Big Time Ave Rat Malt Liquor

Sampler at the brewery.

The best malt liquor I’ve ever had, fruitier and quite a bit hoppier than I expected, quite smooth, no sign of alcohol.

Sweet aroma with some grain, corn, and a touch fruity. I thought it was almost juicy. Golden pour with a decent lasting head. Sweet and grainy with hints of corn and a decent bitter finish. I love malt liquor so this one works for me.

Draught @ WABF 2008. Poursa clear golden color with a small white head. Sweet malty grainy aroma with some hints of corn. Sweet malty caramel and grainy flavor. Sweet warming caramel finish with some hints of corn.

Clear dark gold with a frothy white head. Big fruity, corn syrup berry aroma with ethyl alcohol. Nice smooth body. Good sweet pale malt lager flavors with a clean finish. Maybe they should bottle this, in 40 oz’ers and sell’m to the pan handlers on the ave........

On tap at WABL Fathers Day BrewFest 2008. Pours clear gold with a thin white head. Medium body & light carbonation. Sweet aroma and taste of biscuit and almonds, maybe a touch of plastic? Not an everyday drink, but ya gotta do at least one.

I had postponed tasting this one as I am not really interested in malt liquors at this point in my life and Big Time always has at least a few decent beers on tap. However, this was a surprising deviation for the style, and had I not known, I would never have pegged this as a malt liquor. It is blonde-bronze in appearance with a foamy-creamy head. Surprising burst of moderately appealing floral and perfumed notes in the aroma mingling with light graininess and alcohol. The flavor reinforces the perfumed-floweriness, with a strong hoppiness. This was akin to a highly hopped cream ale, as it has a smooth, creamy texture.

Sample at the pub. Yellow. Holds it head well. Grainy nose. Thick diesel and paint thinner. Almost drinkable.

Draft at the brewpub. Pours medium straw color with a thin white head. Light corn nose. Medium body, tingly light corn/hay sweetness on the mid-palate. No particular finish. Pretty drinkable for the style but other than that pretty drab.