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Child Item

NON ALCOHOLIC BEER.

Uncharted

Quick question....

Is it legal to purchase non alcoholic beer before 10.30 in a supermarket?

(Obviously,it's slop and shouldn't be sold anytime,but that's irrelevant right now)

Having a debate with the wife,she says no.
I say yes.

Help me sort it out.

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Daisybelly

Danjamin1 wrote: »

Don’t get the dislike from some posters for non-alcoholic beer - some people like the taste of beer but don’t want the effects of higher ABV. Why is that seen as weird? Fair enough if you genuinely just don’t like the taste of it but to dismiss it out of hand with a comment like “either have a proper drink or don’t” seems childish to me!

It tastes exactly the same to me. I'd happily drink it for the night. Only difference really would be that I couldn't blame it for dancing on tables/making an eejit out of myself

mikhail

Danjamin1 wrote: »

Don’t get the dislike from some posters for non-alcoholic beer - some people like the taste of beer but don’t want the effects of higher ABV. Why is that seen as weird? Fair enough if you genuinely just don’t like the taste of it but to dismiss it out of hand with a comment like “either have a proper drink or don’t” seems childish to me!

Insecurity.

sligojoek

It's not for me but it has its place. A good friend of mine had to stop drinking a few years ago, basically, because it nearly killed him. He stopped going out because he hated soft drinks and didn't want to drink coffee at night. A while back he discovered Erdinger and another one which he loves. Nowadays he's out having the crack (better than ever before) with the lads a few times a week. And he's not going to the fridge for stella next morning.

CruelCoin

Uncharted wrote: »

Kinda makes sense,although you'd more than likely drown before you were drunk at that abv.

Exactly!

Classic case of a well-intentioned law not being nuanced enough.

CruelCoin

Danjamin1 wrote: »

Don’t get the dislike from some posters for non-alcoholic beer - some people like the taste of beer but don’t want the effects of higher ABV. Why is that seen as weird? Fair enough if you genuinely just don’t like the taste of it but to dismiss it out of hand with a comment like “either have a proper drink or don’t” seems childish to me!

The issue is that boiling it at 76(ish)celcius wreaks havoc on the flavour profile.

Get the same beer side by side with its non-alco cousin and the difference is really very stark.

If i'm not drinking, i go for softs, rather than non-alco beers.
Edit: on the really alarmingly rare occasion when i'm not drinking......

The Davestator

CruelCoin wrote: »

The issue is that boiling it at 76(ish)celcius wreaks havoc on the flavour profile.

Get the same beer side by side with its non-alco cousin and the difference is really very stark.

If i'm not drinking, i go for softs, rather than non-alco beers.
Edit: on the really alarmingly rare occasion when i'm not drinking......

I agree that the taste is not the same, but I feel more normal having a non alco watching a match than a soft drink the odd time I am not drinking. In fact, the placebo effect makes me feel like i am having a drink!

Danjamin1

CruelCoin wrote: »

The issue is that boiling it at 76(ish)celcius wreaks havoc on the flavour profile.

Get the same beer side by side with its non-alco cousin and the difference is really very stark.

If i'm not drinking, i go for softs, rather than non-alco beers.
Edit: on the really alarmingly rare occasion when i'm not drinking......

That’s not the case for all non-alcoholics, though I agree it makes the beer taste ****e where it’s used. Some are produced so that no alcohol is produced during fermentation so you don’t get that burnt taste. They’re quite nice.

Also like I said it’s fine if someone doesn’t like the taste, but it’s stupid to ask someone who is drinking a non-alcoholic beer “what’s the point?”

loyatemu

Fentiman's Ginger Beer (other brands are available) is mildly alcoholic because of how it's made and it can be sold at anytime, so I'm not sure where the threshold lies. Some of the newer NA beers are genuinely 0% so they wouldn't be affected by the time restrictions but as previously mentioned you might have issues if they're in the alcohol section and it's closed.

The drink laws are an ass in this respect - I can go and do my grocery shopping at 9am but I can't buy a bottle of wine at the same time; why? so I don't go outside and neck the whole thing in the carpark?

