British Drink Stirs Controversy in U.S.

Is it alcohol or just lemonade?

A so-called "brewed lemonade" from the United Kingdom, Fentiman's Victorian Lemonade, is causing a controversy in northern Maine. A student at Houlton High School, near the Canadian border, brought a bottle of the lemonade to school. He had purchased it at a local store, only to read the bottle later and find out contained alcohol. The student brought it to the attention of school officials, according to the Bangor Daily News.

The Aroostook Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition and the Maine Alliance to Prevent Substance Abuse have petitioned the state's liquor control board to try to classify the drink as either alcohol or "imitation liquor." Either of those designations would keep it out of the hands of under 21 year olds.

"I think this should not be sold to youth," said Clare Desrosiers, project director for the Aroostook Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition. "To me, it is sold in what looks like a liquor bottle."

But Fentimans said that it's much ado about nothing, according to the Daily Mail, a British newspaper said. The alcohol level is 0.5 percent, which still qualifies it as a soft drink according to the manufacturer. The Daily Mail said that it's not uncommon to have common household products with at least a little alcohol in them, including orange juice, mouthwash and chewing gum.