What goes on a beer label? The UK rules at a glance

As long as you drink your beer at home, what goes on the bottle is up to you. The food labelling rules apply once you run a food business. According to GOV.UK, that is so even if you give the food away for free – but the rules don't apply if you are not a food business and are providing food for an occasional event, such as a village fair.

The main rules are in assimilated Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on food information to consumers, which still applies in Great Britain in the version kept up to date on legislation.gov.uk. It applies to food business operators (Article 1(3)). Under Article 8(1), the business responsible for the label is the one under whose name the beer is sold – not the printer, and not whoever designed the label.

This guide covers only the label. Whether you may brew and sell beer is a question for HMRC and your local council; GOV.UK has an overview for commercial brewers. The guide is about beer sold in Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales): in Northern Ireland, EU food labelling rules continue to apply. Wine and spirits have extra rules of their own.

The particulars at a glance

Which particulars you need depends partly on the strength. All of them must be in English (Article 15(1)); you can add other languages, such as Welsh, alongside (Article 15(3)).

ParticularWhen it's neededExample
Name of the foodAlwaysBeer
Alcoholic strengthOver 1.2% vol5.2% vol
Net quantityAlways500 ml
AllergensWhen the beer contains something on the allergen listContains barley.
Name and UK addressAlwaysExample Brewing, 1 Sample Lane, Anytown AB1 2CD
Best-before dateUnder 10% volBest before end: April 2027
Lot numberWhen there is no date with day and monthL2610
Ingredients list and nutrition declaration1.2% vol or lessIngredients: Water, BARLEY malt, Hops, Yeast

The name of the food

The name of your beer is not the name of the food. "Harbour Lights" tells nobody what is in the bottle, and a brand or fancy name can't replace the name of the food (Article 17(4)). Where the law doesn't prescribe a name, the name of the food is a customary name – one that consumers in the UK accept without further explanation – or a descriptive one (Article 17(1) and Article 2(2)(o)). For beer, that can be a word such as "Beer" or "Pale ale".

The alcoholic strength

Annex XII asks for the strength as a figure with no more than one decimal place, followed by "% vol", optionally preceded by "alcohol" or "alc": "5.2% vol" or "alc 5.2% vol". Since 2023, beer sold in England, Scotland or Wales may also say "5.2% alc/vol". "5.2%" or "5.2% ABV" on its own is not one of these forms, so a style line such as "IPA 5.2%" on the front doesn't replace the strength.

Annex XII also sets how far the stated strength may differ from the real one, on top of the uncertainty of the method of analysis: 0.5% vol for beer up to 5.5% vol, and 1% vol for stronger beer.

"Alcohol-free" and "low alcohol"

These words are no longer set in law. The rules in the Food Labelling Regulations 1996 were revoked across Great Britain on 13 December 2018, and in England they were replaced by government guidance, the low-alcohol descriptors guidance. The guidance is for England only, but according to the Department of Health and Social Care a product that follows it in England can be sold with the same label in the rest of the UK. Using the words is voluntary, but if you use them the guidance recommends:

  • "Alcohol-free": only for a drink from which the alcohol has been extracted, with no more than 0.05% ABV, and with the strength (or that it contains no alcohol) on the label.
  • "De-alcoholised": the same, up to 0.5% ABV.
  • "Low alcohol": 1.2% ABV or less, with the maximum strength on the label.
  • "Non-alcoholic": not together with a name commonly associated with an alcoholic drink, such as beer.

Trading standards should have regard to the guidance when they judge whether a label is misleading. The government consulted on changing these conditions in 2023, so check the guidance page before you print.

In the same field of vision

The name of the food, the net quantity and the alcoholic strength must be in the same field of vision (Article 13(5)): all three must be readable from a single viewing point (Article 2(2)(k)). Trading standards' guidance on Business Companion puts it as being able to hold the product so that all three are visible at the same time. It doesn't have to be the front. One line works well: "Beer · 5.2% vol · 500 ml".

