One of the misconceptions I often hear about non-alcoholic beer is that it still contains alcohol, suggesting the possibility of getting drunk after consuming multiple non-alcoholic beers.
Based on my years of experience drinking non-alcoholic beers, I can confirm that it is impossible to get drunk from non-alcoholic beers or any other non-alcoholic drinks with less than 0.5% ABV (alcohol per volume).
To shed light on this topic, I purchased a breathalyzer to test if my alcohol level increases after consuming multiple cans of Dos Equis non-alcoholic beers. Let’s delve deeper into my test results after drinking several non-alcoholic beers.
My Breathlyzer Results: 0.00% BAC
After drinking three cans of Dos Equis non-alcoholic beers and waiting for twenty minutes, I breathed into the breathalyzer test to check my blood alcohol concentration.
The result? A clear 0.00% BAC, indicating zero alcohol in my body system even after consuming multiple cans of non-alcoholic beers.
To emphasize the test results: You can’t get drunk off non-alcoholic beer—even if you consume several cans of 0.5% ABV non-alcoholic beers.
This confirms what I already know from personal experience, as I have never gotten drunk after having multiple cans of non-alcoholic beers.
Why You Can’t Get Drunk With Non-Alcoholic Beer
Let’s do the math to understand why non-alcoholic beers won’t get you drunk:
While the metabolism rate of alcohol varies depending on gender, age, and weight, on average, a healthy body metabolizes 15ml of alcohol per hour. This equates to around one standard 12oz alcoholic beer with 5% ABV or a 4oz glass of red wine with 15% ABV.
At the average metabolism rate of 15ml of alcohol per hour, a can of non-alcoholic beer with 0.5% ABV would be metabolized in around 6 minutes.
According to the CDC, a 160-pound man would need to drink 2.4 oz of alcohol (equal to four 5% ABV beers) in 6 minutes to exceed a blood alcohol level of 0.08 and be considered drunk.
Since non-alcoholic beers contain 0.5% ABV or less per bottle or can, it would take at least forty cans or bottles of non-alcoholic beer with 0.5% ABV to get drunk. However, it is not possible to get drunk even if you were to chug that many non-alcoholic beers in an hour.
That’s because our body processes the tiny traces of alcohol in a non-alcoholic beer as fast as we drink. Hence, the blood alcohol content cannot build up to a level where we will start feeling drunk.
Blood Alcohol Concentration
Blood Alcohol Concentration, often abbreviated as BAC, measures the alcohol content in a person’s bloodstream. In both the United States and the United Kingdom, the legal limit for driving under the influence is 0.08%, signifying eight alcohol units for every 1,000 units of blood.
0.01% BAC: A general feeling of relaxation
0.04% BAC: First signs of slight impairments of reasoning and memory
0.08% BAC: Legal limit for driving
This assertion is supported by research conducted in Germany in 2012, where 78 people abstained from alcohol for five consecutive days.
After five days, they were asked to drink 1.5 liters – which is just over 2.5 pints – of non-alcoholic beer (0.41–0.42% ABV) in an hour.
When measured, their blood alcohol level was no higher than 0.0056 percent – much lower than the drunk driving limits in different countries.
But Isn’t 0.5% ABV Still Alcohol?
All of these labeling practices can be confusing, but the only thing you need to know is that 0.5% ABV is about the same amount of alcohol found in a glass of orange juice.
Yup, surprise surprise – natural foods can also contain small traces of alcohol.
The word “non-alcoholic” can be misleading. Since there isn’t a worldwide standard labeling practice for non-alcoholic beers, some countries allow beers containing up to 0.5% ABV (alcohol per volume) to be labeled as non-alcoholic.
This is true in the United States and many parts of the EU. In the UK and Australia, drinks containing 0.05% to 0.5% ABV are classified as ‘de-alcoholized’.
Here is a comparison table of the alcohol in different food items versus a non-alcoholic beer:
| Item | ABV (%) |
|---|---|
| Apple Juice | 0.2% |
| Non-Alcoholic Beer | 0.5% or less |
| Commercially-Bought Kombucha | 0.5% |
| Orange Juice | 0.5% |
| Soy Sauce | 2% |
Just as it would be inaccurate to categorize soy sauce as an alcoholic beverage due to its negligible alcohol content, the same can be said for non-alcoholic beers with an alcohol by volume (ABV) of 0.5%.
In both instances, the quantity of alcohol present is so minute that it poses no significant risk of intoxication or impairment, and your body is able to metabolize the small traces of alcohol quickly.
How Many Non-Alcoholic Beers Equal One Regular Beer?
According to the CDC in the United States, a standard beer serving is defined as 12 fluid ounces of 5% ABV beer. This amount contains approximately 0.6 ounces of alcohol.
If you compare this to a non-alcoholic beer, you would need 10 non-alcoholic beers with 0.5% ABV or 100 alcohol-free beers with 0.05% ABV to equal one 5% ABV beer.
Feeling A Buzz From Non-Alcoholic Beer? It’s All In Your Head.
Even though alcohol-free beers may contain traces of alcohol, typically up to 0.5%, the negligible amount present is insufficient to intoxicate.
The reason behind this is that your body can swiftly metabolize the tiny quantity of alcohol present in an alcohol-free beer.
In fact, on average, a person can process the 0.28 units of alcohol present in a 0.5% ABV alcoholic beer within just 15 minutes of consumption. In contrast, it takes over 3 hours for the body to metabolize beer with 5.6% alcohol content.
If you feel a little drunk after drinking non-alcoholic beer, it’s all in your head (we mean that in the nicest way possible).
Given that it’s nearly impossible to get a buzz from drinking non-alcoholic beers – even if you were to chug 40 beers in an hour – the only explanation for people feeling a little silly after drinking non-alcoholic beer is something called alcohol expectancy.
Alcohol expectancy happens when there’s an anticipation of an outcome following an initial event.
In this case, if you associate the taste of beer with getting a buzz, the placebo effect might kick in when you’re drinking a non-alcoholic beer with a similar taste.
Conclusion
As you can see in the little breathalyzer experiment that I did, we can safely conclude that you cannot get drunk on non-alcoholic beer – even if you binge drink several non-alcoholic beers.
So feel free to enjoy your non-alcoholic beers without worrying about the risk of getting drunk!