JP2024079198A - Beer-tasted beverage - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a beer-tasted beverage with a superior rich taste typical of beer-tasted beverages, in which the alcohol content is less than 1 v/v%.SOLUTION: A beer-tasted beverage has an alcohol content of less than 1 v/v% and includes γ-aminobutyrate.SELECTED DRAWING: None

Description

The present invention relates to a beer-flavored beverage.

Various methods for improving the flavor of beer-flavored beverages with an alcohol content of less than 1 v/v% have been investigated. For example, Patent Document 1 describes the discovery that black ginger extract has the effect of imparting an alcoholic sensation to beverages with an alcohol content of less than 1 v/v%.

JP 2022-055928 A

Beer-flavored beverages with an alcohol content of less than 1 v/v% have the problem of lacking the thickness characteristic of beer-flavored beverages.

The present invention aims to provide a beer-flavored beverage that has an alcohol content of less than 1 v/v% and has a rich flavor characteristic of a beer-flavored beverage.

The present invention relates to a beer-flavored beverage that has an alcohol content of less than 1 v/v % and contains γ-aminobutyric acid.

The beer-taste beverage according to one embodiment of the present invention has an alcohol content of less than 1 v/v % and contains gamma-aminobutyric acid, giving it a rich flavor characteristic of a beer-taste beverage.

The beer-taste beverage may further contain alanine. In this case, the beer-taste beverage will have an excellent refreshing taste.

The beer-taste beverage may have a mass ratio of γ-aminobutyric acid content to alanine content of 0.10 to 100. In this case, the beer-taste beverage has a rich flavor and a refreshing taste characteristic of a beer-taste beverage.

The beer-taste beverage may have a gamma-aminobutyric acid content of 10 mg/L or more. In this case, the beer-taste beverage will have a richer flavor characteristic of a beer-taste beverage.

The beer-flavored beverage may be a beer-flavored fermented beverage.

The present invention also relates to a method for producing a beer-taste beverage, which includes adjusting the alcohol content to less than 1 v/v % and adding γ-aminobutyric acid.

The present invention makes it possible to provide a beer-flavored beverage with an alcohol content of less than 1 v/v % and a rich, full-bodied flavor characteristic of a beer-flavored beverage.

The following describes in detail the embodiments of the present invention. Note that the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments.

[Beer-flavored beverages]
The beer-taste beverage according to this embodiment has an alcohol content of less than 1 v/v % and contains γ-aminobutyric acid.

In this specification, "beer-taste beverage" refers to a beverage that has a beer-like flavor. The beer-taste beverage according to this embodiment may be a non-alcoholic beverage (beer-taste non-alcoholic beverage) with an alcohol content of less than 1 v/v%. In this specification, alcohol refers to ethanol unless otherwise specified.

From the viewpoint of providing a richer taste characteristic of a beer-taste beverage, the alcohol content of the beer-taste beverage according to this embodiment may be 0.001 v/v% or more, 0.005 v/v% or more, 0.01 v/v% or more, 0.05 v/v% or more, 0.1 v/v% or more, 0.2 v/v% or more, 0.3 v/v% or more, 0.4 v/v% or more, or 0.5 v/v% or more. The alcohol content of the beer-taste beverage according to this embodiment may be 0.9 v/v% or less, 0.85 v/v% or less, or 0.8 v/v% or less. The alcohol content of the beer-taste beverage according to this embodiment may be 0.001 v/v% or more and less than 1 v/v%, 0.05 v/v% or more and less than 1.0 v/v%, 0.1 v/v% or more and less than 1.0 v/v%, or 0.3 v/v% or more and less than 0.9 v/v%.

The alcohol content of beer-taste beverages can be measured, for example, by the method described in "8.3.6 Beer, Alcohol (Alcolyzer Method)" or "8.3.7 Headspace GC-FID Method" in the Revised BCOJ Beer Analysis Methods (published by the Brewing Society of Japan, edited by the International Technical Committee [Analysis Committee] of the Japan Breweries Association, revised and expanded in 2013).

