The question people ask us most often is whether non-alcoholic beer is completely free of alcohol.
The answer is almost, but not completely. SOMA is fermented to stay under 0.5% ABV, which is the legal definition of non-alcoholic in India, the US and most of Europe. Every batch is lab-tested before it leaves us. Other countries draw the line in other places, and our page on non-alcoholic beer rules in Asia and the Middle East sets them out country by country, with a page on the rules in India that cites each regulation.
What does 0.5% ABV mean?
To give you a sense of scale, a 500ml can of SOMA contains at most 2.5ml of alcohol, because 0.5% of 500ml is 2.5ml. A regular lager at 5% ABV contains ten times as much. Your body breaks down alcohol at this level about as fast as you drink it, which is why non-alcoholic beer does not cause measurable intoxication.
Trace alcohol in everyday foods
Trace alcohol is common in food. Very ripe bananas, fresh orange juice, kombucha, and some breads and yoghurts all contain a little, because fermentation happens in nature. Many everyday foods carry trace levels comparable to those in a non-alcoholic beer.
Why does SOMA keep a trace of alcohol?
The reason is that flavour comes from fermentation. We brew SOMA with malt, hops and yeast, and we let the yeast ferment. Our yeast is a maltose-negative strain. It cannot eat maltose, the main sugar in wort, so it stops short of 0.5% ABV on its own. While it ferments, it still builds the esters that make beer taste like beer. To reach absolute zero, we would have to skip fermentation, or ferment the beer all the way and then separate the alcohol out afterwards. Both would cost more flavour than they are worth.
Who should still avoid it?
If you avoid alcohol completely for medical, religious or personal reasons, including pregnancy or being in recovery, the decision belongs to you and your doctor, not to a beer company. Under 0.5% ABV is a trace, but it is not absolute zero, and we will never pretend otherwise.
Why is SOMA for people aged 18 and over?
SOMA is non-alcoholic, but it is brewed as a beer and tastes like one. We ask that buyers be 18 or older. That is our own decision about who SOMA is for, not a legal requirement.
In short, SOMA is a real beer. It contains a trace of alcohol, under 0.5% ABV, and it does not give you a hangover.
Brewed bold. No hangovers.
Production starts after December 2026. The fifty people on our Founding Fifty list will taste the first batch before anyone else. Joining the list is free, and there is nothing to pay today.
18+ · Under 0.5% ABV, lab-tested every batch
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