Beer law elsewhere: Belgium, the UK, the US, and Japan

Belgium: freedom with ingredients

Belgium has no ingredient rule in the German style, and you can taste it. A Tripel or Dubbel often gets candy sugar, which keeps the body lean and lifts the alcohol. A witbier contains unmalted wheat, coriander, and Curaçao orange peel. For lambic, brewers traditionally use raw, unmalted wheat. In Germany, most of these beers would be specialty beers requiring a permit.

In Belgium, what's protected tends to be origin and method rather than ingredients. Oude Geuze and Oude Kriek are guaranteed traditional specialties, and Flanders Red Ale has been registered as a PGI since October 1, 2026. The Trappist logo isn't a law but a mark created by the monasteries themselves. So beer law in Belgium mainly means: protect names, leave recipes open.

The result is great stylistic diversity in a small area. Saison, Tripel, Dubbel, witbier, lambic, and Flanders Red all emerged under rules that gave brewers a free hand with raw materials. In 2016, UNESCO added Belgian beer culture to its list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

United Kingdom: tax by alcohol, ale by tradition

Since August 1, 2023, the UK has taxed all alcoholic drinks according to their alcohol content. Beer under 3.5 percent is taxed at a lower rate than beer between 3.5 and 8.5 percent. This makes lighter beers worthwhile, like the traditional Bitter served in pubs. A Draught Relief lowers the tax on cask beer served in pubs and bars.

Small producers making under 4,500 hectoliters a year get a reduced rate through Small Producer Relief. There's no ingredient rule like in Germany: sugar and other grains are common in British ales. Kentish ale and Kentish strong ale, as well as Rutland Bitter, are protected. Since Brexit, they appear in the EU register as well as in the UK's own separate register.

United States: barley and hops determine the authority

In the US, the recipe determines which agency has jurisdiction. Only a beer made from malted barley and hops counts as a malt beverage under federal law. Other grains, sugar, and additional ingredients may be added. These beers fall under the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), which reviews labels and advertising.

If barley or hops are missing, the beer falls under the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) instead. The TTB clarified this in 2008. A gluten-free beer made from sorghum, a type of millet, or a beer made entirely without hops remains beer for tax purposes but is labeled according to food law. Anyone who looks closely at an American beer on the shelf can sometimes spot the origin of this rule right on the label.

Even the term craft is only privately defined in the US. The Brewers Association describes craft brewers as small and independent. There's no law behind it, and in Germany, there's no definition at all.

Japan: beer, happoshu, and the third beer

Japan defines beer by its malt content. Since April 2018, malt must make up at least half of the raw materials, down from 67 percent previously. The main ingredients are malt, water, and hops; secondary ingredients like fruit or spices may make up at most 5 percent of the malt quantity. Anything with less malt is called happoshu, literally "foaming alcohol." Alongside this emerged the so-called third beer, beer-like drinks made entirely without malt or with added spirits.

This diversity was driven by taxation. Beer was taxed the most, happoshu and third beer considerably less, and breweries designed their recipes accordingly. Since October 1, 2026, that's come to an end: beer, happoshu, and third beer are now taxed uniformly at 54.25 yen per 350 milliliters. For beer, the tax dropped from 63.35 yen; for the others, it rose from 46.99 yen. How the range of products will change remains to be seen.

For travelers, the difference remains visible nonetheless. Anyone reaching for a cheap can in Japan isn't always drinking beer in the legal sense. The packaging states the beverage category, even if the contents look and foam like a pale lager.