Zero Alcohol Beer

Most of them aren't actually 0%. They're 0.5% or so, which is still enough that they fall under laws relating to the purchase of alcohol.

Or so I read on a bottle of non-alcoholic Erdinger the other week.

I sort of know this where my daughter works at a major supermarket, from their training.

Partly the 0.5% limit as above, but that doesn't affect the true alcohol free beers, wines, ciders, etc. But also technically it's illegal to promote alcoholic drinks to underage and hence in a better safe than sorry approach, as many of these are dressed up to look like their alcoholic brand equivalents there's a grey area about whether selling these to underage is a form of promoting their alcoholic counterparts.

Most of them aren’t actually 0%. They’re 0.5% or so, which is still enough that they fall under laws relating to the purchase of alcohol.

That being the case, why did I not get stopped buying vodka and chilli pasta sauce or a Christmas pudding?

It's a nice theory but I think it's simpler than that. I suspect you get ID checked because it's stocked in the beer aisle, that's just how it's categorised in their inventory system and there's little practical reason for it beyond "computer says no."

I suppose it could be seen as a gateway drug, like how you can't buy candy cigarettes any more?

I guess to discourage under age kids from trying to get pissed on 500 cans of Punk AF?

😁

They're too busy being high as kites on Monster and stealing vape juice from the readily-accessible counters to worry about beer-free beer, I expect.

https://steadydrinker.com/articles/id-alcohol-free-beer/#:~:text=To%20avoid%20promoting%20alcohol%20to,enforce%20rules%20regarding%20alcoholic%20drinks

The fines for selling booze to kids is pretty severe, isn't it? I would imagine most tellers just dot want to risk falling wrong side of the law and losing a months wages so just asking for ID regardless of the law...?

It’s a nice theory but I think it’s simpler than that.

That's definitely what the label said! I think yours and jonv's theory also good for the truly 0% stuff though.

With reference to v7's link,

This is how I got tripped up. I was buying AF beer for a partner on antibiotics, it was outside of licensing hours (different times) and I got refused. The cashier rolled out the 'trace alcohol' line, I pointed out the aforementioned pasta sauce, she responded "I'll go and get a manager," I said don't bother, I don't care sufficiently. I just thought it was curious.

But that's why I was going with classification, because it wasn't an age restriction I hit, it was "we can't sell alcohol at 1am."

Interesting, I'd always presumed that it was to avoid the situation where someone wrote to their MP about how appauled they were that kids were drinking beer in the park that they'd just bought from *shop*. Depsite the fact it wasn't actually beer.

The one time I was asked for ID, I pointed out it was non-alcoholic beer and got an "Oh never mind then".

The beer I bought actual claims 0.0% alcohol but I appear to be able to buy bitter shandy at less than 0.5% without any checks. The whole thing make little sense to me.

As far as I am aware it is legal for a child to buy a 0.5% alcohol shandy, and there is no duty on it.

you didn't ask us to make sense of it, just to explain why.

It's an interesting point. I do the self scan when I pop into Sainsbury's to buy AF beer. Does seem odd that they have to ok it at the self checkout.

Had a similar thing last year in a restaurant. Our then 12 year old fancied an alcohol free koperberg (spelling?). They wouldn't sell it to us as he was underage.

Whilst it's lovely that retailers feel they need to protect kids from the evils of alcohol, it does seem a bit Mary Whitehouse.

Oddly our 18 year old seems to be broken as he doesn't like any form of alcohol.

Our then 12 year old fancied an alcohol free koperberg

So, fizzy apple juice?

@cougar stupidly sweet fizzy apple juice. Tried it once and almost went into an insulin coma!

Tesco told me that anything vaguely beer-ish gets the age check on it due to the consequences the shop would face if they accidentally forgot to check the age of a buyer on a normal beer that was incorrectly flagged as non-alcoholic.

Are there actually many under eighteens who love the great taste of beer but want to stay within the law?

I would be frankly suspicious of any under eighteen who wanted their beer to be alcohol free.