Low-alcohol beverages and mixed drinks: production for brewers

Where 0.5 to 3.5% sits in the rules

Indian food law has no separate low-alcohol beer class. Under the FSSAI Alcoholic Beverages Regulations, 2018 (compendium version IV, 27 August 2025), beer above 0.5% and up to 5.0% ABV is regular or mild. A 1.5% session beer and a 4.8% lager share a class. Below that sit two classes: the non-alcoholic counterpart (0.5% or less, made by removing alcohol after fermentation) and alcohol free beer at 0.0.

Mixed drinks changed on 1 January 2026. Flavoured drinks above 0.5% and up to 15% ABV made from spirit or another alcoholic base, with flavours, juice, herbs or sugar, are now alcoholic ready-to-drink beverages. Their table sets pH 2.0 to 5.0, sugar not above 20% w/v and, if carbonated, at least one volume of CO2. Declared strength must be within 0.3% ABV either way for drinks up to 20%. A label above 0.5% may not say non-intoxicating and caffeine may not be added.

Four ways to brew a low-ABV beer

• Hot mash. Mashing high favours alpha-amylase over beta-amylase, so the wort carries more dextrin and less maltose. White Labs notes that some low-ABV routes mash above 74 °C to cut maltose further. Expect body without much alcohol. Watch for a worty edge.
• Maltose-negative yeast. Fermentis SafBrew LA-01 ferments glucose, fructose and sucrose but not maltose or maltotriose. Its technical guideline estimates ABV as 0.0862 x OG in °P minus 0.1208 and advises 6.5 to 7.5 °P for a 0.5% target. Within the 6 to 15 °P range Fermentis tested, that formula puts 1% ABV near 13 °P.
• Arrested fermentation. Ferment with a normal strain and stop it at target by crash cooling and yeast removal. Simple on paper but hard to repeat. It also leaves fermentable sugar behind.
• Dilution. Brew a full-strength beer and dilute it with deaerated water. FSSAI requires dilution water to meet IS 10500, the drinking water standard. For 2.5 to 3.5% we find this the most repeatable route, provided the base beer has enough flavour to stretch.

Blending accuracy

Blend strength follows volume. 100 litres of 5.0% beer plus 60 litres of water gives 160 litres at about 3.1%. A 0.3% tolerance on 3.1% is about a tenth of the label figure, so a sight glass and a guess will not hold it. Our checklist:

• Measure base beer ABV by a lab method, not from gravities alone. Our ABV guide explains why gravity maths drifts.
• Dose by flow meter or load cells, not by tank dip.
• Mix or recirculate the blend tank, then sample top and bottom.
• Measure ABV, pH, CO2 and dissolved oxygen on the blend. Keep the record for excise.

Biological and colloidal stability

Less alcohol and more residual sugar take away two of beer's defences. Fermentis says LA-01 beer must be pasteurised after packaging to at least 80 to 120 PU and that flash pasteurisation alone is not enough. White Labs also puts low-ABV needs above 80 PU, well above typical lager practice. FSSAI requires bottled and canned beer to be pasteurised or filter sterilised in any case. Keep the beer cold from crash to pack so nothing ferments the leftover sugar first.

Colloidal stability needs the same care. A diluted or arrested beer can throw haze sooner because its protein and polyphenol were balanced for a different beer. Use the lager toolkit: cold maturation near 0 °C, silica or PVPP, filtration and a forced ageing test before release.

Sweetness and balance

Low-alcohol beer tastes thin because ethanol brings body and warmth. Routes that leave sugar risk the opposite, a sweet finish that tastes of wort. Balance with hop bitterness, a little acidity and carbonation towards the top of the beer range. For mixed drinks the levers are sugar, acid and dilution. Fix target Brix and pH as a pair and measure both every batch.

Beer, wine and spirit-based mixed drinks

A beer-based mixed drink such as a radler can be made on brewery kit; our guide to flavoured beers, shandies and radlers covers blending and pasteurisation. Wine-based and spirit-based drinks are a licensing question before they are a technical one. Check whether your brewery licence covers anything other than beer; a spirit base usually sits under a distillery or bottling licence with its own bond. Ask the state excise office which licence covers the product and its base before developing a recipe. Our guide to alcopops and hard seltzer covers the neutral base.

Existing brewery or new set-up

If you already run a brewery or brewpub, your brewhouse can run all four beer routes. Add a lab method for ABV, a blending tank with a flow meter, a deaerated water supply and either a tunnel pasteuriser or a contract packer who pasteurises. Each new strength usually needs a fresh label registration with the state excise office. Some states band duty by strength, so ask how a 2.5% beer is treated. Our craft beer rules by state is a starting point; confirm with the excise office and a licensing adviser, as rules change.

If you are starting a new set-up, build in this order: a brewhouse and fermenters sized for small trial batches, a cold block that holds 0 °C, the lab, deaerated water, blending, then packaging with a tunnel pasteuriser. Writing the blending and release procedure for your own beers is the step a guide cannot do for you.

Common questions

Is a 2.5% beer a low-alcohol beer under FSSAI?

There is no separate low-alcohol beer class. Beer above 0.5% and up to 5.0% ABV is regular or mild beer under the FSSAI Alcoholic Beverages Regulations.

What original gravity gives 0.5% ABV with a maltose-negative yeast?

Fermentis advises 6.5 to 7.5 °P for SafBrew LA-01, with about 7.2 °P giving 0.5% ABV. Results depend on your malt and mash.

Does low-alcohol beer need pasteurising?

If it carries residual fermentable sugar, yes. Fermentis specifies at least 80 to 120 PU after packaging for LA-01 beer.

What is an alcoholic ready-to-drink beverage in India?

From 1 January 2026 FSSAI uses the term for flavoured drinks above 0.5% and up to 15% ABV made from spirit or another alcoholic base. Carbonated versions need at least one volume of CO2.