By: Amie Alexander & Harrison Pittman, National Agricultural Law Center

The National Agricultural Law Center recently added a new article on the definition of “beer” to its library of research publications.

The default definition for “beer” under federal law is greater than 0.5% alcohol by volume (ABV). With the recent rise in home and microbrewing, some states have implemented more specific definitions of what may be labeled and sold as “beer.” This chart lays out applicable state law dealing with the definition of beer, whether it is defined as ABV or alcohol by weight (ABW), and any additional distinctions dealing with the definition of beer. Notably, some states have begun to add distinctions between the definitions of low and high alcohol content beers.  Download this article here.