Zero Hero
WHC Zero Hero is a dry Torulaspora delbrueckii strain for non-alcoholic and low-alcohol beer. This is not a Saccharomyces yeast. It is both maltose and maltotriose negative, so it cannot ferment the bulk of wort sugars and stops at 16 to 20% apparent attenuation.
That restraint is the whole point. Zero Hero produces beer under 0.5% ABV while leaving the body and residual sweetness that make NA beer drinkable, instead of the thin, worty result you get from an arrested fermentation. Temperature is the flavor lever: cooler reads neutral and clean, warmer brings out fruity esters.
Brewing with Zero Hero
- Pasteurisation is required. The beer leaves fermentation loaded with fermentable sugar, so any Saccharomyces contamination in package will referment it. This is not optional.
- Ferment at 64 to 72F. Low for a neutral profile, high for more fruit character.
- Do not oxygenate or rehydrate unless you are working at very high gravity.
- Pitch dry at 0.5 to 1 g/L, roughly 10 to 19 g for a 5-gallon batch.
- WHC does not publish a flocculation rating for this strain.
Styles: Non-alcoholic beer, low-alcohol beer, session and table beer targeting under 0.5% ABV
Technical specifications
| Species | Torulaspora delbrueckii |
|---|---|
| Attenuation | 16 to 20%, deliberately restrained |
| Fermentation temp | 64 to 72F (18 to 22C) |
| Sugar utilisation | Maltose negative and maltotriose negative |
| Alcohol tolerance | 8% ABV |
| Nitrogen demand | Medium |
| Pitch rate | 0.5 to 1 g/L (about 10 to 19 g per 5 gal) |
| Packaging | Pasteurisation required |
| Format | 500 g vacuum-sealed brick |
About WHC Lab
WHC Lab is an Irish yeast producer supplying dry brewing strains to craft breweries across Europe and North America. This strain ships as a 500 g vacuum-sealed brick with a published technical data sheet, and it can be pitched dry with no rehydration step.