Originally Posted by
greggwiggins
In the U.S. alcohol regulations are set on the state level. That's actually in the U.S. Constitution as part of the 21st Amendment that ended prohibition. Some states do require beers above a certain alcohol content to be called "malt liquor" but there's no single national rule or standard.
With the growth of craft brewing and high octane beers, several states have relaxed or eliminated the naming requirement.
I'll disagree. "Malt Liquor" isa product aimed at an indentifiable and addressable market segment, few of whom are looking for "high octane" beers or the expensive to produce/distribute "craft" beers.
"Cheap" and "plenty of buzz", in most cases available in a big container are the keynotes, and the folks buying and drinking malt liquor won't be switched to "Chimay", etc., no more so than will drinkers of "Thunderbird" start buying "Harvey's Bristol Cream".