People are calling out Corona after a shopper discovered the brand’s non-alcoholic beer, available at Walmart, contains alcohol.
In a video with over 1.5 million views, TikTok user Nando (@nandos_vlogs) says they were browsing the aisles at Walmart when they came upon Corona’s non-alcoholic beer. However, on the label, it states that the beer has “less than 0.5% alc by volume,” leading to questions about whether the non-alcoholic beer actually contains alcohol. “Ayo can i take this to Work?” Nando asks in the caption.
As one user put it in a comment, “How’s it non alcoholic but has alcohol, someone explain.”
Non-alcoholic Corona is not unique for containing trace amounts of alcohol. According to Integris Health, “The U.S. Food and Drug Administration allows non-alcoholic beer to legally contain up to 0.5% alcohol.” This means that many beers labeled as “non-alcoholic” may still contain a small amount of alcohol.
“During the brewing process, trace amounts of alcohol remain,” the site reads. “Many beers will have 0.3 percent or 0.4 percent alcohol despite the name ‘non-alcoholic.’”
That said, it’s unlikely that one could consume enough non-alcoholic beers to become intoxicated.
In a 2012 study referenced by the site Steady Drinker, “67 people abstained from drinking alcohol for five days then drank 1.5 litres (about 2.6 pints) of 0.4% ABV beer in an hour. The researchers measured their blood alcohol content throughout the experiment. The maximum blood alcohol content they measured was 0.0056%.” For context, the legal drinking limit for driving in the United States is 0.08%.
@nandos_vlogs Ayo can i take this to Work? 🍻🥴 #fyp #foryoupage #paratiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii #corona #beer #cerveza #nonalcoholicdrink #coronaextra #budlight #modelo #chicago #mexico #mexican #paratipage ♬ Reggaeton Champagne – Bellakath & Dani Flow
Some commenters questioned the existence of the product in the first place.
“Non alcoholic? What’s the point?” a user asked.
“Just drink water,” another added.
As an article from Everyday Health explains, non-alcoholic beer allows drinkers to cut down on drinking alcohol while still letting them enjoy the flavor and social caché of beer. Non-alcoholic beers also tend to have fewer calories than their alcoholic alternative.
While some former addicts have found non-alcoholic beers to be helpful in their recovery process, experts generally don’t advise those with alcohol issues to drink non-alcoholic beers, as the flavor can be triggering and spark a desire to drink.
Back on TikTok, some said that they would enjoy having non-alcoholic beer in their lives.
“Yo this would help cuz I’m sober and I hate getting offered alcohol all day at parties,” a commenter said.
“That is so great that now I have more options other than Heineken,” a second wrote. “I love beer but I don’t drink alcohol.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Nando via TikTok direct message, Walmart via Media Relations contact form, and Corona via email.