The minimum text size

The mandatory particulars in Article 9(1) – among them the name, strength, net quantity, allergens and best-before date – need an x-height of at least 1.2 mm (Article 13(2)). The x-height is the height of a lower-case "x" (Annex IV shows it in a diagram), not the point size, so measure the typeface you are actually using.

The net quantity and the ℮

The quantity is given in litres, centilitres or millilitres (Article 23(1)), so "500 ml", "50 cl" or "0.5 l".

The ℮ mark is optional. You may only put it on packages that are filled following the "packers' rules" of the Weights and Measures (Packaged Goods) Regulations 2006 (regulation 5(3)), it must be at least 3 mm high (regulation 2), and it goes in the same field of vision as the quantity (regulation 5(3)). With the ℮, the figures and unit of the quantity must be at least this tall (regulation 8(3)(d)):

Nominal quantityFigures, at least
Up to 5 cl2 mm
Over 5 cl, up to 20 cl3 mm
Over 20 cl, up to 1 l4 mm
Over 1 l6 mm

For 330 ml, 440 ml and 500 ml that is 4 mm. Without the ℮, these heights don't apply to pre-packed food (regulation 3(6)), and the quantity needs the same 1.2 mm x-height as the other particulars.

Allergens

Almost every beer contains barley, and barley is on the allergen list (Annex II). Beer over 1.2% vol needs no ingredients list (Article 16(4)), but the allergens must still be on the label, with the word "contains" (Article 21(1)): "Contains barley.", or "Contains barley and wheat." for a wheat beer. If the label has an ingredients list, the allergens are emphasised in it instead, and the Food Standards Agency says they must not be repeated in a separate "Contains" statement. More in Allergens on a beer label.

Name and address

The label needs the name and address of the business responsible for it (Article 9(1)(h)). Since 1 January 2024, food sold in Great Britain must give a UK address, according to GOV.UK: a physical address where your business can be contacted by post. An email address or phone number is not enough.

Best before and lot number

Beer under 10% vol needs a best-before date (Annex X). With the day it reads "Best before: 9 April 2027"; otherwise "Best before end", as in "Best before end: April 2027". If the beer keeps for more than three months, the month and year are enough, and for more than 18 months the year. Instead of the date you can say where to find it ("Best before: see neck").

A 10.5% imperial stout needs no date, but it does need a lot number. Under the Food (Lot Marking) Regulations 1996, the lot number can only be left out when the date gives at least the day and month (regulation 4(1)(g)) – so "Best before end: April 2027" needs one too. It starts with an "L" unless it is clearly distinguishable from the other information on the label (regulation 3(2)(b)): "L2610".

Beer at 1.2% vol or less

A beer this light also needs an ingredients list and a nutrition declaration (Article 16(4) only exempts stronger drinks). A manufacturer who supplies small quantities directly to consumers or to local shops can be exempt from the nutrition declaration (Annex V, point 19). What counts as a small quantity isn't defined there – ask your local trading standards service.

Health warnings and deposit return

Health warnings on the labels of alcoholic drinks are voluntary in the UK. The government encourages producers to show the UK Chief Medical Officers' low-risk drinking guidelines, including the advice on pregnancy, and has guidance on how.

In England and Northern Ireland, a deposit return scheme is due to start on 1 October 2027 for single-use drinks containers of 150 ml to 3 litres made mainly of aluminium, steel or PET plastic – cans and plastic bottles, not glass. Product lines of fewer than 5,000 units a year will not need to carry the scheme's labelling, but you must still register them with the scheme and report the numbers (GOV.UK). Scotland and Wales have their own schemes, also planned for autumn 2027 (GOV.UK).

With Brewlabel, the labelling check in Plus goes through several of these points: the field of vision, the x-height, the height of the quantity's figures, a UK postcode in the address, best before and lot number, and whether "alcohol-free" or "low alcohol" fits the strength. You remain responsible for the label.

Last checked: 21 October 2026

This guide explains labelling and is not legal advice. Rules can change – if you sell your drink, check with your local authority's trading standards or environmental health team.

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