Hotblack Desiato

evillive wrote: »

But there must be no excuse duty payable (anything up to 1.2% is exempt) so where's the money going? I guess the Publican is hitting the non-alcoholic beer drinking customer so even more than the real beer drinkers? Or am I wrong?

yes of course they are. You're not going to drink ten pints of that stuff in a night. You're taking up a seat so they want to be making as much profit out of you over an evening as they would from a drinker.

Same in a supermarket, fewer people buy NA beer but it still takes up shelf space. Slow selling items in supermarkets always are outrageously priced.

Of course there's the "charging whatever people are prepared to pay" thing too.

inforfun

stevek93 wrote: »

I was in Holland recently and the non alcoholic beer there was very tasty! Also a few people mentioned that non alcoholic beer has somewhat of alcohol will this now be included in the minimal pricing of alcohol?

All alcohol holding beer tastes better too there compared to the same brand here. None of that 4.2% crap. The full 5% alcohol.

But....

I once had an alcohol free beer and if it hadnt been pointed out to me that it was, i wouldnt have tasted the difference.
Of course after a bottle of 10 i would have wondered why i was still standing
It was in Portugal, the brand was Superbock and i had not read the label well enough.
The 2 people i was drinking it with, hadnt noticed it either.
So there is proper tasting alcohol free beer i think.
But ..... you are not cool when you knowingly drink it, i suppose, that is why no one likes it.

kylith

ablelocks wrote: »

When you think about it, if the gubberment were serious about trying to slow or stop alcohol intake in Ireland, they would remove all excise, VAT and whatever other taxes are on non-alcoholic beer (the decent stuff, not the likes of Becks or Kalibre or whatever other muck is out there taht should be banned and all traces of those responsible for it should be removed from the face of this earth)

They want MUP? It souls be a max unit price for non alcoholic drinks. It’s ludicrous that a pint of coke is more expensive than a pint of beer. I have done the maths while tipsy and made the choice to get drunker for cheaper rather than the more sensible choice.

inforfun

kylith wrote: »

They want MUP? It souls be a max unit price for non alcoholic drinks. It’s ludicrous that a pint of coke is more expensive than a pint of beer. I have done the maths while tipsy and made the choice to get drunker for cheaper rather than the more sensible choice.

yeah.... i was such a mathematician in the army bar.
A can of coke costed Dlf1,50, and a fresh cold beer from the tap Dfl1 (that is 0,70 and 0,45 in fake € money)
Of course convenient to forget that 2 cans of coke would get me through the night and that 15 beers would be needed to do the same. (15 Dutch glasses, not pints)

JoannieG

The law regarding the sale of non-alcoholic beer really is a bit silly. You can buy vanilla extract (minimum of 35% alcohol) or Bach Flower Remedies (27% alcohol) at any time of the day or night. Granted, it would cost you a fair bit to get drunk but it makes a mockery of the current legislation.

beertons

Why are you shouting it?

dubstepper

It has it's place. When you want a beer but don't the alcohol, obviously!

I have tried most of them. Becks, Paulaner and Erdinger are bad. Krombacher is the closest I have tasted. Unfortunately you lose the "bite" of the alcohol.

Capt'n Midnight

CruelCoin wrote: »

The issue is that boiling it at 76(ish)celcius wreaks havoc on the flavour profile.

That's why the alcohol is extracted under vacuum. Way lower temperature. Or enzymes can be used to break down the alcohol.

Ashbourne hoop

The new Heinekein non alcoholic is quite tasty.

Hotblack Desiato

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

Or enzymes can be used to break down the alcohol.

I prefer to do that part myself

klaaaz

There is a good cheap wheat non-alcoholic beer in Dunnes going for something like 65cents, it actually tastes good and is German!

Also Aldi stock a Russian non-alcoholic lager called Baltika, that's quite nice too.

Harika

klaaaz wrote: »

There is a good cheap wheat non-alcoholic beer in Dunnes going for something like 65cents, it actually tastes good and is German! Also Aldi stock a Russian non-alcoholic lager called Baltika, that's quite nice too.

I second that Gerstl and Baltika are great non alcohol beers

BeerWolf

W T F ? ? ! ! !

