So, What Ever Happened to 3.2 Beer?

“Nonintoxicating” 3.2 beer was created to circumvent the 18th Amendment’s outlawing of intoxicating liquors. It was meant to be a short-term fix for a Constitutional loophole, and nothing more. And yet 3.2 beer is still around today. This chapter documents the long history of legal roles for 3.2 beer in the United States. For example, until the 1980s several states allowed 18-year-olds to purchase 3.2 beer even though 21 was required to buy anything stronger. Sunday sales of nothing stronger than 3.2 beer were common between the 1930s and 1980s, and many otherwise “dry” municipalities nationwide liberally allowed the “nonintoxicating” 3.2 beer. The US military also gave 3.2 beer a prominent role in the decades that followed Prohibition’s repeal. While many of these roles petered out over time, in 2018, there were still five states that allowed 3.2 beer to be sold in grocery and convenience stores, while a trip to a dedicated liquor store was required to purchase anything stronger. Today, Minnesota stands as the final state with an active legal role for 3.2 beer, which is the strongest alcohol that can be sold in its grocery and convenience stores. Ironically, just as 3.2 beer (which is 4 percent alcohol by volume) is finishing its run through the US legal code, low and nonalcoholic beer has become the fastest selling market segment in the United States and Europe. Many of today’s top selling beers would qualify, or be close to doing so, as 3.2 beer.