Glossary
Alcohol-free
A labelling term whose permitted threshold differs by country — in the UK no more than 0.05% ABV, while several EU states and much of the world allow up to 0.5%.
Also called af beer, no alcohol beer, 0.0.
Legal. Fixed in law, and only in the places named. It may differ elsewhere and change over time. Defined by National food labelling authorities. As recorded here it applies in United Kingdom and European Union.
There is no global definition, and the differences are large in relative terms. UK guidance has historically reserved "alcohol-free" for beer at or below 0.05% ABV and "de-alcoholised" for beer reduced to below 0.5%, while much of continental Europe and the United States permit "alcohol-free" or "non-alcoholic" at up to 0.5%. Products labelled 0.0% are generally made to a lower threshold still.
Thresholds and the terminology attached to them have been under active review in the UK, so any figure needs a date attached to it as well as a jurisdiction.
BeerHQ records thresholds per jurisdiction with review dates rather than stating one figure as universal. It makes no health claim of any kind about alcohol-free beer.
Commonly misunderstood
Treated as a single worldwide standard. A beer labelled alcohol-free in Germany may not be labellable that way in the UK.
Related
- Low-alcohol — The adjacent labelling tier.
- De-alcoholisation — How the beer is made.
More vocabulary
Abbey beer · Beer duty · Gluten-free beer · Low-alcohol · Reinheitsgebot · Trappist beer
See every term on the glossary index.
Last reviewed 2026-08-16.
Evidence
What BeerHQ knows about this, and how. Every statement carries the state of the evidence behind it rather than being presented flatly as fact.
There is no international standard for what "alcohol-free" or "non-alcoholic" means on a beer label, and the permitted ceiling differs enough between jurisdictions that a product lawfully labelled alcohol-free in one country may not be labellable that way in another.
Backed by a source Applies in United Kingdom and European Union and United States. Last checked 2026-08-16.
Sources: UK guidance on alcohol labelling; Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on food information to consumers; TTB malt beverage labeling regulations
Alcohol-free beer is microbiologically more fragile than ordinary beer rather than merely weaker: it tends to carry more residual extract, a higher pH and lighter hopping, so the defences that normally keep beer stable are all reduced at once.
Checked against the source
Source: Roselli et al., "The two faces of microorganisms in traditional brewing and the implications for no- and low-alcohol beers" (2024), Microbial contamination of no- and low-alcohol beer (Front Microbiol 15:1346724)
United Kingdom guidance reserves the descriptor "alcohol-free" for beer at or below 0.05% ABV, a materially stricter threshold than the 0.5% permitted for equivalent descriptors in much of the rest of the world.
Checked against the source Applies in United Kingdom. In force from 2018-12-13. Last checked 2026-08-16.
Source: Low-alcohol descriptors: guidance, Descriptor table, "alcohol free" (13 December 2018)
United Kingdom guidance uses "de-alcoholised" for beer whose alcohol has been removed to no more than 0.5% ABV, distinguishing it from the stricter alcohol-free descriptor.
Checked against the source Applies in United Kingdom. In force from 2018-12-13. Last checked 2026-08-16.
Source: Low-alcohol descriptors: guidance, Descriptor table, "de-alcoholised" (13 December 2018)