Short answer No. Based on scientific research, it has been proven that healthy adults do not become intoxicated from normal consumption of beer with less than 0.5% alcohol. Although 0.5% beer contains a small amount of alcohol, research shows that blood alcohol levels remain very low. Even when test subjects drink large quantities, the measured values remain well below legal driving limits. Why is 0.5% beer sometimes called alcohol-free? According to the Dutch Commodities Act, beer may only be called alcohol-free if it contains a maximum of 0.1% alcohol. Nevertheless, you regularly see beers of 0.3%, 0.4%, or 0.5% labeled "alcohol-free." This is because these beers often come from countries such as Germany or Belgium, where beer with up to 0.5% alcohol may officially be sold as alcohol-free. Therefore, Dutch consumers may encounter both 0.0% and 0.5% beers presented as alcohol-free. These percentages are extremely low compared to regular beer. For comparison: Drink Alcohol percentage Alcohol-free beer 0.0% - 0.5% Pils about 5% Specialty beer often 6% - 12% A 33 cl bottle with 0.5% alcohol contains approximately 1.3 grams of alcohol. A regular lager of the same size contains approximately 13 grams of alcohol. So you consume about ten times less alcohol. Does alcohol-free beer get into your bloodstream? Yes. When you drink beer with 0.3%, 0.4%, or 0.5% alcohol, a small amount of alcohol enters your bloodstream. However, that does not mean you become intoxicated. Modern laboratory equipment can measure very small amounts of alcohol. A measurable amount of alcohol is not the same as an amount that causes noticeable effects. Research: how much alcohol actually enters your bloodstream? A widely cited study by the University of Freiburg investigated what happens when people drink large quantities of alcohol-free beer. The test subjects drank: 1.5 liters of beer with 0.4% alcohol within one hour The highest measured blood alcohol value was: 0.0056% alcohol in the blood That corresponds to: 0.056 per mille This is exactly the value that is often mentioned in videos and articles about alcohol-free beer. Is 0.056 per mille a lot? No. To properly understand that value, a comparison is necessary. Situation Per mille Highest value in the study 0.056‰ Dutch limit for novice drivers 0.2‰ Dutch limit experienced driver 0.5‰ The highest measured value was: more than 3 times below the limit for novice drivers; almost 9 times below the limit for experienced drivers. That shows how low the measured alcohol level actually was. Can you get drunk on 0.5% beer? Based on the available scientific knowledge, there is no evidence for this under normal use. To consume the same amount of alcohol as from a few regular glasses of beer, very large quantities of 0.5% beer would be needed. In addition, the body continuously breaks down alcohol while you drink. As a result, the alcohol level in the blood rises much less rapidly than many people think. The available studies show that even with large quantities of alcohol-free beer, blood alcohol levels remain low. Why do some people think that 0.5% beer is dangerous? That is usually because percentages are confused. There are, in fact, two different percentages: The alcohol percentage of the beer. The blood alcohol percentage. When someone reads that 0.0056% alcohol was measured in the blood after drinking alcohol-free beer, that sounds high to many people. In reality, it concerns a blood alcohol level of only 0.056 per mille. That is a very low value that lies well below the legal limits. Alcohol is also found in common foods Many consumers do not know that small amounts of alcohol are also present in everyday products such as: ripe bananas apple juice grape juice kefir sourdough bread fermented foods As a result, the body regularly comes into contact with minute amounts of alcohol without this leading to noticeable effects. Frequently Asked Questions Can you get drunk on alcohol-free beer? According to the available scientific studies, there is no evidence for this under normal use. Does alcohol-free beer get into your bloodstream? Yes. With beer containing less than 0.5% alcohol, a very small amount of alcohol can be measured in the blood. Can you drive after alcohol-free beer? Studies show that measured blood alcohol levels after consuming alcohol-free beer remain well below the legal limits in the Netherlands. What does 0.0056% blood alcohol mean? That corresponds to 0.056 per mille. That is a very low value and is well below the legal traffic limits. Is 0.5% beer the same as regular beer? No. A 0.5% beer contains about ten times less alcohol than a regular 5% lager. Conclusion Yes, beer with less than 0.5% alcohol contains a small amount of alcohol. No, that doesn't mean you'll get drunk from it. Scientific research shows that even after drinking large quantities of alcohol-free beer, measured blood alcohol levels remain very low. The highest measured value in a known study was 0.056 per mille, well below the Dutch traffic limits. For most consumers, alcohol-free beer is therefore a way to enjoy the taste and experience of beer without the effects associated with regular alcohol consumption.