The alcohol content of the beer-flavored beverage according to this embodiment may be adjusted to within the above range by, for example, adding alcohol, or by removing alcohol from the fermented liquid obtained by brewing, or by fermenting the fermented liquid under conditions that suppress alcohol production during brewing (for example, a combination of obtaining a pre-fermentation liquid by suppressing saccharification (maltose and maltotriose production) through preparation using a method that controls the activity of β-amylase, as described below, and using yeast with low maltose and/or maltotriose assimilation), or by controlling the fermentation process by stopping the fermentation process midway (lowering the fermentation temperature midway) or by fermenting at a low temperature from the beginning of the fermentation process, or by mixing with a separately prepared post-fermentation liquid with a low alcohol content, or with alcohol-free water or carbonated water, or by using a combination of these to adjust the alcohol content to within the above range. There is no particular restriction on the alcohol to be added, and it may be, for example, distilled alcohol (for example, raw material alcohol, spirits, vodka), or a fermented liquid obtained by brewing. There are no particular limitations on the method for removing alcohol from the fermentation liquid obtained by brewing, and it can be carried out according to conventional methods such as distillation or dialysis.

In the beer-flavored beverage of this embodiment, the content of gamma-aminobutyric acid (hereinafter also referred to as "GABA") may be 1 mg/L or more, 2 mg/L or more, 3 mg/L or more, 4 mg/L or more, 5 mg/L or more, 6 mg/L or more, 7 mg/L or more, 8 mg/L or more, 9 mg/L or more, 10 mg/L or more, or 11 mg/L or more, from the viewpoint of achieving a richer flavor characteristic of a beer-flavored beverage. From the same viewpoint, the content of GABA may be 5000 mg/L or less, 2000 mg/L or less, 1500 mg/L or less, 1000 mg/L or less, 900 mg/L or less, 800 mg/L or less, 700 mg/L or less, 600 mg/L or less, 500 mg/L or less, 400 mg/L or less, 300 mg/L or less, 200 mg/L or less, 100 mg/L or less, 90 mg/L or less, 70 mg/L or less, 50 mg/L or less, or 40 mg/L or less. From the same viewpoint, the content of GABA may be 1 mg/L or more and 5000 mg/L or less, 3 mg/L or more and 1000 mg/L or less, or 7 mg/L or more and 500 mg/L or less.

The GABA content in the beer-flavored beverage according to this embodiment can be measured by standard methods using a fully automated amino acid analyzer (e.g., JLC-500/V2 manufactured by JEOL Ltd.).

The GABA content in the beer-taste beverage according to this embodiment can be adjusted to within the above range, for example, by adding GABA at any stage during the production of the beer-taste beverage so that the content falls within the above range, by appropriately selecting the type of raw material or yeast that results in a high or low GABA content, or by using these in combination. The GABA added may be GABA itself, or a food additive containing GABA.

The beer-taste beverage according to this embodiment may further contain alanine. In this case, the beer-taste beverage has a rich taste characteristic of a beer-taste beverage, and also has a refreshing taste. When the richness of the taste is improved, the refreshing taste tends to decrease. Therefore, it has been very difficult to simultaneously improve the richness of the taste and the refreshing taste in a beer-taste beverage. However, when the beer-taste beverage according to this embodiment contains alanine in addition to GABA, it is possible to simultaneously improve the richness of the taste and the refreshing taste. In the beer-taste beverage according to this embodiment, the content of alanine may be 1 mg/L or more, 2 mg/L or more, 3 mg/L or more, 4 mg/L or more, 5 mg/L or more, 6 mg/L or more, 7 mg/L or more, 8 mg/L or more, 9 mg/L or more, or 10 mg/L or more, from the viewpoint of a more refreshing taste. From the same viewpoint, the alanine content may be 2000 mg/L or less, 1500 mg/L or less, 1000 mg/L or less, 900 mg/L or less, 800 mg/L or less, 700 mg/L or less, 600 mg/L or less, 500 mg/L or less, 400 mg/L or less, 300 mg/L or less, 200 mg/L or less, 100 mg/L or less, 90 mg/L or less, 70 mg/L or less, 50 mg/L or less, or 40 mg/L or less. From the same viewpoint, the alanine content may be 1 mg/L or more and 2000 mg/L or less, 3 mg/L or more and 1500 mg/L or less, or 7 mg/L or more and 1000 mg/L or less.

The alanine content in beer-taste beverages can be measured by standard methods using a fully automated amino acid analyzer (e.g., JLC-500/V2, manufactured by JEOL Ltd.).

