Zero.Zero ABV vs Zero.Five ABV

Sobriety

Feb 13

If you’ve been searching the alcohol-free section of your favorite local liquor store (hopefully they have one) or been scrolling through the endless AF (alcohol-free) sites online, you’ve probably noticed that many non-alcoholic products contain a little alcohol - up to 0.5% ABV (alcohol by volume).

How can something be non-alcoholic and also contain a “little” alcohol?

Good question. We’re going to try to lay it out here so you can make your own educated decision on how you feel about it.

So, is 0.5% ABV actually Alcohol-Free? And how should I feel about it either way?

If you’re a black and white personality, like me, obviously a beer that contains 0.5% alcohol is not technically free from alcohol. So, we’re right.

However, this doesn’t mean you should be so quick to avoid 0.5% drinks if you’re avoiding alcohol. Not only will you miss out on so many tools for your AF toolbox but there may be no logical reason behind your decision, depending on your circumstances, of course.

Here are some reasons to consider these 0.5% ABV (let’s think in the gray here for the time-being):

Many raw foods contain the same or more percentage of alcohol per volume.
Impairment on 0.5% ABV is almost impossible.
Many countries, including the United States, consider 0.5% ABV alcohol-free.

A 2016 study, that’s very scientific and made my eyes cross, by the National Library of Medicine lists similar amounts of alcohol in many natural foods that aren’t labeled as containing alcohol. A few interesting ones:

Bananas: 0.4% alcohol in the edible portion of ripe bananas
Bread and Bakery Products: 1.28% alcohol (more than double most AF beverages)
Apple Juice: 0.6% alcohol

Considering 0.5% ABV drinks alcohol-free is the amount of alcohol in a pint of 0.5% ABV beer is tiny – about a half a teaspoon. Compare that to the 5 teaspoons of alcohol you get in a pint of 5% ABV beer and you can see how insignificant it is.

In fact, the amount of alcohol in 0.5% drinks is so small that it’s impossible to get anywhere near drunk on 0.5% drinks, no matter how many you have. The same goes for orange juice and bananas…

Also, the United States, and many other countries, are on board with the 0.5% ABV being called alcohol-free.

Bridget and I are obviously huge supporters of alcohol-free beverages; after all we’ve built an entire business upon it. Ultimately the decision of whether to drink alcohol-free beverages or not is up to the individual. YOU. You get to choose what you drink. Be confident in your decision and if you need some reinforcements, call on us!