Anyone drinking alcohol-free beer this Christmas issued driving warning
Topics: Food and Drink, Alcohol, Christmas
Rhiannon Ingle
Featured Image Credit: Getty Stock Images
Topics: Food and Drink, Alcohol, Christmas
For many people, Christmas is a time for spending quality time with your family, tucking into a belly-busting festive feast and knocking back a few, or a lot, of drinks.
Whether you're into mulled wine, Baileys or just your bog-standard beers, it's clear Brits especially see the holiday occasion as the perfect excuse to indulge when it comes to booze.
But that's not the case for a whole bunch of people who will be enjoying Christmas alcohol-free this year - a lifestyle choice which is growing increasingly popular among Gen Z, who seem way more 'sober curious' than their Millennial predecessors.
Such individuals may be fine sticking to soft drinks, but a fair few will no doubt also be enjoying 'no and low' alternatives, with a driving warning now issued to anyone drinking alcohol-free beer this Christmas.
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Despite the fact that people can safely drive after consuming alcohol-free beers, Brits have been warned that a police officer will 'almost certainly' stop you if they see you drinking from a bottle that looks like an alcoholic drink.
"There is nothing technically illegal about drinking alcohol-free beer while driving in the UK, however, you can still expect to get pulled over for it if your drink looks similar enough to a real beer bottle or can (which most alcohol-free beers tend to do)," the AA warned, as per The Sun.
"Again, our best advice would be to save time and hassle and wait until you’ve completed your journey before drinking anything."
Now, according to Gov.uk, alcohol-free products in the UK do not exceed 0.05 percent ABV - something which has raised confusion online, with many wondering how something with 0.5 percent can be considered alcohol-free.
Attempting to offer up an explanation, Lucky Saint - one of the UK's leading alcohol-free beer brands - opened up about the matter on its website.
"In Europe, America, New Zealand and many more countries, 0.5 percent is classified as alcohol-free," it explained. "Even after 10 pints, it’s impossible for this amount of alcohol to raise your BAC (Blood Alcohol Content)."
Bosses at the booze-free firm went on to explain that many foods we eat as part of our day-to-day actually contain more alcohol than 0.5 percent beverages, including over-ripened bananas, a slice of rye bread, and a burger bun.
Discussing how the rule applies to British drinkers, Lucky Saint representatives explained that the system in the UK is 'out of whack with the whole of Europe', adding that the government 'only classifies 0.05 percent products as alcohol-free'.
"But plenty of groups are lobbying the government to reassess this outdated law, so hopefully they’ll soon update it," it went on.
And addressing why alcohol-free beer brands aren't allowed to advertise their products as being 'zero per cent' instead, Lucky Saint continued: "We use a unique vacuuming process in our brewery to remove the alcohol, allowing us to brew a lager that has the body of a full-strength beer.
"We decided to leave our beer containing 0.5 percent to maintain maximum flavour, without any of the alcohol effects."
There you have it!