Do You Need a License to Sell Non-Alcoholic Beer in Kentucky?

Possibly, and it is not safe to assume no. Kentucky defines an "alcoholic beverage" as a beverage containing more than 1% alcohol by volume, which a 0.0% product is not. The same definition goes on to include "every spurious or imitation liquor sold as, or under any name commonly used for, alcoholic beverages, whether containing any alcohol or not," and the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control has written that a non-alcoholic beverage called "beer" is an alcoholic beverage under Kentucky law. Ask the Department in writing before selling a 0.0% beer, wine or spirits alternative as a food.

What Kentucky law says

KRS 241.010(2) sets the definition at more than 1% ABV, a higher floor than the federal 0.5%. Its next sentence adds that the term "includes every spurious or imitation liquor sold as, or under any name commonly used for, alcoholic beverages, whether containing any alcohol or not." In Advisory Opinion 2021-003 (31 August 2021) the Department read that sentence this way: "if a non-alcoholic beverage is called 'beer' it is considered an alcoholic beverage under Kentucky law." The opinion was about wine spritzers and the remark was made in passing. We have found no Department ruling on a product labelled non-alcoholic, so the point is open.

What that means for an out-of-state brand

A 0.0% product enters the United States in the FDA lane: registration, US agent, FSVP, Prior Notice and an FDA-format label (for a malt-based beer, a label under TTB's rules instead). Whether it can then sell in Kentucky direct to consumers, on Amazon, and to retailers without an ABC licence turns on how the Department applies the imitation-liquor sentence, which is the question to put to it in writing.

What it does not cover

The 1% floor is measured alcohol content. A low-alcohol product between 0.5% and 1% ABV is under Kentucky's 1% line and inside the federal definitions, which concern the label, the tax and the producer; the imitation-liquor sentence applies to it in the same way. Federal treatment of malt-based products under TTB is unchanged by state law.

Before you ship

Kentucky is one row in our state-by-state table of 0.0% beverage rules, which classifies non-alcoholic beer, wine and spirits alternatives for every state and records the source and the date each row was verified. For the brands we run, we confirm the lane for each product and each state before the first shipment, as part of holding the importer of record. This page is general information, verified 11 October 2026. Confirm with counsel and with the Kentucky Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control before acting on it.

Sources

• KRS 241.010
• Kentucky Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, Advisory Opinion 2021-003 (archived copy)
• Kentucky Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control