Are Children Allowed to Drink Nonalcoholic Beer? It's Kind of Complicated

These days, there are more (and better) low- and no-alcohol beers on the market than ever, meaning drinkers looking for less buzz in their beverage are in luck. But does eliminating all (or most) of the alcohol in an IPA or Pilsner mean that kids are allowed to drink nonalcoholic beer? It’s a question that’s worth exploring, especially as actress Kristen Bell revealed her own daughters (who are 8 and 9 years old) have a taste for nonalcoholic beer — and even order it at restaurants.

Here are the rules regarding minors buying and consuming nonalcoholic beer.

Can kids drink nonalcoholic beer?

Generally, yes. Minors under the age of 21 can consume nonalcoholic beverages (even those that say “less than 0.5% ABV” which, technically, may contain some alcohol). Those beers don’t fall into the federal government-defined category of beer in the National Minimum Drinking Age (NMDA) Act of 1984 which states, “Alcoholic beverage means beer, distilled spirits, and wine containing one-half of 1% or more of alcohol by volume. Beer includes, but is not limited to, ale, lager, porter, stout, sake, and other similar fermented beverages brewed or produced from malt, wholly or in part or from any substitute therefore.“

So long as NA beer has less than that one half of a percent ABV, it’s not truly "beer," despite what the label calls it. Therefore, it is legally consumable by anyone under the age of 21 — federally, at least.

According to a roundup of state laws by nonalcoholic beverage-focused website One Club Sober, three states (Mississippi, North Dakota, and Ohio) only allow the drinking of nonalcoholic beer for those 18 and older. And 14 states prohibit minors from even drinking nonalcoholic beer.

Take, for example, Kansas which prohibits the consumption of any "cereal malt beverage" that has undergone fermentation. Most nonalcoholic beers are made of cereal malt and do go through fermentation (just not enough to make them boozy), so the state's law barring such consumption, as it is written, would seem to apply even to alcohol-free beer.

All these nuances mean you'll need to check your local and state laws to see which apply where you live.

Can minors buy nonalcoholic beer?

This is where things get more complicated. In some of the United States, minors can't buy nonalcoholic beer — but in certain states, that isn’t the case or it simply isn't regulated. As with many alcohol-related laws, there are federal regulations and then, often, differing state-by-state rules which further dictate the sale, shipment, service, and consumption of alcohol. Thus each state (or even county or city) could have its own regulations surrounding the sale and service of nonalcoholic beer to a minor.

According to One Club Sober's roundup, 17 states bar the purchase of nonalcoholic beer by those under age 21 (and in Ohio the minimum age to purchase is 18). A general rule of thumb, however, is that if your state allows minors to consume nonalcoholic beer, it also allows minors to purchase it. (Whether a kid feels comfortable walking into a grocery or liquor store to do so is another question.)

Why is the legal drinking age 21?

In short, because making the age of 21 the minimum for buying alcohol is thought to save lives. According to the CDC, states that raised the minimum drinking age from 18 to 21 saw a median 16% reduction in motor vehicle deaths. Additionally, overconsumption of alcohol by minors is responsible for an average of 3,900 deaths per year.

Prior to the 1984 enactment of the NMDA, many states had legal drinking ages of 18, corresponding with the age limit for the right to vote (and be drafted into military service). But in response to studies that showed an increase in motor vehicle deaths when drinking ages were lowered — along with pressure from advocacy groups like Mothers Against Drunk Driving — the NMDA was passed to create a national minimum age for the purchase and possession of alcohol.

Can minors legally drink alcohol?

In some circumstances, yes, minors can drink alcoholic beverages. The NMDA, contrary to the "Drinking" in its name, actually outlaws the sale to and public possession of alcohol by anyone under the age of 21. In certain states (Colorado, Maryland, Montana, New York, Texas, Oregon, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming) minors can legally consume alcohol with the consent of a parent or guardian aged 21+ in private — and in Ohio, Louisiana, Massachusetts, and Texas, minors can do so even in public, as long as there is a legal parent or guardian over the age of 21 who consents to the consumption and purchases the alcohol on their behalf. (But this gets even murkier as each individual restaurant may have its own policy as to whether it will serve a minor alcohol at all.)

Conversely, other states, including Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, New Hampshire, and West Virginia prohibit any consumption of alcohol by minors.

However, there are also exceptions for medical and religious reasons. As it is enforced, the NMDA excludes from its definition of "possession" (which, we should point out again, is different than actual consumption) instances in which a minor possesses alcohol "for an established religious purpose; when accompanied by a parent, spouse or legal guardian age 21 or older; for medical purposes when prescribed or administered by a licensed physician, pharmacist, dentist, nurse, hospital or medical institution; in private clubs or establishments."

It's up to the caretakers to decide.

Parents and guardians will have to do their own research (and check with state and local laws) to make the call as to whether their child can drink nonalcoholic beer and to consider what the effects might be down the line. And there's still much to be researched in that latter regard. For example, a recent study from Japan published by the National Institute of Health found a greater interest in consuming alcohol among adolescents who consumed nonalcoholic beverages that mimicked alcohol. That's certainly food, or beer, for thought.