Talk:Low-alcohol beer

US/prohibitionism bias

Employing the word "intoxicating" for alcohol abuse is extreme and is a US bias. In the rest of the modern world where there is no history of prohibitionism you will not employ a word with such a negative connotation. In wikipedia we should not employ "intoxicated" but "drunk" or "inebriate" which are more neutral. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.251.33.132 (talk) 04:13, 4 September 2009 (UTC)

In the UK licensees are "licensed to sell by retail intoxicating liquor...". I would say the word "intoxicating", which after all only means "poisonous", is more neutral than "drunk" or "inebriate". Si Trew (talk) 10:37, 8 July 2010 (UTC)

Comments

Are they legally considered non-alcoholic? I mean, is it legal for underage people to buy them?

In many areas, it is legal (though not in Pennsylvania, according to a news article I read a while back) to sell non-alcoholic brews to people under the legal drinking age. While they contain a tiny amount of ethanol, you'd have to drink a ridiculous amount in one sitting to become intoxicated. Ralphael 17:14, 26 December 2005 (UTC)

They do contain alcohol so I don't think they can be drunk by underage. The legal part is just what they can legitimately be named.

Says who? This whole business of what is and is not "legal" is entirely dependent upon local jurisdiction. The part of the article which states, "Legally beers can contain up to 0.5 percent alcohol by volume to be called non-alcoholic" needs to be qualified to indicate which legal system is being referenced. (I presume the writer was talking about federal U.S. law, though I don't want to change the article based on a mere presumption.) —Psychonaut 17:34, 22 Feb 2004 (UTC)

• When I have visited counties in the USA where alcoholic beverages cannot be sold on Sundays, I have noted that non-alcoholic beer is included in this prohibition. -- Infrogmation

However, they contain about as much alcohol as Coca-Cola does. A good alcohol removal should get rid of 99.7% of alcohol and with it any chance of getting drunk. Even Coca-Cola's formula still has traces of cocaine (from the coca leaves); the decocanization process leaves non-physioactive traces of ethanol (liquor alcohol) and cocaine.

No. http://www.snopes.com/cokelore/cocaine.htm , near bottom. And what about Bitter Shandies? (ie: proper bitter lemonade)

This is not true in every state/county. Also the laws about buying NA beer vary greatly from state to state--some states require you to be 18 to purchase it, some allow it to be sold in supermarkets even though beer cannot be, etc. Cazort 21:31, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

Anybody can legally buy these beers in Canada. Beers with less than 0.5% alcohol really cannot be used to get drunk. Most people would need to consume an impossible volume of the stuff to get a significant quantity of ethanol into their bloodstream. --Ilnyckyj (talk) 14:34, 29 August 2008 (UTC)

---

Does the term "piss water" belong in the non-alcoholic beer article?

Nope. There is almost universal agreement that "non-alcoholic beer" isn't as good as real beer. No point in belaboring the issue.

Religious exemption.

There is an overly broad, totally unsourced statement that those who are teetotalers for religious reasons may drink non-alcoholic beer. AFAIK, the main sects that prohibit alcohol would not be okay w/ near beer.

Good examples would be most of the abstaining Baha'is, Baptist denominations, all Muslims, Mormons and Seventh Day Adventists. I honestly don't know about the abstaining Quakers and Methodists.

There may very well be a religion out there that is okay w/ near beer, but not the regular type. Unless there is a verifiable source though, this statement should be dumped. If there is, it should be properly sourced.

FWIW, I am a teetotaling Baptist, and the avoidance of alcohol also includes even the appearance of drinking it (1 Thessalonians 5:22).

Thanks.

Linking to articles in other languages by other countries defenitions

Case in point: Is this comparable with the swedish lättöl ("lightbeer", less than 2.25%)?. Should it link to that article as the swedish version?

Non-alcohlic beer is beer that has almost no alcohol at all. 2.25% isn't a lot of alcohol IMO, but it's certainly too much to be called non-alcoholic (most N/A beers have about as much alcohol as fruit juice).

