Malt Liquor

[Dick Adams]

The Smirnoff Ice Tea thread got me to thinking about Malt Liquor.
In the 40's and the early 50's, Malt Liquor was an upscale drink.
American Beers were in the 4% range and Malt Liquor was 6-8%.
Initially Malt Liquor was a brewery effort to use less barley and
get more ABV. To the best of my knowledge, it was fermented as a
lager to get that clean, crisp taste.

Based on information I found on the Briess website, 6.25 lbs of
thier Brown Rice Syrup 45 High Maltose should provide an O.G. of
1.050. If you'd like a Barley taste, substitute a lb of light
plain DME of a lb of syrup.

1 lb of rice syrup is suppose to be equivalent to .75 lbs of
rice syrup solids. Thus, the grain bill would be 4 lbs of rice
syrup solids and 1 lb of light DME. One problem is, due to the
cost of rice syrup solids, the grain bill and the yeast may
cost more than an acceptable (if the is one) retail product.

Has anyone brewed a malt liquor worth drinking?
If so recipe will be appreciated.


Dick

[Jim Stansell]

Post by Dick Adams
The Smirnoff Ice Tea thread got me to thinking about Malt Liquor.
In the 40's and the early 50's, Malt Liquor was an upscale drink.
American Beers were in the 4% range and Malt Liquor was 6-8%.
Initially Malt Liquor was a brewery effort to use less barley and
get more ABV. To the best of my knowledge, it was fermented as a
lager to get that clean, crisp taste.
Based on information I found on the Briess website, 6.25 lbs of
thier Brown Rice Syrup 45 High Maltose should provide an O.G. of
1.050. If you'd like a Barley taste, substitute a lb of light
plain DME of a lb of syrup.
1 lb of rice syrup is suppose to be equivalent to .75 lbs of
rice syrup solids. Thus, the grain bill would be 4 lbs of rice
syrup solids and 1 lb of light DME. One problem is, due to the
cost of rice syrup solids, the grain bill and the yeast may
cost more than an acceptable (if the is one) retail product.
Has anyone brewed a malt liquor worth drinking?
If so recipe will be appreciated.
Dick

I've never brewed one, but Horst Dornbusch formulated a malt liquor
recipe for one of his Brew Your Own style columns. I don't recall
exactly when it was, but it was probably about two years ago.

I can look for it when I get home if you're interested.

[Dick Adams]

Post by Jim Stansell

Post by Dick Adams
....
Has anyone brewed a malt liquor worth drinking?
If so recipe will be appreciated.

I've never brewed one, but Horst Dornbusch formulated a malt liquor
recipe for one of his Brew Your Own style columns. I don't recall
exactly when it was, but it was probably about two years ago.
I can look for it when I get home if you're interested.

Thanks. I found it at http://byo.com/feature/1401.html

Dick

[Jeremy Jones]

Post by Dick Adams
Has anyone brewed a malt liquor worth drinking?
If so recipe will be appreciated.

I have a malt liquor in secondary right now, so I can't speak to it's
drinkability at the moment, but I assume it otta be OK. It's really
just a beefed up Classic American Pilsner:

Recipe for 5 gallons of F-Dup Malt Liquor
(60% efficiency, OG 1.071)

6# 2-Row American Pils Malt
1# CaraPils
1# American Wheat
6# American Vienna
5# Corn

1.75 oz Hallertauer Hersbrucker @ 3.3 FWH
1.75 oz Hallertauer Hersbrucker @ 3.3 60 Minutes
1.00 oz Hallertauer Hersbrucker @ 3.3 10 Minutes

122F protein rest for 30 min.
140F beta for 1 hour
149F alpha for 1 hour
sparge to collect 6.75 gallons of wort

Boil 1 hour, to 5.75 gallons
Chill to 60F

Pitch yeast from 1 gallon starter of WLP800 Pilsner Lager Yeast.

Notes: The corn was boiled for 20 minutes, then pureed in a food
processor and added to the main mash. The wheat is just for head
retention (I have had problems with higher gravity lagers and head
retention). The Vienna is just for a bit more color and a (perhaps
inappropriate for the style) good chunk of malt flavor.