Total blasphemy you weirdo.

Funkygreendogs

I have a bit to add to this conversation without opening a new thread:

Why is it that non-alcoholic is not allowed to be sold before 10.30am in Ireland? I fail to see any logic in that, surely it's a mistake that non-alcoholic beer is being lumped into the same category as high alcohol spirits, beer and wine.

Yes It is true non-alcolholic beer contains trace amounts of alcohol but so do many things, what about mouthwash or perfume they contain higher than trace amounts.

What about recovering alcoholics trying to beat the addiction being refused nonalcoholic beer before 10.30am

I understand a lot of people in this country have difficulty understanding why people drink nonalcoholic beer, its all about the taste, if you've ever been to mainland Europe you will find that alcohol sold there is largely without any carbonation in the beer, this is because the CO2 that is added when it is sold here, has an after taste. Having lived abroad for a few years I developed a taste for real beer sold this way, and I have become accustomed to enjoy the taste of beer with or without alcohol, in fact I gave up alcohol for many years after becoming ill but i missed the taste and when I moved home I wasn't able to stomach the heavy carbonation, it causes my stomach to swell and I feel very bloated and sick, if you have no health problems currently I am happy for you, and fairplay if you want to drink the beers here and get drunk, but not everyone is in the same boat, there are genuinely times when people should be allowed to drink with their friends and enjoy a beer without alcohol. The nonalcoholic beer being sold in Aldi as 'Baltika' is my absolute favourite that I have been able to find here, very little carbonation, no preservatives and full on flavour.

There have also been recent scientific studies which found that the brain reacts identically when a person is given both a non-alcoholic beer and the regular alcoholic kind, this is because of the trace amounts of alcohol, which the brain craves in many instances of addiction, are enough to subside cravings and the taste associated with beer, I believe that this type of research is the first step towards understanding alcoholism and addiction in this country, and we certainly wont get there by banning the sale of nonalcoholic beers.

If I can find the actual law in Ireland that describes what the difference is between nonalcoholic and regular alcoholic, I would take this issue further as I believe this is a mistake that has to be fixed

tuxy

Do Lidl do any good brands similar to listerine if I have the urge to get drunk before 10.30?

Thelonious Monk

Supermarkets and pubs charge way too much for the stuff. I like some of it. A lot of it tastes like pasta sauce to me, but the new Guinness one, the Lomza one, and Becks and Krombacher are all pretty good. Oh and also Lidl have a new non alc IPA for 1e a bottle which I suppose is reasonable.
The price puts me off though, you're prob better off with a sparkling water.

JohnnyFlash

The Guinness Pure Brew one is actually a very tasty drink.

Harika

Funkygreendogs wrote: »

I have a bit to add to this conversation without opening a new thread:

Why is it that non-alcoholic is not allowed to be sold before 10.30am in Ireland? I fail to see any logic in that, surely it's a mistake that non-alcoholic beer is being lumped into the same category as high alcohol spirits, beer and wine.

Yes It is true non-alcolholic beer contains trace amounts of alcohol but so do many things, what about mouthwash or perfume they contain higher than trace amounts.

/snip

If I can find the actual law in Ireland that describes what the difference is between nonalcoholic and regular alcoholic, I would take this issue further as I believe this is a mistake that has to be fixed

Something I ask myself always, as fruit juice battles with non alcoholic beer with how you get more drunken quickly. Answer: Very hard and very likely to die from drowning in it before getting even to 0.004 percent of alcohol. Where you would start feeling alcohol.
0.5% low alcohol beer, it will take 7-8 pints in 2 hours to get to that level, and that is far below the legal limit for driving.
I think it is laziness from supermarkets as else they have to separate non alcoholic beer from alcoholic ones in their systems.
Yes had my fair fight at supermarkets with that as I do my shopping usually on Saturday morning.

And mainland Europa has a far better offer in that than here, but I also think because you have to fill out a lot of paperwork to get it in, compared to other non alcoholic drinks like orange juice.

holliehobbie

I drink the occasional nab because I'm now stuck on Warfarin for life (hopefully another 20 or 30 years if the disease that caused me to be on the Warfarin is cured).