I’ll be completely honest about this: as an enthusiast, I have high standards for how I drink beer. I consider a festive, generous head of foam in my glass of beer an absolute must . You should feel the same way, because you deserve it. As a guest in a pub or restaurant, but also when enjoying a beer at home. A beautifully frothy beer is only possible in a glass that is truly spotless. In a bar or restaurant that genuinely loves beer, things are generally fine. At home, I pay real attention to getting the glasses I drink my beer from nice and clean. As a beer sommelier, I know the do's and don'ts, of course. But sometimes things still go wrong. As dead as mutton I had pulled a clean tea towel from the kitchen drawer. A brief moment of reflection followed when I had rinsed my favorite beer glass under the hot tap. That clean tea towel was still dry; that glass was the first thing I would reach for. So I assumed I could safely dry the inside of the glass with it as well. That evening at dinner, I poured a fine abbey beer into it. Only to discover that I probably shouldn't have dried the inside. Because the beer went flat as a doornail immediately. It drew my attention back to an important question: how do you clean a beer glass so that the beer is enjoyed to its fullest potential? culprits Let's start at the beginning. There are a number of things your favorite drink (beer, non-alcoholic or alcoholic) cannot handle in a glass. Culprit #1 is grease. Soap or starch residue and dust follow closely behind. Grease, soap, or starch leave an invisible layer behind on the inside of the glass. That is an efficient killer of a beautiful head on your beer. (I will explain why that head is also better for the beer another time.) Dust causes the carbonation in your beer to form bubbles on the inside of your glass. Such a speck of dust forms a nice point of effervescence. It might foam up well in the glass, but you can tell by those bubbles that it isn't perfectly clean. I always have to chuckle at that: when I see a slickly styled photo of a beerfluencer on Instagram. Everything is perfect, but carbonation bubbles are visible on the curve of the glass… Close, but no cigar… In the machine or by hand Beer glasses can be washed in two ways: by hand or in the machine. In the café, they often use dishwashers exclusively for cleaning glasses and tableware. These are often advanced machines that utilize technologies such as reverse osmosis. In this way, the dishes inside become cleaner than clean. Even nuisances like the coronavirus cannot withstand such washing power. The glasses are dried with hot air, ensuring they emerge from the machine truly optimally clean. If you have a dishwasher at home that you want to use to clean beer glasses, make sure the inside is thoroughly clean. Often, your dishwasher smells fresh, and plates, cups, pans, and cutlery come out sparkling clean. Nevertheless, invisible grease and starch residues float around inside the appliance. You are not doing your beer glasses any favors with that. Exclusively for beer glasses Even if I had a dishwasher, I would still prefer to wash beer glasses by hand. In clean soapy water, as hot as you can tolerate to keep it workable. If you do all the washing up by hand, tackle the beer glasses first. Do not use a dish brush that you first scrubbed clean a dirty lasagna dish with. Or one that you used to go through the frying pan after frying bacon in it. I have a dish brush in my kitchen cupboard that I use exclusively for beer glasses. That works perfectly. Wash a beer glass thoroughly, not only on the inside but also on the outside. This prevents (greasy) fingerprints on the outside of the glass, or a rim with lipstick residue where your girlfriend put the glass to her lips. I find that a real turn-off in bars and restaurants, and at home it doesn't exactly enhance my beer enjoyment either. But if you clean beer glasses with real care, it is easy to prevent. Another tip: rinse your washed beer glass thoroughly with hot water. Again, from the outside and the inside. Check if all soap residue is really gone. Dry off And then: dry them. I say: with a clean tea towel, only the outside. Next, place the washed beer glasses upside down on a clean drying cloth or a folded