Non-alcoholic beers are having a moment, especially with more and more exciting options finally entering the market — you may have already noticed, but we’re big fans of Athletic here at VinePair. Yet with more options for great non-alcoholic beer come more questions; the main being: Are they actually free of alcohol? And the answer, like so many things, is “it’s complicated.”
There are definitely beers on the market that have absolutely 0 percent alcohol in them, Heineken 0.0 percent being one of them, but legally in the U.S., anything with less than 0.5 percent alcohol can be labeled alcohol-free. However, while you won’t get buzzed from a beer that is this low in alcohol, if you are someone who is trying to steer completely clear of the substance, it’s important to know that many of these beers still have a little bit of alcohol present, so make sure to always check the label.
