# Carding Non-Alcoholic Beer. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 4, 2009, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carding-non-alcoholic-beer/484349 "2009-02-04T02:04:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carding-non-alcoholic-beer/484349/41 "2009-02-05T09:21:12Z")
> [@Mudshark](#): > > No, I just know based on personal experience. When my store had non alcoholic beer we had to ID people, and couldn’t sell it on Sundays, just like regular beer. Not to be snarky or anything, but your post did say: \* In Ohio (at least near Youngstown) you can’t buy non-alcoholic beer or wine on Sundays. It has to do with it being labeled \*\*“beer” \*_or “wine”._ And I’ve yet to see any evidence of anything in the USA labeled "non-alcoholic beer’. > [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](#): > > But those aren’t non-alcoholic beers/ales; they’re soft drinks. I think **pkbites** is looking for something either with alcohol in it or specifically designed to taste like beer. Root/ginger beer/ale doesn’t taste like and isn’t meant to taste like beer. Yes, that’s what I mean. I’d be surprised to see ginger beer with the specific label "non-alcoholic beer’ on it. It may say “non-alcoholic” but I’d be willing to bet it doesn’t say “non-alcoholic beer” ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carding-non-alcoholic-beer/484349/42 "2009-02-05T11:07:21Z")
You can buy non-alcoholic beer in the supermarket here; it’s next to the Sparkling Grape Juice and the Ginger Beers and other Soft Drinks. AFAIK it’s not considered Alcoholic and can be purchased by anyone, but I’ve never seen _anyone_ buy it or drink it FWIW; it stands out as one of the few products I don’t think I ever had to refill when I worked in Nightfill. ---
**Author:** ![Student\_Driver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3da27b/32.png) [@Student\_Driver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Student_Driver)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carding-non-alcoholic-beer/484349/43 "2009-02-05T13:21:33Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Is it a register that works with bar codes? If the item was (even mistakenly) tagged as alcohol there’s going to be a policy that says they MUST get an ID. The manager may very well not be allowed to over ride that. It’s one thing if the manger incorrectly over rides a price and the store loses a dollar or two. It’s another thing if the manager incorrectly over rides the need for an ID and costs the store several thousand dollars and runs the risk of having their license pulled. > Your beef is with the person that programmed the registers or the person that told the managers that they need an ID for that item. Write a letter or call the store owner. Give them the chance to fix the problem and if they don’t, buy your groceries elsewhere. Sorry, I didn’t explain the situation in very good detail. I have no problem with folks not overriding register prompts; you don’t mess with those, and I’d rather a cashier and manager keep their jobs than lose them over something trivial. (I have seen this kind of thing happen with unrated DVDs that happen to be completely innocent; I’ve been carded for buying a VeggieTales DVD). In my maple syrup and sparkling cider incidents, the items were coded correctly and the register didn’t prompt for ID. The cashier calls management over anyway (again no problem, I’d rather a cashier be vigilant to protect their job), and then management denies the sale, even when they are made aware that the item is a normal food item. “I know it’s just maple syrup, but we can’t sell this on Sundays.” ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carding-non-alcoholic-beer/484349/44 "2009-02-05T14:34:15Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > Here’s an article from the [Illinoislegalaid](http://www.illinoislegalaid.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.dsp_content&contentID=2291) > website that says minors CAN buy beer if it’s less than .05 alcohol. > [@](#): > > Yes. If it’s got less than 0.5% alcohol, it’s not covered by the Illinois Liquor Control Act. Technically, then, it’s not beer, so calling it non-alcoholic beer is oxymoronic. That’s why the label says “beverage” and not “beer.” > > Both Federal and Illinois law define beer as “ale, porter, stout, and other similar fermented beverages (including sake or similar products) of any name or description containing one-half of one percent or more of alcohol by volume, brewed or produced from malt, wholly or in part, or from any substitute for malt.” It seems to me then, if a beverage is labeled as 0.5%, in Illinois, at least, it is correct to refuse sale of it to someone who is under 21, even if it’s labeled as “non-alcoholic.” The key words for legal sale to someone underage would be “less than 0.5%.” As in 0.4%, or 0.45%, but not 0.5%. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carding-non-alcoholic-beer/484349.md?page=2)