The alanine content in the beer-taste beverage according to this embodiment can be adjusted to within the above range, for example, by adding alanine at any stage during the production of the beer-taste beverage so that the content falls within the above range, by appropriately selecting the type of raw material or yeast that results in a high or low alanine content, or by using these in combination. The alanine added may be alanine itself, or may be a food additive containing alanine.

When the beer-taste beverage according to this embodiment contains alanine in addition to GABA, the mass ratio of the GABA content to the alanine content (GABA content/alanine content) may be 0.01 or more, 0.10 or more, 0.30 or more, 0.50 or more, 0.75 or more, 0.80 or more, 0.90 or more, or 1.00 or more, from the viewpoint of achieving a fuller flavor and a cleaner flavor characteristic of a beer-taste beverage, and may be 10.0 or less, 5.00 or less, 4.00 or less, 3.00 or less, 2.00 or less, 1.50 or less, 1.25 or less, 1.20 or less, or 1.10 or less. From the same viewpoint, the ratio may be 0.10 to 100, 0.10 to 10.0, 0.50 to 2.00, 0.75 to 1.25, 0.80 to 1.20, or 0.90 to 1.10.

The beer-taste beverage according to this embodiment may be a fermented beverage (fermented beer-taste beverage) or a non-fermented beverage (non-fermented beer-taste beverage). Fermented beverages are produced through fermentation with yeast or the like. Non-fermented beverages are produced without fermentation with yeast or the like. Note that non-fermented beverages also include beer-taste beverages produced by blending alcohol (e.g., raw material alcohol, spirits, distilled alcohol such as vodka) without fermentation with yeast or the like.

The beer-taste beverage according to this embodiment may or may not contain a barley raw material as a raw material. In this specification, the barley raw material refers to barley or a processed barley product. Examples of barley include barley, wheat, rye, oats, oats, pearl barley, and oats. Examples of processed barley include barley extract, malt, and malt extract. Barley extract is obtained by extracting barley extract components containing sugar and nitrogen from barley. Malt is obtained by germinating barley. Malt extract is obtained by extracting extract components containing sugar and nitrogen from malt.

The beer-taste beverage according to this embodiment may contain ingredients other than barley as ingredients, or may not contain ingredients other than barley. Ingredients other than barley may be, for example, plant ingredients such as grains such as corn, rice, sorghum, etc.; potatoes such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, etc.; beans such as soybeans, peas, etc., or carbohydrate ingredients (sugars) such as starch, grits, liquid sugar, etc.

The beer-flavored beverage according to this embodiment may or may not contain hops as an ingredient. Hops include dried hops, hop pellets, and hop extract, as well as processed hop products such as low hops, hexahops, tetrahops, and iso-hop extract.

The beer-flavored beverage according to this embodiment may contain colorants, sweeteners, high-intensity sweeteners, antioxidants, acidulants, flavorings, salts, and the like that are typically blended into beverages, provided that the effects of the present invention are not impaired. Examples of colorants include caramel color, gardenia color, fruit juice color, vegetable color, and synthetic color. Examples of sweeteners include high-fructose glucose liquid sugar, glucose, galactose, mannose, fructose, lactose, sucrose, maltose, glycogen, and starch. Examples of high-intensity sweeteners include neotame, acesulfame K, sucralose, saccharin, sodium saccharin, disodium glycyrrhizinate, cyclamate, dulcin, stevia, glycyrrhizin, thaumatin, monellin, aspartame, and alitame. Examples of antioxidants include vitamin C, vitamin E, and polyphenols. Examples of acidulants include phosphoric acid, lactic acid, DL-malic acid, citric acid, adipic acid, trisodium citrate, glucono-delta-lactone, gluconic acid, potassium gluconate, sodium gluconate, succinic acid, monosodium succinate, disodium succinate, sodium acetate, DL-tartaric acid, L-tartaric acid, sodium DL-tartrate, sodium L-tartrate, sodium lactate, glacial acetic acid, fumaric acid, monosodium fumarate, and sodium DL-malate. Examples of salts include table salt, potassium acid phosphate, calcium acid phosphate, ammonium phosphate, magnesium sulfate, calcium sulfate, potassium metabisulfite, calcium chloride, magnesium chloride, potassium nitrate, and ammonium sulfate.

