Fentimans, who make Victorian lemonade, have argued their 0.5 per cent ABV drink qualifies as a soft drink because the alcohol content is so low.
A high-school in Maine reportedly contacted police over whether the drink could be legally sold to anyone under the age of 21 – the legal drinking age in the US.
Fentimans, based in the north-east, said the school principal confiscated the half empty bottle, contacted the police and set in motion a series of complaints from concerned officials, from the Aroostook substance abuse prevention coalition and the Maine alliance to prevent substance abuse, who argue that Fentimans should not be sold to anyone under the age of 21.
An article in the local paper in Houlton, Maine titled 'Police caution consumers on alcoholic lemonade' was followed by another article in the larger city newspaper, The Bangor Daily News.
But the soft drinks company have said in response to the complaints that a person would have to drink 28 bottles of the lemonade for it to have the same effect as a can of beer.
Tiffany McKirdy, operations director at Fentimans, said: 'For a tiny company, this is quite a furore. However, although it all seems rather Monty Pythonesque with the involvement of the Maine alliance to prevent substance abuse and even the attorney general's office, it has garnered a great response, both from American and Brits, who think it is completely absurd.
'We take the issue of underage drinking seriously, and this has enabled us to clarify the fact that our drinks are legally classed as soft drinks and rather ironically, their uniqueness is partly derived from the fact that they are botanically brewed (with 100 per cent natural ingredients and no additives or preservatives), which includes a seven day fermentation, hence the trace alcohol.'
On the Fentimans website, the lemonade is described as: 'The stimulating combination of smooth botanicals and dry sharpness of the juice of one and half lemons in every bottle makes this an all-natural drink once tasted, never forgotten.
'Runner Up in the BBC Good Food Awards - it is everything you might imagine old-fashioned cloudy lemonade to be.'
Eldon Robson, Fentimans managing director and master brewer, added: 'I think it's quite amusing, really. Maine is of course where our puritanical forefathers went because Britain was not strict enough and it has been said that Puritans are people who are always worried that someone, somewhere might be having fun.
'However, underage drinking is a serious matter and this issue does need to be clarified.'
A high-school in Maine reportedly contacted police over whether the drink could be legally sold to anyone under the age of 21 – the legal drinking age in the US.
Fentimans, based in the north-east, said the school principal confiscated the half empty bottle, contacted the police and set in motion a series of complaints from concerned officials, from the Aroostook substance abuse prevention coalition and the Maine alliance to prevent substance abuse, who argue that Fentimans should not be sold to anyone under the age of 21.
An article in the local paper in Houlton, Maine titled 'Police caution consumers on alcoholic lemonade' was followed by another article in the larger city newspaper, The Bangor Daily News.
But the soft drinks company have said in response to the complaints that a person would have to drink 28 bottles of the lemonade for it to have the same effect as a can of beer.
Tiffany McKirdy, operations director at Fentimans, said: 'For a tiny company, this is quite a furore. However, although it all seems rather Monty Pythonesque with the involvement of the Maine alliance to prevent substance abuse and even the attorney general's office, it has garnered a great response, both from American and Brits, who think it is completely absurd.
'We take the issue of underage drinking seriously, and this has enabled us to clarify the fact that our drinks are legally classed as soft drinks and rather ironically, their uniqueness is partly derived from the fact that they are botanically brewed (with 100 per cent natural ingredients and no additives or preservatives), which includes a seven day fermentation, hence the trace alcohol.'
On the Fentimans website, the lemonade is described as: 'The stimulating combination of smooth botanicals and dry sharpness of the juice of one and half lemons in every bottle makes this an all-natural drink once tasted, never forgotten.
'Runner Up in the BBC Good Food Awards - it is everything you might imagine old-fashioned cloudy lemonade to be.'
Eldon Robson, Fentimans managing director and master brewer, added: 'I think it's quite amusing, really. Maine is of course where our puritanical forefathers went because Britain was not strict enough and it has been said that Puritans are people who are always worried that someone, somewhere might be having fun.
'However, underage drinking is a serious matter and this issue does need to be clarified.'
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