"‘No Alcohol’ Beer Won't Get You Caught? Thinking It's Just a Drink, Drivers Face Trouble"

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Yeeun] Recently, as more people seek 'non-alcoholic' beer for health and other reasons, questions have arisen about whether it is safe to drive after consuming non-alcoholic beer.

Non-alcoholic beer is especially popular among those who are sensitive to alcohol, need to refrain from drinking for health reasons, want to enjoy the taste without getting intoxicated, or frequently drive. A common controversy surrounding non-alcoholic beer is whether it counts as drinking and driving, as many varieties contain trace amounts of alcohol, leading to diverse opinions.

In fact, in the US and Europe, marketing non-alcoholic beer to drivers has sometimes been met with backlash. A Czech liquor company even participated in a police campaign to prevent drunk driving by distributing non-alcoholic beer to drivers.

In South Korea, a liquor company once ran an advertisement themed around drunk driving enforcement but had to pull it quickly due to public criticism. This is because even non-alcoholic beer can contain trace amounts of alcohol.

Non-alcoholic beer is classified into two types based on alcohol content. Beer containing less than 1% alcohol is called 'low-alcohol', while beer with no alcohol at all is classified as 'non-alcoholic'.

Previously, the method involved removing alcohol from fermented beer, but recently, manufacturing methods have diversified, including using special yeast that does not produce alcohol or skipping the fermentation process altogether.

Experts advise caution for those sensitive to alcohol. There have been cases where people were caught in drunk driving checks after drinking several bottles of non-alcoholic beer.

Meanwhile, the domestic non-alcoholic beer market size grew from 8.1 billion KRW in 2014 to 15.3 billion KRW in 2019, roughly doubling in six years. Especially last year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise of home drinking and home parties, the non-alcoholic beer market expanded to around 20 billion KRW.