Non-alcoholic beer is an odd substance, by many
metrics. However, one of the strangest ways that it is viewed, is by the
law. You see, you need to be 18 to buy
non-alcoholic beer in
Massachusetts. I know this, because i used to work at a Stop and Shop, and that was a "
restricted" (card for 18) product at the time. You also do not need a
liquor licence to sell non-alcoholic
beer.
I assume that you need to be 18 to buy
NA beer because it gives the propriety that
beer is an "adult" product, even though the drinking age in
Mass. (and in many many other states) is
21. It's a
responsible, yet weird
decision. Many writeups have shown skepticism towards NA beer, but it has it's
place, albeit a bit offbeat.
Strangely, non-alcoholic beer is never actually non-alcoholic.
O'Doul's for instance has less than half a percent alcohol by
volume (it is the
legal limit to be considered non-alcoholic). Non-alcoholic beers also have to have that printed on the side, just like any other product containing
alcohol. The sheer
amount you'd have to drink to even get a
buzz off of it would be
enourmous. The alcohol is actually removed from the beer (it is not
fermented without it, like as you would
old style root beer).