The bitterness value (BU) of the beer-taste beverage according to this embodiment may be, for example, 0.0 or more and 50.0 or less. The BU of the beer-taste beverage according to this embodiment may be, for example, 40.0 or less, 30.0 or less, 20.0 or less, or 15.0 or less, or 1.0 or more, 2.0 or more, 3.0 or more, 4.0 or more, 5.0 or more, or 10.0 or more. The bitterness value of the beer-taste beverage according to this embodiment can be measured by the method described in "8.15 Bitterness Value" of the Revised BCOJ Beer Analysis Method (published by the Brewing Society of Japan, edited by the International Technical Committee of the Brewers Association of Japan (Analysis Committee), revised and expanded in 2013). The bitterness value can be set appropriately within the above range, for example, by adjusting the type and amount of raw materials used.

The beer-taste beverage according to this embodiment may be either non-sparkling or sparkling. Here, non-sparkling means that the gas pressure at 20° C. is less than 0.049 MPa (0.5 kg/cm ² ), and sparkling means that the gas pressure at 20° C. is 0.049 MPa (0.5 kg/cm ² ) or more. If the beer-taste beverage is sparkling, the upper limit of the gas pressure may be about 0.294 MPa (3.0 kg/cm ² ).

The beer-taste beverage according to this embodiment can be provided in a container. Any container that can be sealed can be used, and so-called canned or barrel containers made of metal (such as aluminum or steel). Glass containers, PET bottle containers, paper containers, pouch containers, etc. can also be used as the container. There is no particular limit to the capacity of the container, and any container currently in circulation can be used. Note that it is preferable to use a metal container, as it is possible to completely block gas, moisture, and light, and to maintain stable quality at room temperature for a long period of time.

[Method for producing beer-taste beverage]
The method for producing a beer-taste beverage according to this embodiment includes adjusting the alcohol content to less than 1 v/v % and incorporating γ-aminobutyric acid. This production method can be carried out according to conventional methods, except for adjusting the alcohol content to less than 1 v/v % and incorporating γ-aminobutyric acid. This production method may also include incorporating alanine.

The beer-taste beverage according to this embodiment may be produced, for example, by mixing ingredients (mixture method), or through fermentation using yeast or the like (brewing method).

The manufacturing method (mixing method) according to one embodiment includes, for example, a mixing step of mixing water, GABA, alcohol (e.g., raw material alcohol, distilled alcohol such as spirits and vodka, fermented liquid obtained by brewing), and, if necessary, alanine and/or various additives (e.g., colorants, sweeteners, high-intensity sweeteners, antioxidants, acidulants, flavorings, salts, etc.) in a raw material tank.

The manufacturing method according to this embodiment may further include a filtration step of filtering the mixed liquid obtained by mixing the components in the blending step, a first sterilization step of sterilizing the filtrate filtered in the filtration step, a filling step of filling a container such as a bottle, a can, or a plastic bottle with the sterilized filtrate sterilized in the first sterilization step, and a second sterilization step of sterilizing the container together with the filtrate filled in the filling step.

In the blending step, the ingredients may be mixed while being stirred with a stirrer or the like so that they are thoroughly mixed. The filtration step may be performed, for example, with a general filter or strainer. The first sterilization step may be performed by plate sterilization from the viewpoint of processing speed, etc., and is not limited to this, and may be applied as long as a similar process can be performed. The filling step may be filled in a clean room that maintains a degree of cleanliness that is usually performed in the manufacture of beverages. The second sterilization step may be performed by heating the filtrate together with the container at a predetermined temperature and for a predetermined time. The first or second sterilization step may be a non-heating sterilization step. Examples of non-heating sterilization steps include ultraviolet (UV) sterilization. It is also possible to perform non-sterile filling without performing a sterilization step.

In another embodiment, the production method (brewing method) includes, for example, a brewing process and a fermentation process.

In the brewing process, a pre-fermentation liquid is obtained using the raw materials and brewing water (water used in the brewing process). In other words, the brewing process is a process for preparing a pre-fermentation liquid to be used in fermentation. The brewing process may include, in this order, a saccharification process for producing moromi from the raw materials and brewing water, a filtration process for filtering the moromi to obtain a sugar-containing liquid, a boiling process for boiling the sugar-containing liquid, a removal process for removing solids from the raw material liquid, and a cooling process for cooling the raw material liquid.

