What’s the difference between beer and alcoholic beverages?
Although beer contains alcohol, it is not considered an “alcoholic beverage” in Mississippi’s local option laws and is regulated differently from distilled spirits and wine. In Mississippi, beer is a malt-based beverage that has no more than 5% alcohol by weight. Beer that has alcohol content greater than 5% by weight is not legal in Mississippi. Products that are wine-based and the alcohol content is less than 5% by weight are regulated like beer. These are called light wine products and are seen in the market typically as wine coolers. Beer and light wine cannot be sold in package stores. Likewise, alcoholic beverages cannot be sold in convenience or grocery stores.
