Non-Alcoholic Beer Rules in Malaysia
In Malaysia, the Food Regulations 1985 have treated a drink as an alcoholic beverage when it contains more than 0.5% alcohol by volume since 1 April 2026. Before that date, the line was more than 2%.
Checked on 2 October 2026. This is general information, not legal advice: laws change, so confirm with the regulator before you rely on a rule.
The rules in Malaysia at a glance
- At what alcohol level does a drink count as alcoholic in Malaysia?
- More than 0.5% ABV is an alcoholic beverage, since 1 April 2026. Before that, the line was more than 2%.
- What may a label call a non-alcoholic beer in Malaysia?
- No category called non-alcoholic beer. A beer with the alcohol separated out to 0.5% or less must be labelled "dealcoholised" and may not be called non-alcoholic. The word "beer" needs more than 2% ABV.
- Who may sell or buy non-alcoholic beer in Malaysia?
- Alcoholic and dealcoholised beverages may not be sold to anyone under 21 and must be shelved apart from other food.
The detail, with sources
Malaysian law has no category called non-alcoholic beer. A beer made by separating the alcohol out, which leaves 0.5% or less, is a "dealcoholised alcoholic beverage" under regulation 386B. Its label must join the word "dealcoholised" to the drink's name, may not use words such as "non-alcoholic" or "soft drink", and must carry the same warnings as an alcoholic drink.
Malaysia's Food Regulations allow the words beer, lager, ale or stout on a label only for a drink that meets the beer standard of more than 2% alcohol, and a soft drink may use the word beer only for ginger beer, ginger ale and root beer. We found no category for a beer-style drink brewed to stay at 0.5% or less, and how the Ministry of Health labels such a drink is not verified.
In Malaysia, alcoholic beverages, and dealcoholised ones, may not be sold to anyone under 21, must be displayed apart from other food, and must carry a warning that drinking liquor can harm health.
- Primary source: Food (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations 2025, P.U.(A) 345/2025, Ministry of Health Malaysia
- Primary source: Food (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2020, P.U.(A) 171/2020, regulation 386B, Ministry of Health Malaysia (list of gazetted amendments)
- Primary source: Food Regulations 1985, regulations 360, 361 and 374 (consolidated to January 2014, as filed with the WTO)
Common questions
Is non-alcoholic beer halal?
Official bodies have answered differently. Indonesia's MUI treats a fermented drink under 0.5% alcohol as halal if it is medically harmless, but it does not allow products named after beer, and Malaysia's JAKIM will not certify products named beer, ale, lager or stout. SOMA is under 0.5% ABV, which is a trace and not zero, and it is not halal-certified, so the judgement belongs to the reader and their scholar.
Can a non-alcoholic beer be called beer on the label?
It depends on the country. Malaysia's Food Regulations allow the words beer, lager, ale or stout only for a drink with more than 2% alcohol, and a beer with the alcohol separated out must be labelled "dealcoholised". Japan's industry code bars a non-alcohol drink from using the brand name of an alcoholic drink. China's beer standard, by contrast, counts non-alcohol beer as a kind of beer.
Elsewhere in Southeast Asia
Singapore, Thailand since November 2025 and Malaysia since April 2026 treat a drink as alcoholic above 0.5% alcohol by volume, and Indonesia's halal rules use the same 0.5% line. Vietnam, the Philippines and Brunei set no line for non-alcoholic beer in the laws we read. In Malaysia and Indonesia, food law and halal standards also limit what these drinks may be called, including whether the word beer may appear on the label.
| Country or territory | A drink counts as alcoholic from |
|---|---|
| Indonesia | The 2013 Presidential Regulation defines an alcoholic beverage by fermentation and sets no lower limit. Its lowest class covers drinks of up to 5%. |
| Singapore | More than 0.5% ethanol by mass or volume is liquor. |
| Thailand | Above 0.5 degree. Since 8 November 2025, drinks at 0.5 degree or less are outside the alcohol control law. |
| Vietnam | No 0.5% line. The alcohol harm law defines beer as a malt drink containing food-grade alcohol, with no minimum. |
| Philippines | We found no legal line for alcohol content. The excise tax on beer and other fermented liquors has no threshold. |
| Brunei | The law does not define liquor by alcohol content. The Syariah Penal Code uses "liquor or intoxicating drink" without defining it. |
Across the whole region
- All 27 countries and territories in one table
- What halal authorities have published
- What regulators say about drink-driving laws and non-alcoholic beer
- The same rows as JSON or CSV, free to reuse with credit
If a rule for Malaysia has changed, or a source no longer says what we say it does, write to getsoma.store@gmail.com and we will correct it.
Who publishes this page
SOMA is a non-alcoholic craft beer brand founded in Bangalore, India, and its beers are under 0.5% ABV. Our first deliveries will be in Bangalore, and we do not ship outside India. We keep these pages because the rules on non-alcoholic beer differ a great deal between countries, and many pages online state them without a source.
To learn how non-alcoholic beer is made and what is in it, read Non-Alcoholic Beer 101.