Definition

Noun: A type of beverage that is similar in appearance and taste to beer but contains a very low amount of alcohol, specifically less than 0.5% alcohol by volume. It was historically produced and consumed during periods when the sale of alcoholic beverages was prohibited.

Usage

• Noun: Used to refer to the low-alcohol or non-alcoholic beer substitute itself.
  • During Prohibition, many breweries survived by producing near beer.
  • He ordered a near beer because he was the designated driver.

Advanced Usage

• The term is often used in a historical context, specifically relating to the Prohibition era in the United States (1920-1933).
  • The museum exhibit featured bottles and advertisements for near beer from the 1920s.

Variants and Related Words

• Non-alcoholic beer: A modern term for a beer-like beverage containing little to no alcohol. While similar, "non-alcoholic beer" is the contemporary standard term, whereas "near beer" carries a specific historical connotation.
• Small beer: An archaic term for weak beer, but not a direct synonym for the legally defined "near beer" of the Prohibition era.

Synonyms

• Low-alcohol beer
• Non-intoxicating malt beverage (a formal, descriptive synonym)

Notes

• "Near beer" is a compound noun. The explanation focuses on the term as a single lexical unit referring to the specific beverage.
• The term is not commonly used in modern everyday language to describe contemporary non-alcoholic beers, which are typically called "non-alcoholic beer" or "alcohol-free beer." Its use today usually evokes a specific historical period.

Noun

1. drink that resembles beer but with less than 1/2 percent alcohol