malt liquor

noun

plural malt liquors

: a fermented liquor made with malt

specifically : a strong, dry beer and especially a lager with a high alcohol content usually in excess of 5 percent and as much as 11 or 12 percent that is produced by adding ingredients (such as corn, rice, or dextrose) to malted barley to increase the level of fermentable sugar present in the wort

Note: Because hops are not added during the brewing process, malt liquor lacks the bitterness often found in many lagers and ales. Malt liquor is typically sold in 40-ounce bottles or cans often called forties and is often not categorized as a beer due to its high alcohol content.

Malt liquor is powerful stuff. It looks and tastes something like regular beer, but any thirsty drinker who confuses the two on a hot summer day will soon be made aware of his mistake.

—The Washington Post

Examples of malt liquor in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Canned cocktails, drinks that include spirits like vodka, tequila or gin rather than the malt liquor base of popular seltzers, have begun to take market share in the ready-to-drink alcoholic beverage category. —Ryan Baker, CNBC, 10 Jan. 2025

The history of malt liquor, and also Pabst Blue Ribbon. —Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 20 Sep. 2010

No idea that malt liquor used to have an upscale association. —Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 20 Sep. 2010

Jim claims his favorite sections measure ice cream production, malt liquor consumption and trout propagation. —Linda Chong, Washington Post, 21 July 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1693, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

malt liquor

noun

: a fermented liquor (as beer) made with malt