In Iceland, 2.25% is regarded as alcohol-free, and was produced and sold as such throughout the prohibition years (1915-1989). Although many restrictions are on the sale of alcohol, any minor can buy 2.25% beer at any cornerstore. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 130.208.69.56 (talk) 01:24, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

In Germany, alcoholfreies Bier is the equivalent in German. Unfortunately, wik/d doesn't have an article for this. Duennbier, which is the link we give, is about 2%. Kdammers (talk) 23:46, 20 November 2009 (UTC)

Merge

There are three articles which cover the same concept of low alcohol beer: this one, Small beer and Near beer. It would appear that these would be better served being brought together as one article. The merge page gives this suggestion as to when to merge: "There are two or more pages on related subjects that have a large overlap. Wikipedia is not a dictionary; there does not need to be a separate entry for every concept in the universe. For example, "Flammable" and "Non-flammable" can both be explained in an article on Flammability." As there is an obvious overlap I am proposing a merge of all three articles. SilkTork 16:07, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

I agree with "Near beer" but not with "small beer." Small beer is more of a historical usage -- small beer was drank (Drunk? I never get this right.) instead of water, which was unsafe -- and was made for a totally different reason than Low-alcohol beer. Does that make sense? Wickerpedia 01:52, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

Small beer should certainly have a separate entry from the modern terms of "Near beer" and "Low Alcohol beer". To group it with them is misleading and inaccurate.

Small beer should definitely have its own article. It is misleading to have it here. It was not brewed to be low-alcohol, but to be cheap. Commonly beer used to be much stronger than it is today and what was known as small beer back then would have been as strong as many common regular beers today. As I understand it unlike small beer most low-alcohol beers have the alcohol removed after brewing. There is a limit to alcohol content below which it is not possible to brew beer at all. Jooler 16:00,

28 July 2007 (UTC)

Small beer is back in it's own article as suggested. /BP 78.70.77.35 (talk) 02:54, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

Are we sure that this is an appropriate usage of the term near-beer? Every use I have encountered of near-beer refers to beer that is at 3.2%, what we are calling here as low-point beer. 3.2% is in fact "near" common beer percentages of 4 percent, while 0.4% isn't really "near." I've heard the term in common usage many times, and it's always been to refer to 3.2% beer as opposed to N/A beer. But that's just my anecdote, forgive me if it's off. 99.34.172.133 (talk) 21:07, 29 January 2011 (UTC)walkerrm, 21:06, 29 January 2011

Merriam-Webster, 3rd edition, defines near beer as "any of various malt liquors resembling beer but considered nonalcoholic because containing less than 1/2 percent alcohol." Wahrmund (talk) 21:58, 29 January 2011 (UTC)

Light beer

Light beer is obviously something different, it may contain upto something like 3.5% abv. Merge should be turned back. – Ilse@ 00:56, 8 May 2007 (UTC)

Agreed. The three most popular light beers in the U.S. (Bud Light, Miller Lite, and Coors Light) are 4.2% alcohol, and really don't have anything to do with the concept "Low alcohol beer". Either "light beer" or "American-style light beer" need to be a separate page. Rustavo^{Talk/Contribs} 01:17, 2 December 2007 (UTC)

Separate Articles Warranted

I propose creating separate articles for non-alcoholic beer (0-0.5% abv) and low-alcoholic beer. First of all, they're not really the same thing, and I think that lumping them together is inconsistent with the level of detail that wikipedia presents on most topics. Also, there are different laws governing their sale and consumption in most countries, and they also have a fairly different history, culture associated with them. (In particular, with most non-alcoholic beer being more modern). I think there's enough information in this article that it could easily be split into two. What do others think? Cazort 21:30, 30 July 2007 (UTC) non-alcoholic

I'm interested in such primary because of level of alcohol in it (i.e. for low-alcoholic beer we can say that it contains alcohol and non-alcoholic not).
--Čikić Dragan (talk) 20:22, 18 January 2009 (UTC)

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Light doesn't mean what you think it means

Sorry, just had to say that. Should this article stick to the word lite, and say it is marketed as light, which customers may perceive as lite, but may not be true? The adj form of the word light might be correct... that is to make lighter, or to lighten. But, I don't believe light is the correct word. —Slipgrid (talk) 04:10, 22 October 2008 (UTC)

There are two things that people might mean when talking about light beer: beer with a lower alcohol content or beer with a lower carbohydrate content. The first sense is common in Australia, but I understand the second is more common in the US. I suppose the article should be more clear on what it is talking about. --James (talk) 06:38, 27 October 2008 (UTC)

Yeah, but what I'm saying is the word light is a physics term, or as the alcohol companies may mean in a subliminal advertising way, a spiritual awareness. The term lite, which is a different word, means the opposite of heavy. That's what you seem to be talking about. Look at a dictionary. If we are playing Jeopardy, and the answer is "beer with a lower alcohol content or beer with a lower carbohydrate content," then the question is "what is lite beer?" If the answer is, "a word used to describe beverages that gives a subliminal sense of illumination," the question would be, "what is light?" When you talk about "light beer" in an encyclopedic article, I believe the term is introducing a marketing ploy into the article. Though, I believe the article should make a distinction between the terms light and lite. Just my POV. —Slipgrid (talk) 14:37, 29 October 2008 (UTC)

This sounds like a regional difference. Light beers in Australia are generally marketed using the term "light" (e.g. Cascade Premium Light). The Oxford dictionary describes it as a "variant of Light. Now usually a deliberate respelling" and mentions that it can be used to refer to "a light beer with relatively few calories".

