Mixing Beer with Caffeine is Illegal in California

An exciting discovery, yes, but first some background:

I recently learned that a lovely Los Angeles bar, Hangover, closed recently.  Hangover was a bar in Koreatown with an "All You Can Drink" (AYCD) policy.  For a fee, patrons could enjoy all the beer they wanted for up to four hours.  Hangover noted that California law prevented them from giving away free alcohol, and therefore the bar charged one penny for each pitcher.  You can learn more about Hangover here and here.

I don't know why Hangover closed, but when I saw their note about California law and their strategy of "selling" pitchers for one penny each, I became suspicious.  I therefore decided to launch into an investigation of California's wine, beer, and spirits law so that I could determine the legality of Hangover's practices.

Upon discovering the complexity of California's alcohol laws, I realized that this would not be a project I could finish in a single evening.  As I continue my journey through these intricate statutes, I will share the interesting things I discover.

Which brings me to tonight's discovery: California Business and Professions Code section 25622(a) which reads:

• Beer to which caffeine has been directly added as a separate ingredient shall not be imported into this state, produced, manufactured, or distributed within this state, or sold by a licensed retailer within this state.

I did a bit more research into the law and found Suni Li Alexander's article discussing the underlying legislation.  As I suspected, the law was enacted in 2011 to combat the Four Loko epidemic.  After some widely publicized incidents involving Four Loko, a caffeinated malt beverage, various states enacted legislation in an effort to restrict or outlaw the drink.  Section 25622 appears to be California's solution.

I discuss the statute's peculiarities after the jump.


I initially thought that this statute would outlaw the importation and selling of beer mixed with caffeine, but it appears that the statute also outlaws production and manufacture of beer to which caffeine is added.  The text of the statute therefore seems to outlaw making beverages that consist of any mixture of beer or a caffeinated element.

Notably, the statute does not restrict mixing caffeine with other types of alcohol.  Alexander writes:

Chapter 140 does not prevent individuals or bartenders from mixing caffeinated beverages, such as Red Bull or Coca-Cola, with beer or hard liquor. One reason Senator Padilla gave for this peculiarity is that an individual making or ordering his or her own beverage has the ability to control the alcohol content.  Furthermore, a mixed drink generally does not contain the same amount of alcohol or caffeine as a [caffeinated beer beverage].

That first reason does address why one cannot order a drink consisting of beer mixed with caffeine -- a person mixing or ordering a drink can typically control the alcohol content in this beverage.  The second reason seems even more goofy.  Drinks that mix non-beer alcohol with caffeine, like Red Bull and vodka cocktails, likely contain as much, if not more, alcohol and caffeine as Four Loko.

While Red Bull and vodka cocktails remain legal, other drinks are no longer so safe.  Some quick research into cocktails made with Guinness (a beer whose draught variant is known for its coffee-like taste) reveal several cocktails that require the mixing of Guiness and the coffee liqueur, Kahlua (see, e.g., the Irish Russian and the Smooth Black Russian).  Kahlua contains caffeine -- not much -- but the statute certainly does not provide a minimum permissible amount.

While it is clear what the legislature had in mind, section 25622, as drafted, seems to criminalize far more than Four Loko.  Those who are tired and wish to make their drinking of beer and caffeine more efficient should beware.