We often get asked the question, “Does non-alcoholic beer have alcohol in it?“
It’s a fair question, as you may have heard conflicting answers to the question.
To start, it’s called “non-alcoholic beer” so it would only make sense that that, yes, it would not contain any alcohol.
However, that’s not always the case.
Non-alcoholic beer is legally defined in the United States as any malt beverage that contains up to 0.5% alcohol. A malt beverage being any fermented drink using barley as the main ingredient.
It can also be brewed with limited sugars and yeasts so that the beer will not ferment above 0.5%.
Others may also create a beer concentrate that can be diluted in regularly brewed beer until the mixture is below 0.5%.
Non-alcoholic beer can go by many names like “Near Beer,” “NA Beer,” “Alcohol Free (AF) Beer,” “Cereal Beverage,” or “Zero Proof.”
Depending on the brew, NA beer can range from 0.0%, like a Heineken 0.0, or up to 0.5% like most craft NA’s.
So while the name may be confusing, yes, non-alcoholic can contain very small amounts of alcohol up to 0.5% which is not enough to give you a buzz or see many negative health effects in healthy adults.
This is great for people who may have a history of alcohol dependency and don’t want to continue their bad habit but still want to drink a beer with friends and family.
Or even people who are pregnant, nursing, advised by their doctor to not drink alcohol, or people who just want to be healthier and avoid hangovers.
Going out for a beer, or cracking open a cold one with friends is a tradition as old as civilization itself. Humans began brewing and drinking beer more than 10,000 years ago. Drinking beer may be more important to some people than you realize. Non-alcoholic beer gives many the opportunity to do so without the consequences.
If you have concerns about consuming alcohol while drinking non-alcoholic beer, consult with a doctor first.