It was in primary for 2 weeks at 50F, diactyl rest for 2 days at 60F,
and in secondary now for 2 days at 45F. Secondary will continue for
another 1.5 weeks, then a month or two lagering. I expect this to
ferment out pretty low -- it was at 1.013 two days ago, which puts me
somewhere around 80% attenuation. I would think this could be done
pretty well with rice syrup solids, or just cooked rice, for that
matter. Maybe add beano to get the attenuation really high.

The real trick is going to be guzzling all those 40oz Colt 45s to come
up with the proper bottles!

--Jeremy

[Dick Adams]

Great reply.

Please send me your e-mail address!

Dick

[notbob]

Post by Dick Adams
The Smirnoff Ice Tea thread got me to thinking about Malt Liquor.
In the 40's and the early 50's, Malt Liquor was an upscale drink.

Malt liquor is not nor never has been a beer style. It's a marketing
term used to circumvent the laws against a beverage called beer having
(depending on the state) over n% abv. Almost all American malt
liquors pretty much suck. The only exception I can think of is the
long defunct Miller Malt Liquor in the screaming red 16oz cans. It
wasn't actually good, it was just less bad than other offerings.

Malt liquor, at least in CA, is also printed on the label of most
German beers (Spaten, Paulaner,etc) that have a higher alcohol
content. As you know, these are actaully great beers and have no
relation whatsoever to the crap pushed in mostly African-American
neighborhoods as a cheap drunk (Colt 45, OE 800, Steele, etc) and
are now more commonly known as a "40", the brands all being so
atrociously bad, it doesn't matter.

You wanna make some "malt liquor", brew up a mediocre session beer with
boosted abv, add some dog urine and let it skunk for a couple days and
...voila!.... malt liquor.

BTW, before you turn the flame throwers on me, yes I know Dogfish Head
is making a de Malt. No matter. I've tried DFH 60/90, etc and am not
impressed. In fact I was shockingly disappointed. I think their
stuff is a yawn. OK... flame away. ;)

nb

[Jim Stansell]

Post by notbob
Malt liquor is not nor never has been a beer style. It's a marketing
term used to circumvent the laws against a beverage called beer having
(depending on the state) over n% abv.

Gee, please don't tell the folks organizing the World Beer Cup that
it's not a style. They seem to think there is such a thing.

36. American-Style Specialty Lager

C. Subcategory: American-Style Malt Liquor
High in starting gravity and alcoholic strength, this style is
somewhat diverse. Some American malt liquors are just slightly
stronger than American lagers, while others approach bock strength.
Some residual sweetness is perceived. Hop rates are very low,
contributing little bitterness and virtually no hop aroma or flavor.
Perception of sweet-fruity esters and complex alcohols (though not
solvent-like) are acceptable at low levels. Chill haze and diacetyl
should not be perceived.
Original Gravity (ºPlato): 1.050-1.060 (12.5-15 ºPlato)
Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (ºPlato): 1.004-1.010 (1-2.5 ºPlato)
Alcohol by Weight (Volume): 5-6% (6.25-7.5%)
Bitterness (IBU): 12-23
Color SRM (EBC): 2-5 (4-10 EBC)

Even the BJCP style guidelines include malt liquor under specialty
beers.

And, for what it's worth, Michigan has no such law designating malt
liquor as a higher alcohol version of beer. The Michigan Liquor
Control Code defines beer as "any beverage obtained by alcoholic
fermentation of an infusion or decoction of barley, malt, hops, or
other cereal in potable water."

[The Artist Formerly Known as Kap'n Salty]

Post by Jim Stansell
And, for what it's worth, Michigan has no such law designating malt
liquor as a higher alcohol version of beer. The Michigan Liquor
Control Code defines beer as "any beverage obtained by alcoholic
fermentation of an infusion or decoction of barley, malt, hops, or
other cereal in potable water."

Yep -- but the "Malt Liquor" appellation for strong beers is a pretty
common feature of many state laws. Texas gets even wierder: I think
Texas law mandates beer be sold as "ale" if it's over 4% abw.