The saccharification process includes a step in which, after the raw materials and brewing water are added, the temperature is adjusted to 62-68°C and maintained at that temperature. In this step, the temperature is maintained at 62-68°C for, for example, 10-120 minutes. This allows, for example, saccharification of the raw materials to proceed and soluble components to be dissolved, resulting in mash containing components necessary for yeast metabolism. The mash obtained in the saccharification process is filtered in the filtration process to become a sugar-containing liquid.

In the boiling process, the sugar-containing liquid is boiled to obtain a boiled liquid (sugar-containing liquid after boiling). A sugar-containing liquid is one that contains components that can be fermented into alcohol by yeast. Examples of sugar-containing liquids include wort and syrup. Wort is an unfermented liquid obtained through the saccharification of the above-mentioned barley raw material. Wort can be obtained, for example, through a process of mixing raw materials such as the above-mentioned barley raw material with water, a process of saccharifying the liquid containing the raw materials and water by a conventional method to obtain a saccharified liquid, and a process of filtering the saccharified liquid.

In the boiling process, hops may be added to the raw material liquid. Examples of hops that can be added include dried hops, hop pellets, and hop extract. The hops may be processed hop products such as low hops, hexahops, tetrahops, and iso-hop extracts.

In the removal step, the solids in the post-boiling liquid are removed to obtain a refined liquid. The removal step can be carried out, for example, by precipitating the insoluble solids contained in the post-boiling liquid. Examples of solids include thermal coagulations produced in the boiling step, and hop residues if hops are added in the boiling step. The removal step may be carried out in a whirlpool. In the cooling step, the refined liquid is cooled to a temperature at which fermentation by yeast is possible to obtain a pre-fermentation liquid.

In the brewing process, a manufacturing method that controls the activity of β-amylase may be used. Specifically, this is a brewing method that omits or shortens the temperature maintenance step at 62-68°C in the saccharification process. This suppresses saccharification, which in turn suppresses alcohol production in the fermentation process and makes it possible to adjust the alcohol content.

In the fermentation process, the pre-fermentation liquid is fermented with yeast to obtain a post-fermentation liquid. In the fermentation process, yeast is added to carry out alcoholic fermentation. More specifically, yeast is inoculated into the pre-fermentation liquid and fermented to obtain a post-fermentation liquid containing alcohol produced by the yeast.

The yeast used in the fermentation process may be a normal beer yeast, or may be a yeast with low alcohol production capacity (e.g., yeast with low maltose assimilation and/or maltotriose assimilation capacity). By using yeast with low alcohol production capacity, alcohol production in the fermentation process can be suppressed, making it easier to adjust the alcohol content.

The manufacturing method according to this embodiment may include an alcohol content adjustment step. The alcohol content adjustment step is a step of adjusting the alcohol content to within the above-mentioned range of alcohol content for the beer-taste beverage. Since the beer-taste beverage according to this embodiment has a low alcohol content, the alcohol content may be adjusted, for example, by suppressing the production of alcohol by carrying out brewing using the above-mentioned method of controlling the activity of β-amylase, or by using yeast with low alcohol production ability, or by controlling the fermentation process by a method such as shortening the fermentation period, stopping the fermentation process midway (lowering the fermentation temperature midway), or fermenting at a low temperature from the beginning of the fermentation process, or by removing or reducing the alcohol after fermentation is carried out in the same manner as for a beer-taste beverage such as ordinary beer, or by any combination of these methods. There is no particular restriction on the method of removing or reducing the alcohol, and it may be carried out according to a conventional method such as distillation, dialysis, dilution, etc.

The manufacturing method according to this embodiment may include a step of filtering the post-fermentation liquid as a post-fermentation step following the fermentation step. By carrying out the filtration step, insoluble solids, yeast, etc. can be removed from the post-fermentation liquid.

In the manufacturing method according to this embodiment, other post-fermentation processes may include heating (sterilization) the post-fermentation liquid (or the post-fermentation liquid after the filtration process) and adding various additives (e.g., colorants, sweeteners, high-intensity sweeteners, antioxidants, acidulants, flavorings, salts).

