Bessemer, AL Public Conduct: Public Alcohol Use (2026)

Section 6-13 of the Bessemer Code of Ordinances, part of Chapter 6 (Alcoholic Beverages), splits the public-drinking prohibition into two halves. Subsection (a) targets the drinker: nobody may consume or drink any intoxicating beverage in a public place other than on the premises where it was purchased and for which the proprietor holds a license covering that specific type of beverage. That means carrying a beer from a licensed package store onto a sidewalk, into a park, or into an unlicensed business and drinking it there is a violation, as is drinking wine at a restaurant licensed only for beer.

Subsection (b) targets the business side: no proprietor, owner, manager or person in charge may allow a patron to drink any intoxicating beverage on the premises other than the type for which the business is duly licensed and which was actually bought there. Together the two halves close the loop between illegal drinking in public spaces and businesses that might otherwise look the other way. The section sits alongside Bessemer's broader alcohol licensing scheme in Chapter 6, which requires every seller to be investigated by the police chief (Sec.

6-6) and to keep records of every transaction for three years (Sec. 6-18). Because Section 6-13 doesn't set its own fine, a violation falls under the Code's general penalty provision, enforced by the Bessemer Police Department alongside the city's alcoholic beverage licensing office.