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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 marketed as "beer." In the UK, similarly-made beverages are dubbed super-strength lager.

Contents 1 Manufacture 2 Brewing and legal definitions 3 History 4 Forties (40s) 5 Traditions 6 International 7 References 8 External links

Malt liquor is a strong lager, and often sugar, corn or other adjuncts are added to the malt to boost the beverage's alcoholic strength. These beers tend to be mildly hopped (i.e. they are not very bitter).

Malt liquor is typically straw to pale amber in color. Unlike beer, hops are rarely used in malt liquors, instead being replaced with base ingredients such as corn, rice, or dextrose. The addition of special enzymes help to further breakdown the brew, resulting in a larger percentage of alcohol. It's through these addition enzymes that the brewery can vary the ABV to meet specifics set by individual countries or states. Higher alcohol versions, sometimes called "High Gravity" or just "HG", tend to have the addition of fusel alcohol, which gives off solvent or fuel like aromas and flavors.^[1]

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'. While ordinary beers in the United States average around 5% alcohol by volume, malt liquors typically range from 6% up to 9% alcohol by volume. A typical legal definition is Colorado's 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 less dense than water.)

While Colt 45, St. Ides, and Olde English 800 are most closely associated with malt liquors in the United States, the beverage itself is older than these products. Clix is often credited as the first malt liquor made in the United States, granted a [patent] in 1948.^[2] The first widely successful malt liquor in America was Country Club, which was first produced in the early 1950s by the M.K. Goetz Brewing Company, and marketed toward middle-class whites.^[3]

Today though, malt liquors are marketted to an entirely different segment, resulting in a stereotyping of the typical consumer. 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.^[4] Moreover, in the United States, a disproportionate number of African Americans consume malt liquor. While approximately 13% of the United States population is black,^[5] studies have shown that approximately 28% of malt liquor is consumed by African Americans.^[6] Beginning in the 1990s, many brands of malt liquor began to aggressively target this market and used popular rappers in their advertisements; Ice Cube, for instance, appeared in radio advertisements for St. Ides. Some rappers vigorously opposed this trend, feeling that malt liquor manufacturers were exploiting the African American community. For example, Chuck D, of the group Public Enemy, took a very strong anti-malt liquor stance and once sued St. Ides over an advertisement that sampled his voice without permission. ^[7]

In the American vernacular, a forty-ounce or simply forty, is a glass bottle that holds 40 fluid ounces (1.18 liters) of malt liquor or beer. Malt liquors are commonly sold in 40 oz (1.18 liter) bottles, as opposed to the standard twelve ounce (355 mL) bottle that contains a single serving of beer. American domestic "malt liquors" tend to be very inexpensive, although this is not necessarily true for foreign imports that are also labeled "malt liquor."

Examples of malt liquors sold in forty ounce bottles include Colt 45, Olde English 800, Mickey's, St. Ides, Steel Reserve 211, King Cobra, and Hurricane.

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. In the United States, 40 oz bottles are not permitted in some states, such as Florida.^[8]

Tipping

Stereotypically, in American hip-hop culture, a small amount of malt liquor is poured onto the ground as a libation or sacrifice, commemorating a dead friend or relative.^{[citation needed]} Also "One for my homies" is often spoken during pouring a small amount of the top of a 'forty' on the ground, in recognition of deceased friends or relatives who were close.

Edward Forty Hands

A game in which each player tapes a 40 oz. in each hand and then attempts to be the first to consume both bottles. The name of the game spoofs the movie Edward Scissorhands.^[9]

While American malt liquor brands are rarely, if ever, exported to Europe, similar inexpensive and high-alcohol beers are available in many areas there; these include the "super-strength lagers" such as Tennents Super and Carlsberg Special Brew in the United Kingdom, and Amsterdam Navigator and Bavaria 8.6 in France.

1. ^ Breaking Out the Forty Beer Advocate.com. March 21, 2001. Accessed on December 16, 2007.
2. ^ Clix Patent Filing United States Patent and Trademark Office. Accessed December 20, 2007.
3. ^ A Story without Heroes: The Cautionary Tale of Malt Liquor A History of Malt Liquor. April 30, 2005. Accessed on January 31, 2007.
4. ^ http://www.jointogether.org/news/research/summaries/2005/malt-liquor-favored-by.html
5. ^ http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0884133.html
6. ^ http://www.metroactive.com/papers/sonoma/10.02.97/latino-drinking-9740.html
7. ^ Chuck D: This One's Not For You, Entertainment Weekly, Sept. 27, 1994.
8. ^ Florida Statutes, Title XXXIV, Chapter 563; see item (6)
9. ^ Physical Challenge: Edward Forty Hands Liquor Snob. July 7, 2006. Accessed on December 20, 2007.

• A thorough history of Malt Liquor
• Database of 40s

v • d • e Malt liquors (style of beer)
Clix • Colt 45 • Hurricane • King Cobra • Laser • Olde English 800 • Mickey's • Private Stock • St. Ides • Steel Reserve 211