[Jim Stansell]

On Tue, 24 Apr 2007 14:13:24 -0500, The Artist Formerly Known as Kap'n

Post by The Artist Formerly Known as Kap'n Salty

Post by Jim Stansell
And, for what it's worth, Michigan has no such law designating malt
liquor as a higher alcohol version of beer. The Michigan Liquor
Control Code defines beer as "any beverage obtained by alcoholic
fermentation of an infusion or decoction of barley, malt, hops, or
other cereal in potable water."

Yep -- but the "Malt Liquor" appellation for strong beers is a pretty
common feature of many state laws. Texas gets even wierder: I think
Texas law mandates beer be sold as "ale" if it's over 4% abw.

True, and I wasn't trying to imply that just because Michigan's law
made no such distinction that the comment had no merit. I'm just
showing that there are exceptions, and sweeping generalizations can
sometimes be inaccurate.

In addition, while American malt liquors may not be known for their
outstanding quality, not all malt liquors are necessarily crap. I have
tasted malt liquors over the years that I thought were quite well
done. Brador (Molson) and Elephant (Carlsberg) come to mind.

[notbob]

Post by Jim Stansell
tasted malt liquors over the years that I thought were quite well
done. Brador (Molson) and Elephant (Carlsberg) come to mind.

Elephant is labeled malt liquor only for this country's beer laws.
It's considered a strong pils/lager in Europe. Also, I admitted that
there are beers called malt liquors for marketing reasons. In fact, I
used to enjoy Elephant beer quite often. But, about a dozen years
ago, Carlsberg did something to it and it became undrinkable, in my
opinion.

I'm sure there are some folks making a tolerable beer which they label
a malt liquor from the git-go. Maybe even a good one. I recall a
beer, Mamba, labeled a malt liquor, sold in 32oz (ml?) bottle, and
made in Africa that wasn't all that bad. But, the true nature of the
US brewed beast is cheap beer made with inferior ingredients with
added sugars to boost the abv and it's basically the same crap canoe
beer US brewers have been producing for decades and is typically so
bad I wouldn't contaminate my urinary tract with the swill. But,
that's jes my opinion. ;)

nb

[Dick Adams]

Post by notbob
Elephant is labeled malt liquor only for this country's beer laws.
It's considered a strong pils/lager in Europe. Also, I admitted that
there are beers called malt liquors for marketing reasons. In fact, I
used to enjoy Elephant beer quite often. But, about a dozen years
ago, Carlsberg did something to it and it became undrinkable, in my
opinion.

It was probably skunked.

Post by notbob
I'm sure there are some folks making a tolerable beer which they label
a malt liquor from the git-go. Maybe even a good one. I recall a
beer, Mamba, labeled a malt liquor, sold in 32oz (ml?) bottle, and
made in Africa that wasn't all that bad.

That's because most beers brewed in Africa are made with malted
sorghum grain and the focus is on smooth taste.

Post by notbob
But, the true nature of the US brewed beast is cheap beer made
with inferior ingredients with added sugars to boost the abv
and it's basically the same crap canoe beer US brewers have
been producing for decades and is typically so bad I wouldn't
contaminate my urinary tract with the swill. But, that's jes
my opinion. ;)

Let's agree there's a beer category known as American Swill.

There's a 2005 list of the top 50 producers at
http://www.beertown.org/pr/pdf/top50.pdf

From the top ten producers, the only American Lagers fit for
human consumption were Yuengling Traditional Lager and Sam
Adams Boston Lager. But that does not mean it is not possible
to homebrew an American Lager with an high ABV (generally
referred to as a malt liquor) that is worth drinking - but it
is difficult.

Dick

[Dick Adams]

Post by The Artist Formerly Known as Kap'n Salty

Post by Jim Stansell
And, for what it's worth, Michigan has no such law designating malt
liquor as a higher alcohol version of beer. The Michigan Liquor
Control Code defines beer as "any beverage obtained by alcoholic
fermentation of an infusion or decoction of barley, malt, hops, or
other cereal in potable water."

Yep -- but the "Malt Liquor" appellation for strong beers is a pretty
common feature of many state laws. Texas gets even wierder: I think
Texas law mandates beer be sold as "ale" if it's over 4% abw.

Better yet a PA court dismissed a charge of underage drinking because
in PA law says beer is at least 5%! I read that in an article with a
title something like: "Pennsylvania Judge Rules Miller Lite Is Not Beer"

Dick