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.
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Legal definitions
The apparently confusing and inconsistent use of the term 'malt liquor' has to do with the vagaries of American alcoholic beverage regulations, which can vary from state to state. In some states 'malt liquor' refers 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. In some states, products labeled 'beer' must fall below a certain alcohol content, and beers that exceed the mark must be labeled as 'malt liquor'. 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 liquor 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 average around 5.0% alcohol by volume, malt liquors typically range from 6.0% 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'.
Examples
"Malt liquor" is also taken as the description of a specific style of beer in the United States. These beers are strong lagers, 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 40 oz (1.183 litres), as opposed to the standard twelve ounce (355 ml) 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 that are also labelled "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. [1] Moreover, in the United States, African American consumption of malt liquor is disproportionate to the share of the population that is African American -- while approximately 13% of the United States population is black,[2], studies have shown that approximately 28% of malt liquor is consumed by African Americans.[3]
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.
Forty ounce bottles of malt liquor
A forty ounce (40 oz. forty or fotie) is a glass bottle which holds 40 fluid ounces (1.18 litres) of product and almost always refers to 40 oz. of malt liquor.
Forties are more than three times as large as standard servings of beer, which are usually 12 fluid ounces in the United States. Forties tend to be inexpensive, and with their large size and the higher alcohol content of many malt liquors compared to beer, they are popular for those on a tight budget looking to become drunk.
Forties often turn up in American popular culture. The term "40 oz." has been used frequently in hip hop music and gangsta rap and has become intimately associated with those musical cultures and life in the ghetto. The term was also popularized by the US street punk band The Casualties, who in the early 90's released an EP entitled "40 oz. Casualty" The ska/punk band Sublime released their breakthrough album "40 oz. to Freedom" around the same time. Political ska/punk band Leftover Crack released an EP entitled Rock the 40 oz featuring a song of the same name.
The oldest 40 oz. known to exist is a Carling Black Label Beer from 1969, although earlier forties may have existed.
Examples of malt liquors sold in forty ounce bottles include Colt 45, Olde English 800, Mickey's, St. Ides, Steel Reserve 211, Crazy Horse, King Cobra, Schlitz Malt Liquor. Many regular American beers are also sold in forty ounce bottles, including Pabst Blue Ribbon, Miller High Life, Old Style, Genesee, Rainier & Budweiser. Some are only available regionally.
At least for a brief period in the mid-1990s, some brands of malt liquor, including Olde English 800 and Mickey's, were available in even larger, 64-ounce glass bottles.