piece of kitchen paper. Let them drip dry; the cloth or kitchen paper will absorb any remaining moisture. After a while, place them upright again so that the inside can air dry. This also prevents the material of your drying cloth from leaving lint inside the glass. Finally, one last pro tip . Make it easy on yourself. After drinking beer, rinse your beer glasses briefly before leaving them on the counter. This prevents the foam that remains on the inside of the glasses from drying out. And then, when washing up, you won't have to try quite as hard to get them properly clean. By the way, are you still looking for a favorite beer glass? I saw that Raoul found a beautiful model of glass in which the aromas and flavors of most beer styles come into their own perfectly. If I didn't already have a huge collection of beer glasses myself, I would definitely have ordered a few. Because this model of beer glass is really well-known among beer connoisseurs.

It's time to write down my own story. I'm regularly asked if I still drink alcohol. Since January 1, 2025, I haven't. And I'm very happy about it. Do I not have a problem with that? Of course I do. That's precisely why I'm writing this. This blog has two goals. Firstly, sharing my story helps me better cope with moments when I have a craving for a beer or something else. Secondly, I want to help others in a similar situation. I'll start with the title. There are roughly three types of people who quit drinking. The first group has little trouble with it. They never had a drinking problem in the first place and can easily say no. The second group is physically dependent: the heavy drinkers who describe themselves as alcoholics and remain so even if they haven't had a drink in a long time. David Bowie is often cited as an example. The third group lies somewhere in between. These are people who drink regularly, even heavily, but still function normally. No visible problems, no immediate damage. They almost always say, "I don't have a drinking problem." In her book "Since I Stopped Drinking," Evi Hansen writes, "I was absolutely not an alcoholic." I can understand that. I also belong to this third group. I drank regularly and was always on the lookout for delicious drinks. Craft beer was my hobby. Friday was the perfect time to treat myself and wind down after the work week. Did I drink too much back then? After all, I was functioning perfectly fine. Nobody seemed to mind. On the contrary, after a few drinks, I was often more sociable. Nevertheless, I think now that I drank more than was good for me. Sometimes I'd be sitting at home alone on Friday evenings—my wife was at work, the kids were out—and there I was with a craft beer. At some point, it just felt... empty. Alcohol can foster sociability; it can bring people together. But if you need it for that, maybe something's wrong. Why not simply reduce it then? I've tried it often enough. No drinking during the week, only on weekends. But this "weekend" already started on Thursday. And if there was a reason to drink on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday, I took advantage of it. That doesn't work for me. The only solution is to not drink any alcohol at all. This is nothing new. For about twenty years, I've abstained from alcohol every year during Lent. But afterwards, I always fall back into my old habits. In 2024, I started "Dry January" and extended it to include Lent. Three months without alcohol. It went surprisingly well. In fact, I was annoyed that I started again afterward. So, in 2025, I decided to stick with it for a whole year. And I'm still doing it. Nevertheless, it's sometimes difficult. I've already mentioned Fridays, but especially the Friday before a long weekend, for example at Easter, feels like a weekend twice as long. Then I take the dog for another walk or cook an elaborate meal, simply to distract myself. Of course I drink non-alcoholic beer then. And I enjoy it immensely. I feel like a kid in a candy store when I pick out a beer in our local shop. It feels good to write my story down like this. And if it also helps you to enjoy life without alcohol more, that's a nice bonus. If you would also like to share your story, we would be happy to provide you with our blog for that purpose.