The ID Dilemma: Why you still get ID’d for no and low drinks

We explore why you get carded for non-alcoholic drinks…

Have you ever found yourself reaching for a bottle of non-alcoholic beer or wine at the store, only to be asked for your ID at the checkout counter? It’s usually at this point that the confusion sets in… why am I getting ID’d when the alcohol content is 0.5% or even 0.0%????

Despite their lack of alcohol content, non-alcoholic beverages continue to prompt questions about age verification and it’s an ongoing discussion in many regions.

Let’s break down some of the reasons behind it. 

1. Regulatory Requirements

One of the main reasons behind the ID checks are regulations. In many jurisdictions, retailers are legally obligated to verify the age of customers purchasing alcohol-related products, regardless of whether they contain alcohol. 

They’ve put a blanket rule on these types of products to prevent anyone underage from accessing alcohol or alcohol-related products. 

2. Alcohol Traces and Misconceptions

Although non-alcoholic beer and wine contain significantly less alcohol than their traditional counterparts, they may still contain trace amounts. This is why you’ll often see 0.5% on a lot of non-alcoholic drinks. 

This is also where the law comes in. Even drinks with a minimal percentage are treated as an alcoholic product for sales purposes. We don’t agree with this specific reason as there are a lot of products such as fruit juice that can have an ABV percentage that’s higher than this and we don’t get carded for juice do we…

3. They’re playing it safe 

Retailers often err on the side of caution when it comes to age verification as they really don’t want to be caught going against any rules and risk losing their liquor license. Basically, they are playing it safe and making it easier for cashiers to have a blanket rule rather than checking the exact ABV percentage on everything someone is buying. 

This is why you’ll find in some countries you’ll get ID’d in some retailers and not others. It just means there isn’t a country or state law about it but the retailer has chosen to apply their own rules. 

4. The road to alcoholic drinks 

One of the more unspoken rules about IDing for non-alcoholic drinks is around creating a societal norm for underage people to be drinking products inspired by alcoholic ones. 

Non-alcoholic beer for example often tastes, looks and smells just like alcoholic beer. Same with non-alcoholic wine or spirits. They are created to reflect the idea of the alcoholic counterpart. So there’s definitely a notion that we shouldn’t be getting anyone underage into these drinks as the next step could be switching to alcoholic versions. 

So the persistent need for ID checks isn’t as simple as it might seem and reflects the complexities surrounding alcohol regulation, societal norms, and consumer behavior. 

We definitely expect things to change or shift in different countries as the non-alcoholic movement picks up so watch this space! 

Catch you next week! 

Joanna 🧡