蹦一跳地穿过草坪。
• It is brewed from malt and hops. 它用麦精和蛇麻草酿成。

11 brewing   

n. 酿造, 一次酿造的量 动词brew的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• It was obvious that a big storm was brewing up. 很显然，一场暴风雨正在酝酿中。
• She set about brewing some herb tea. 她动手泡一些药茶。

12 monastery   

n.修道院，僧院，寺院

参考例句：

• They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
• She was appointed the superior of the monastery two years ago.两年前她被任命为这个修道院的院长。

13 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。