So I accept that "lite beer" is a common term in some places, but not that it has a distinct meaning to "light beer". In an article like this with an international audience, I don't think you could use either term without qualification so the article looks pretty good as it is. --James (talk) 07:05, 13 November 2008 (UTC)

Florida

Used to be that Florida mandated that all beer sold in the state be 3.2. I recall on spring break in the early 90s getting a low buzz from drinking a 12 pack of Pabst Blue Ribbon in 90 min. while wearing the carpet bald from going to the toilet. Nowadays you can get beer like anyplace else though. Anyone know when the law changed? I'll find out myself when I get the chance... Ellsworth (talk) 07:07, 26 December 2008 (UTC)

List of alcohol-free beers

I'm interested in making list of worlds contemporary alcohol-free beers (not more than 0.05% ABV). Is anyone else?
--Čikić Dragan (talk) 20:25, 18 January 2009 (UTC)

Legality & underage drinking

Can we get a list of countries and how legal it is for minors to drink it? 114.77.6.119 (talk) 09:35, 4 November 2009 (UTC)

It's at Legal drinking age. Si Trew (talk) 10:39, 8 July 2010 (UTC)

Lead and definitions

Should we split the definitions (which are currently mention the US, UK and Europe) out of the lead and into its own "Definitions" section (possibly with subsections)? Si Trew (talk) 10:39, 8 July 2010 (UTC)

Dealcoholisation process

There isn't a single word about the dealcoholisation process in the production of low-alcohol beers (assuming to be always necessary). This piece of information would be best suited in an encyclopedic article like this and more focused than the legal constraints to its consumption in different countries. Heathmoor (talk) 16:20, 8 August 2010 (UTC)

Added new line with source.

Seeing as I'm an IP user and every edit I make is watched like a fly on a pile of dung, I'm going to just let you guys know that I added a line about Texas allowing minors to buy non-alcoholic beer. There's no sources for the other two states, but apparently mine got reverted for no source but the other two were not removed. It's back up, though, just so you guys know. 71.51.50.38 (talk) 23:37, 11 August 2010 (UTC)

Errr does anyone know of any other states that allow for underage consumption/purchase of non-alcoholic beer? 71.51.50.38 (talk) 23:41, 11 August 2010 (UTC)

In the UK, drinks less than 0.5% ABV [I think] are not classed as alcoholic beverages and so anyone can by them, no matter what their contents. (They don't have to declare how much alcohol they have in them below that amount, either). Oddly, I find some cook-in sauces in the local supermarket have a significant amount of white or red wine such that in my view they are alcoholic, yet it seems anyone can buy them. e.g. one Chicken Tonight white wine sauce as a 14% ingredient, and assuming the wine was at 10% (fairly conservative) that would make it 1.4% in total. Si Trew (talk) 08:19, 12 August 2010 (UTC)

Focus change in article?

Okay I've re-read the article but I think it puts too much emphasis on western countries. What about countries like Iran, Serbia, and Argentina? Those countries have worth to mention in the article, seeing as how Iran has laws prohibiting the use of alcohol. Do people really think that they do not drink? 71.51.50.38 (talk) 23:50, 11 August 2010 (UTC)

You're more than welcome to introduce what you're talking about into the article; provided you simultaneously also add reliable sources to substantiate the material. cheers Deconstructhis (talk) 00:55, 12 August 2010 (UTC)

Broken link

Reference number 20 is not working. I would've fixed by myself but I'm not very good with citation. Modi mode (talk) 13:40, 15 January 2011 (UTC)

Probable vandalism

"No alcohol or lack of milk"

Makes no sense. Probable vandalism, but if not, needs explantation. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Ocdnctx (talk • contribs) 19:59, 3 January 2012 (UTC)

Conclusion section

Why does this section exist? Is this an essay? All it really does it repeat the preceding section "How low-alcohol beer is made" all the while adding new facts not presented in the entire article. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.85.71.20 (talk) 03:47, 23 February 2012 (UTC)

RO Alcohol removal?

