A malt drink is a

fermented Fermentation is a type of anaerobic metabolism which harnesses the redox potential of the reactants to make adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and organic end products. Organic compound, Organic molecules, such as glucose or other sugars, are Catabo ...

drink in which the primary ingredient is the grain or

seed In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be Sowing, sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds ...

of the

barley Barley (), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains; it was domesticated in the Fertile Crescent around 9000 BC, giving it nonshattering spikele ...

plant, which has been allowed to sprout slightly in a traditional way called "

malting Malting is the process of steeping, germinating, and drying grain to convert it into malt. Germination and sprouting involve a number of enzymes to produce the changes from seed to seedling and the malt producer stops this stage of the process w ...

" before it is processed. By far the most predominant malt drink is

beer Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches from cereal grain—most commonly malted barley, although wheat, maize (corn), rice, and oats are also used. The grain is mashed to convert starch in the ...

(naturally fermented barley sugars flavoured with

hops Hops are the flowers (also called seed cones or strobiles) of the hop plant ''Humulus lupulus'', a member of the Cannabaceae family of flowering plants. They are used primarily as a bittering, flavouring, and stability agent in beer, to whic ...

), of which there are two main styles:

ale Ale is a style of beer, brewed using a warm fermentation method. In medieval England, the term referred to a drink brewed without hops. As with most beers, ale typically has a bittering agent to balance the malt and act as a preservative. Ale ...

and

lager Lager (; ) is a Type of beer, style of beer brewed and Brewing#Conditioning, conditioned at low temperature. Lagers can be Pale lager, pale, Amber lager, amber, or Dark lager, dark. Pale lager is the most widely consumed and commercially availab ...

. A low

alcohol level Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as alc/vol or ABV) is a common measure of the amount of alcohol contained in a given alcoholic beverage. It is defined as the volume the ethanol in the liquid would take if separated from the rest of the solution, ...

drink brewed in this fashion is technically identical to "non-alcoholic beer". Such a drink may be prepared by using a slightly altered brewing process that yields negligible alcohol by volume (technically less than 0.5% by volume). These are called

low-alcohol beer Low-alcohol beer is beer with little or no alcohol by volume that aims to reproduce the taste of beer while eliminating or reducing the inebriating effect, carbohydrates, and calories of regular alcoholic brews. Low-alcohol beers can come in diff ...

s or "near beers".

Regulation

In the United States, the term "malt beverage" may be used by

trade associations A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry body, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry. Through collaboration between compani ...

of groups of beer

wholesalers Wholesaling or distributing is the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers; to industrial, commercial, institutional or other professional business users; or to other wholesalers (wholesale businesses) and related subordinated services. In g ...

(e.g. Tennessee Malt Beverages Association) for the sake of a professional image by using brewing

craft A craft or trade is a pastime or an occupation that requires particular skills and knowledge of skilled work. In a historical sense, particularly the Middle Ages and earlier, the term is usually applied to people occupied in small scale pr ...

related terms, for political or legal reasons, or to avoid potential negative connotations that may be associated with beer in a region.

Malternatives

Additionally, the term malt beverage is applied to many other flavoured drinks prepared from malted grains to which natural or artificial flavours (and sometimes colours) have been added to make them taste and appear similar to

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

cola Cola is a Carbonation, carbonated soft drink flavored with vanilla, cinnamon, citrus essential oil, oils, and other flavorings. Cola became popular worldwide after the American pharmacist John Stith Pemberton invented Coca-Cola, a trademarked br ...

s, natural

cider Cider ( ) is an alcoholic beverage made from the Fermented drink, fermented Apple juice, juice of apples. Cider is widely available in the United Kingdom (particularly in the West Country) and Ireland. The United Kingdom has the world's highest ...

s, or other drinks. This subcategory has been called "malternative", as in Smirnoff Ice (US and French version).

Marketing Marketing is the act of acquiring, satisfying and retaining customers. It is one of the primary components of Business administration, business management and commerce. Marketing is usually conducted by the seller, typically a retailer or ma ...

of such products in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

has increased rapidly in recent years. In most

jurisdictions Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' and 'speech' or 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, the concept of jurisdiction applies at multiple levels ...

, these products are regulated in a way identical to beer, which allows a retailer with a beer license to sell a wider

product line In marketing jargon, product lining refers to the offering of several related product (business), products for individual sale. Unlike product bundling, where several products are combined into one group, which is then offered for sale as a uni ...