The manufacturing method according to the present embodiment may include either or both of adjusting the GABA content and adjusting the alanine content. Adjusting the GABA content may be adjusting the GABA content to within the numerical range of the GABA content in the above-mentioned beer-taste beverage. Adjusting the alanine content may be adjusting the alanine content to within the numerical range of the alanine content in the above-mentioned beer-taste beverage. The GABA and/or alanine content can be adjusted, for example, by adding GABA and/or alanine to the raw material liquid. In this specification, the raw material liquid refers to the liquid that is the base of the beer-taste beverage. The raw material liquid includes liquids used or produced in each process (for example, sugar-containing liquid, boiled liquid, refined liquid, pre-fermentation liquid, and post-fermentation liquid). The GABA and/or alanine content may also be adjusted by appropriately selecting the type of raw material or yeast that will increase or decrease the GABA and/or alanine content, or by controlling the brewing conditions (e.g., fermentation temperature and fermentation period) to control the amount of GABA and/or alanine produced.

The beer-taste beverage according to this embodiment has the effect of enhancing the depth of flavor characteristic of a beer-taste beverage. Therefore, the above-described manufacturing method can also be considered as a method for enhancing the depth of flavor of a beer-taste beverage (depth of flavor characteristic of a beer-taste beverage), which includes adjusting the alcohol content of the beer-taste beverage to less than 1 v/v % and including γ-aminobutyric acid.

The present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to examples, however, the present invention is not limited to the following examples.

Test 1: Production and evaluation of beer-taste beverages (Production of beer-taste beverages)
A commercially available non-alcoholic beer (non-fermented beverage) with an alcohol content of less than 0.005% was used as the base liquid, and alcohol and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) were added to the base liquid so that the alcohol content and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) content were as shown in Table 1, to produce the beer-flavored beverages of Test Examples 1-1 to 1-6.

〔sensory evaluation〕
A sensory evaluation was conducted on the beer-taste beverages of Test Examples 1-1 to 1-6 for the evaluation items of "depth of flavor characteristic of a beer-taste beverage" (hereinafter simply referred to as "depth of flavor") and "overall evaluation as a beer-taste beverage" (hereinafter simply referred to as "overall evaluation"). The sensory evaluation was conducted by three selected panelists with discerning abilities. Each evaluation item was rated on a five-point scale from 1 to 5, and the average of the scores was used as the evaluation score. Furthermore, for each evaluation item, the score for the beer-taste beverage of Test Example 1-1 was set to 2.0, and the other beer-taste beverages were evaluated based on this score. The results are shown in Table 1.

"Depth of flavor" is the sensation of having a full-bodied taste while maintaining the smoothness typical of a beer-flavored beverage, with a higher score indicating a superior flavor balance. "Overall evaluation" is an evaluation based on the flavor balance of a beer-flavored beverage, with a higher score indicating a superior flavor balance of a beer-flavored beverage. The results are shown in Table 1.

As shown in Table 1, the beer-taste beverages of Test Examples 1-2 to 1-6, which had an alcohol content of less than 1 v/v% and contained γ-aminobutyric acid, received higher scores for flavor depth and were superior in flavor depth compared to the beer-taste beverage of Test Example 1-1, which did not contain γ-aminobutyric acid.

Test 2: Production and evaluation of beer-taste beverages (Production of beer-taste beverages)
The beer-taste beverages of Test Examples 2-1 to 2-9 were produced by using the same commercially available non-alcoholic beer as in Test 1 as a base liquid and adding alcohol, γ-aminobutyric acid, and/or alanine to the base liquid so that the alcohol content and the contents of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and alanine were as shown in Tables 2 and 3. Note that the "GABA/Ala ratio" in Tables 2 and 3 refers to the mass ratio of the content of γ-aminobutyric acid to the content of alanine (γ-aminobutyric acid content/alanine content).

〔sensory evaluation〕
A sensory evaluation was conducted on the beer-taste beverages of Test Examples 2-1 to 2-9 for the evaluation items of "depth of flavor,""refreshingflavor," and "overall evaluation." The sensory evaluation was conducted by three selected panelists with discerning abilities. Each evaluation item was rated on a five-point scale from 1 to 5, and the average score was used as the evaluation score. In addition, for each evaluation item, the score for the beer-taste beverage of Test Example 1-1 above was set at 2.0, and the other beer-taste beverages were evaluated using this as the standard. The results are shown in Tables 2 and 3.

The meanings of "depth of flavor" and "overall evaluation" are the same as those described in Test 1. "Clearness of flavor" refers to a refreshing, clean flavor with few unpleasant flavors; the higher the score, the stronger and better this flavor is perceived.