Given the flavour impact boiling finished beer has, removing alcohol using RO is more common. Shouldn't this also be in the section about no alcohol production? 182.239.223.159 (talk) 10:32, 16 September 2013 (UTC)

dehydration?

Does low-alcohol beer cause dehydration?--78.49.112.24 (talk) 13:44, 9 January 2014 (UTC)

Non-alcoholic section needs major work

The biggest problem is that it's not actually a description of anything, it's a lot closer to a mixture of tips that suggest the writer was trying to summarize a few sets of instructions without really understanding key underlying concepts like boiling or why the boiling point would change with different elevations. It should give outsiders a much better idea of things like the equipment used, who discovered/popularized the process, how and why it tastes or looks different from 'normal' beer, and so forth -- the pasteurization article is a great example of what to aim for. —xyzzy 08:11, 22 April 2014 (UTC)

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Near beer, WWII, and the Korean War

I was pretty sure that the beer 'provided' by the U.S. government/military to military personnel during WWII and in Korea was called "near beer" and was 3.2-3.5%.

Am curious as to why no mention of this, especially in the "Near beer" section. 2600:8800:786:A300:C23F:D5FF:FEC4:D51D (talk) 06:42, 1 March 2018 (UTC)

Bias - “Surreal Brewing” section reads like an ad

This section is written like an ad Stickywickham (talk) 22:54, 8 August 2019 (UTC)

Undefined abbreviations

In the last paragraph of the Production Process section, three abbreviations/acronyms are used that are not defined, and not mentioned anywhere else in the article: RO, TTB, and NA. The last one is not hard to guess means Non-Alcoholic, but that is still bad form. The other two I have no idea what they are. DSZ~enwiki (talk) 18:09, 27 August 2023 (UTC)

"Most doctors advise," but only one reference to one doctor?

In the section "Pros and cons" it said: "...most doctors advise against drinking non-alcoholic beverages during pregnancy."

Due to the fact that only one reference was given, and only one of the authors of the paper referenced seems to be a doctor, I have changed it to, "One paper." However, as the question may be important in practical terms, I would suggest it could perhaps do with attention from someone with real knowledge of the subject.

I would indeed actually query the advice itself, as it seems to be extreme overkill. As far as I can see, advising women not to drink at all (as opposed to very moderately) during pregnancy is already for the sake of being very cautious - due to the seriousness of the consequence - rather than because a low intake is likely to do the unborn child any harm (if you look at the NHS website, it says that a woman should not worry unduly if she has been drinking before she found out she was pregnant because the actual risk is low - https://www.nhs.uk/pregnancy/keeping-well/drinking-alcohol-while-pregnant/). Extending the advice to avoid alcohol to alcohol-removed drinks, on the basis that they might contain more alcohol than they say, seems on the face of it to be over the top.

I haven't a definite suggestion because it would depend entirely on what other sources said, what changes should be made. If good value sources say other things, then that should probably be put alongside; if there is real medical consensus with regard to the avoid in pregnancy advice, that could do with being referenced and explained. Truly informed choice is good.  :-)

FloweringOctopus (talk) 21:07, 7 May 2024 (UTC)

Re: 1980s and 1990s

By the 1980s and 90s, growing concerns about alcoholism led to the growing popularity of "light" beers

What? I don't remember that. I remember people trying to lose weight. Is this unsourced content even accurate? Viriditas (talk) 01:07, 25 August 2024 (UTC)

I removed the part about "growing concerns about alcoholism", since that doesn't jibe with my recollection of the history of light beer. I remember people becoming health conscious with the exercise phenomenon in the 1980s (made famous in the film Forrest Gump) and trying to lose weight, which is how light beer was marketed. It had nothing to do with alcoholism. Viriditas (talk) 01:09, 25 August 2024 (UTC)

Looks like there is some understandable confusion over the definition of light beer. In the US this was purely marketed as a reuduced calorie beverage. If I'm charitable, then it might be reasonable to assume this was marketed for reduced alcohol levels in other countries. But, without sources, I can't make that determination. Viriditas (talk) 01:18, 25 August 2024 (UTC)

Ah, it looks like the person who added this content might have been specifically referring to Australia, which begins to make a lot more sense. Viriditas (talk) 01:20, 25 August 2024 (UTC)