My father and I were having a discussion a little while ago. And it still left me wondering.
Is it legal for minors to possess and consumer nonalcoholic beer? Also, is it legal to have an open bottle of nonalcoholic beer in your car? As for what jurisdiction I am asking about, just generally speaking. But if you want to get more specific, say Michigan, because that is where I live.
It may sound like a simple question. But I really think there might be a separate body of law to deal with this.
I’m not sure what the law is, but here in Ohio the supermarkets treat non-alcoholic beer as if it contained alcohol. For example, if I take it to the under-21-yo check-out person, they have to get someone else to ring it through just as with real beer and wine.
Anecdotal and thus, no cite, but I’ve been lead to believe that nonalcoholic beer is legally considered an alcoholic beverage and cannot be bought, possessed or consumed by minors or consumed in a vehicle.
I wonder about taxes, too. Would it be subject to my county’s excise tax? My guess is that it is.
This is probably decided on a state-to-state basis, although I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s been standardized between states. I know that in Pennsylvania, it is treated as an alcoholic beverage in that someone under 21 cannot purchase (and probably legally possess or consume, either) but it is different in that you can buy at the supermarket instead of at one of those licensed distributors.
At least it wouldn’t be subject to federal tax. Every non-alcoholic beer bottle that I’ve seen says that it’s not subject to the federal tax on alcoholic beverages, and gives the title and section.
To split hairs, “non-alcoholic” beer is actually very low alcohol beer.
According to this Wikipedia article, some states do forbid minors from buying it, while this one notes that Illinois is not one of those states, while Pennsylvania is.
The article goes on to recommend against minors drinking it and then driving, as there is a zero-tolerance law for minors in Illinois - any positive result on a breathalyzer will count against you.