Beer vs. malt liquor

mookeywrench

I'm a looking for a site that lists off the requirements necessary to legally call beer, Beer.

anyone know? Google isn't helping any on this one.

Nothingman54

Malt liquor is a North American term referring to a type of beer with high alcohol content. In legal statutes, the term often includes any alcoholic beverage above or equal to 5% alcohol by volume made with malted barley. In common parlance, however, it is used for high-alcohol beers made with ingredients and processes resembling those in American-style lager. Malt liquor is distinguished from other beers of high alcohol content in that the brewing process is seen by many critics as targeting high alcohol content and economy rather than quality.[citation needed] However, this label is subject to the viewpoint of the brewer, as there are indeed examples of brews containing high-quality, expensive ingredients that brewers have chosen to label as "malt liquors".[1]

Hope that helps

Jearlpam0925

Beer is labeled as anything made with water, hops, barley, and yeast.

jshin

Depends on the state. In some states, low-alcohol beer is "lager" and high alchohol is "ale" (regardless of whether it's a top- or bottom- fermented beer). In some states malt liquor refers to alcohol as you note.

The most common state rule (e.g. in Colorado, Minnesota, etc) if there an alcohol cutoff is that over 3.2% ABW (not ABV) is malt liquor, but 5% is right in some states. In most states it's not a strict alcohol cutoff.


http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/mississ ... ws-131466/