As shown in Tables 2 and 3, among the beer-flavored beverages that had an alcohol content of less than 1 v/v% and contained γ-aminobutyric acid, the beer-flavored beverages that further contained alanine (Test Examples 2-2 to 2-9) were highly rated for refreshing taste and had an excellent refreshing taste.

Test 3: Production and evaluation of beer-taste beverages (Production of beer-taste beverages)
The beer-taste beverages of Test Examples 3-1 to 3-4 were produced by using the same commercially available non-alcoholic beer as in Tests 1 and 2 as a base liquid and adding alcohol, γ-aminobutyric acid, and/or alanine to the base liquid so that the alcohol content and the γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and alanine contents were as shown in Table 4.

〔sensory evaluation〕
The beer-taste beverages of Test Examples 3-1 to 3-4 were subjected to sensory evaluation in the same manner as in Test 2 for the evaluation items of "depth of flavor,""refreshingflavor," and "overall evaluation." For all evaluation items, the score for the beer-taste beverage of Test Example 1-1 above was set to 2.0, and the other beer-taste beverages were evaluated using this as the standard. The results are shown in Table 4.

As shown in Table 4, even though the alcohol content was less than 1 v/v%, the beer-taste beverages of Test Examples 3-1 to 3-3, which contained γ-aminobutyric acid, were rated higher in flavor depth and superior in flavor depth than the beer-taste beverage of Test Example 1-1. Furthermore, among the beer-taste beverages containing γ-aminobutyric acid and alanine, the beer-taste beverages of Test Examples 3-1 to 3-3, which had an alcohol content of less than 1 v/v%, were rated higher in flavor depth and overall evaluation and superior in flavor depth and overall evaluation than the beer-taste beverage of Test Example 3-4, which had an alcohol content of 1 v/v%.

Test 4: Production and evaluation of beer-taste beverages (Production of beer-taste beverages)
The beer-taste beverage of Test Example 4-1 was produced by adding alcohol, γ-aminobutyric acid, and alanine to the base liquid so that the alcohol content and the contents of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and alanine were as shown in Table 4, using the same commercially available non-alcoholic beer (non-fermented beverage) as in Tests 1 to 3 as the base liquid. In addition, the beer-taste beverage of Test Example 4-2 was produced by fermentation with yeast in a conventional manner using a raw material containing malt and yeast with low alcohol production ability. In addition, the "GABA/Ala ratio" in Table 4 refers to the mass ratio of the content of γ-aminobutyric acid to the content of alanine (content of γ-aminobutyric acid/content of alanine).

〔sensory evaluation〕
The beer-taste beverages of Test Examples 4-1 and 4-2 were subjected to sensory evaluation in the same manner as in Test 2 for the evaluation items of "depth of flavor,""refreshingflavor," and "overall evaluation." For all evaluation items, the score for the beer-taste beverage of Test Example 1-1 above was set to 2.0, and the other beer-taste beverages were evaluated using this as the standard. The results are shown in Table 5.

As shown in Table 5, the beer-taste beverages of Test Example 4-1 and Test Example 4-2 both had higher scores for richness of flavor, refreshing taste, and overall evaluation than the beer-taste beverage of Test Example 1-1, and were superior in richness of flavor, refreshing taste, and overall evaluation. In particular, the beer-taste beverage of Test Example 4-2, which was produced through fermentation, had higher scores for richness of flavor, refreshing taste, and overall evaluation than the beer-taste beverage of Test Example 4-1, which is a non-fermented beverage, and was superior in richness of flavor, refreshing taste, and overall evaluation.

Claims (6)

A beer-flavored beverage with an alcohol content of less than 1 v/v% and containing gamma-aminobutyric acid. The beer-taste beverage according to claim 1, further comprising alanine. The beer-taste beverage according to claim 2, wherein the mass ratio of the γ-aminobutyric acid content to the alanine content is 0.10 to 100. The beer-taste beverage according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the content of γ-aminobutyric acid is 10 mg/L or more. The beer-flavored beverage according to any one of claims 1 to 3, which is a fermented beer-flavored beverage. A method for producing a beer-flavored beverage, which includes adjusting the alcohol content to less than 1 v/v% and adding γ-aminobutyric acid.