Malt liquor
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Malt liquor is an American term referring to a type of beer that has a high alcohol content and is therefore considered too alcoholic to be called "beer". In the UK, similar beers are called super lager.
The reason for the name has to do with the vagaries of alcoholic beverage regulations in the United States. The phrase "malt liquor" has been used in the United States to refer to any alcoholic beverage made by fermenting grain and water; in these states a non-alcoholic beer may also be called a non-alcoholic or non-intoxicating "malt liquor." This generic use for any fermented beverage made from grain, however, is contrary to the way "malt liquor" is customarily used: in common parlance, a "malt liquor" has more alcohol than "beer".
Many areas of the world brew beers that are equal in alcoholic strength to American malt liquors; but in some U.S. states, beers must fall below a certain range of strength, and at least domestic beers that exceed the mark must be named "malt liquors." The legal definition of "malt liquor" will vary from one U.S. state to another. A typical legal definition is in Colorado Rev. Stat. ss. 12 – 47 – 103(19), which provides that:
- "Malt Liquors" includes beer and shall be construed to mean any beverage obtained by the alcoholic fermentation of any infusion or decoction of barley, malt, hops or any other similar products, or any combination thereof, in water containing more than three and two-tenths percent of alcohol by weight.
- (Note: alcohol percentages measured by weight translate into larger figures when re-expressed as alcohol percentages by volume, because ethanol is lighter than water.)
Some states do not define a category of "malt liquors;" in these states, beers labelled malt liquors are typically available, but the label simply identifies the product with the style, and has no legal significance. While ordinary beers in the United States tend to top off at around 4.5% alcohol by volume, malt liquors typically range from 5.0% up to 9% alcohol by volume. In some areas of the western United States, beers that are too strong to legally be beer are confusingly called "ale."
"Malt liquor" is also taken as the description of a specific style of beer in the United States. These beers, like most American beer, are broadly based on the Pilsner style of lager, but the malt liquors often have sugar, corn or other adjuncts added to the malt to boost their alcoholic strength. These beers tend to have minimal hops and bitterness.
Pabst makes one of the most famous of these beers which they call Colt 45; another well known brand, also made by Pabst, is St. Ides. The consumption of malt liquors is frequently celebrated in rap music and hip-hop culture. Malt liquors are often sold in large bottles containing forty ounces (1.2 liters), as opposed to the standard twelve ounce (350 milliliter) bottle that contains a single serving of beer. Olde English 800 is another popular malt liquor that has worked its way into American pop culture. American domestic "malt liquors" tend to be very inexpensive, although this is not necessarily true for foreign imports than are also labeled "malt liquor".
According to a study by Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in California, malt liquor is the alcohol of choice of the homeless and unemployed.
Other high alcohol styles of beer include ice beer, barley wine, Russian imperial stout, doppelbock, and certain kinds of Trappist beers. Most of these are traditional brewing styles.