Robin Shepard
Malt liquors are often associated with big single bottles sold in convenience stores, not craft breweries. They do turn up occasionally in small breweries and brewpubs, but primarily bring to mind the image of a cheap beer wrapped in a brown paper bag. The style certainly has an image problem, but Milwaukee’s Lakefront brewery is attempting to change that beer snobbery with its Chuck malt liquor that just dropped into local stores.
What is it? Chuck from Lakefront Brewery of Milwaukee.
Style: Malt liquor is a pale-colored strong lager, generally defined being over 6 percent ABV. The style has grainy, vegetal and fruity notes that can become astringent. The flavor is often sweet from a high percentage of corn in the grist, which also adds to the strength. Malt liquor in the U.S. also carries the “cheap beer” image. Among the most recognizable names are Colt 45, Country Club, and Mickey’s (MillerCoors), which has actually won several World Beer Cup and Great American Beer Festival medals.
Background: Lakefront’s My Turn series of beers feature recipe creations from brewery staff. To get your name on the label you don’t have to be a brewer or work directly in the brew house. Chuck malt liquor is named after Chuck Zink, who drives the delivery truck between the brewery and warehouse, a vehicle his co-workers have nicknamed the “Chuckwagon.”
Zink has worked at Lakefront for about six years. When asked what beer he wanted to make, he jokingly said a malt liquor, which Lakefront had never made before. After thinking it over, head brewer Luther Paul decided it wasn’t a bad idea — if he could do something special with it and overcome malt liquor’s bad rap as a cheap beer. Brewery owner Russ Klisch suggested a special pilsner malt called Barke, a little-known heirloom variety that’s been used by a handful of German brewers for generations. Barke malt lends bready sweetness and body.
“We didn’t want drinkers to look at Chuck as some cheap American malt liquor, something made by just putting a lot of corn in it to make a high alcohol beer,” says Paul. “This malt [Barke] makes something special, it creates a wonderful profile, nice full body and lots of aromatics,” he adds.
As a nod to American malt liquors, Paul does add corn, but only about 10 percent of the total grist. As with most malt liquors, hops really are not much of a player, just a light amount for balance. Lakefront uses Crystal hops, known for delicate notes of herbs, pine, citrus and wood.
This malt liquor just started appearing in a few specialty beer shops around Madison. Its statewide release in earnest happens in early April. Chuck finishes around 7.5 percent ABV and 20 IBUs. It sells in six-packs of 12 ounce bottles for $9.
Tasting notes:
- Aroma: Grainy maltiness.
- Appearance: Clear golden. A medium soft white head.
- Texture: Medium-bodied, soft, with roundness.
- Taste: Smooth bready and malty start with a grainy maltiness in the mid and later stages of the flavor profile.
- Finish/Aftertaste: Light lingering grainy sweetness. Mild alcohol warmth.
Glassware: The stubby bar pilsner reminds one of old-time tavern glasses that a beer like this would have been served in.
Pairs well with: lightly smoked cheeses, especially mild gouda and cheddar. A touch of smoke complements the smooth bready and grainy notes of the beer’s malty backbone.
The Verdict: When I see a malt liquor in a local brewery or brewpub I don’t normally go there. I just can’t get beyond the beer in a brown paper bag image. I also associate the American take on the style as having too much grainy and vegetal sweetness and ending up being more about alcohol buzz than flavor. However, seeing one in the rotation of Lakefront’s My Turn series got me curious. I ended up being pleasantly surprised with the smooth maltiness and reasonably clean finish. I was even more appreciative once Paul filled me in on the brewery’s use of German Barke malt which lends almost maibock or blonde doppelbock character. Granted that maltiness takes this beer a little beyond what beer style purists might lump into the category of American malt liquors. It’s not a beer that I’ll drink a lot of, but it works and it’s changed some of my attitude about malt liquors. Good beers make you think, and Chuck is a malt liquor I’m not ashamed to be seen with out of the bag.