. This also generally avoids the steeper taxes and stricter regulations associated with

distilled spirits Liquor ( , sometimes hard liquor), spirits, distilled spirits, or spiritous liquor are alcoholic drinks produced by the distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar that have already gone through alcoholic fermentation. While the w ...

Examples of malt drinks

Non-alcoholic

;Beer-style *

Barbican A barbican (from ) is a fortified outpost or fortified gateway, such as at an outer defense perimeter of a city or castle, or any tower situated over a gate or bridge which was used for defensive purposes. Europe Medieval Europeans typically b ...

(

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

) * Julmust (Sweden) *

Kvass Kvass is a fermented, cereal-based, low-alcoholic beverage of cloudy appearance and sweet-sour taste. Kvass originates from northeastern Europe, where grain production was considered insufficient for beer to become a daily drink. The first wr ...

( Northeastern,

Central and Eastern Europe Central and Eastern Europe is a geopolitical term encompassing the countries in Baltic region, Northeast Europe (primarily the Baltic states, Baltics), Central Europe (primarily the Visegrád Group), Eastern Europe, and Southeast Europe (primaril ...

) *

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

(primarily South America and Puerto Rico) *

Podpiwek Podpiwek is a Polish and Lithuanian Soft drink, non-alcoholic beverage (even though it contains a small amount of alcohol, about 0.5%). It is usually made from grain coffee, hops, yeast, water and sugar, which undergo fermentation. Often created ...

(Poland) * Gira (Lithuania) * Supermalt (Afro-Caribbean and UK) * Hoppy (Japan) * Malta Guinness(Nigerian) ;Milk-style *

Horlicks Horlicks is a British sweet malted milk hot Malt drink, drink powder developed by founders Sir James Horlick, 1st Baronet, James and William Horlick. It was first sold as "Horlick's Infant and Invalids Food", soon adding "aged and travellers" ...

(UK) *

Malted milk Malted milk or malt powder or malted milk powder, is a powder made from a mixture of malted barley, wheat flour, and Milk powder, evaporated whole milk powder. The powder is used to add its distinctive flavor to beverages and other foods, but i ...

Milkshake A milkshake (sometimes simply called a shake) is a sweet beverage made by blending milk, ice cream, and flavorings or sweeteners such as butterscotch, caramel sauce, chocolate syrup, or fruit syrup into a thick, sweet, cold mixture. It may ...

* Milo (Australia and

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

) *

Ovaltine Ovaltine, also known by its original name Ovomaltine, is a brand of milk flavouring product made with malt extract, sugar (except in Switzerland), and whey. Some flavours also have cocoa. Ovaltine, a registered trademark of Associated British ...

(UK)

Alcoholic

;Low alcohol *

Low-alcohol beer Low-alcohol beer is beer with little or no alcohol by volume that aims to reproduce the taste of beer while eliminating or reducing the inebriating effect, carbohydrates, and calories of regular alcoholic brews. Low-alcohol beers can come in diff ...

s * Malt beer ;Average alcohol *

Alcopop An alcopop (or cooler) is a category of mixed alcoholic beverages with relatively low alcohol content (e.g., 3–7% alcohol by volume), including: # Malt beverages to which various fruit juices or other flavorings have been added # Wine coolers: ...

* Barleywine *

Malt liquor In the United States of America, Malt liquor is a type of mass market beer with high alcohol content, (typically above 5%), made with malted barley and resembling those for American-style lagers. Manufacture Malt liquor is a strong lager or ale ...

;High alcohol *

Malt whisky Malt whisky is whisky made from a fermented mashing, mash consisting of malted barley. If the product is made exclusively at a single distillery (along with other restrictions), it is typically called a single malt whisky. Although malt whisky ca ...

Single malt whisky Single malt whisky is malt whisky from a single Distillation, distillery. Single malts are typically associated with single malt Scotch, though they are also produced in various other countries. Under the United Kingdom's Scotch Whisky Regulat ...

Blended malt whisky A blended malt, formerly called a vatted malt, or pure malt, is a blend of different single malt whiskies from different distilleries. These terms are most commonly used in reference to Scotch whisky, or whisky in that style, such as Japan ...

References

External links

* {{Alcohol and health Types of beer Alcohol law