Malta (soft drink)

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A bottle of Malta next to a glass of ice

Malta is a lightly carbonated malt beverage, brewed from barley, hops, and water much like beer; corn and caramel color may also be added. However, Malta is non-alcoholic, it has a strong beer smell and flavor and is consumed in the same way as beer or cola in its original carbonated form, and to some extent, iced tea in non-carbonated form.

Malta is often described as being like a beer that has not been fermented. It is similar in color to stout (dark brown) but is slightly sweet, and is generally described as tasting like molasses. Unlike beer, ice is often added to a Malta when consumed. A popular way Africans and Americans sometimes drink malta is by mixing it with condensed or evaporated milk.

Distribution[]

Most Malta is brewed in the Caribbean and can be purchased in areas with substantial Caribbean populations. It is popular in countries such as Puerto Rico, Aruba, Haiti, Panama, Dominican Republic, Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Cuba, Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago. Malta is also popular in many parts of Africa such as Nigeria which has its own first malt brand - Maltex, Chad, Ghana, Benin, Cameroon as well as around the Indian Ocean. Malta Guinness is brewed under licence internationally. Some native Malzbiere is available in Germany, notably in Cologne, where the taps of breweries Malzmühle and Sion sell it alongside their traditional Kölsch. Many German breweries have a malta in their range, sometimes produced under licence (for example Vitamalz).

Malta is also occasionally called "champagne cola" by some brands. However, there is a separate type of drink with this name, having the flavor of bubble gum. Despite this appellation, neither drink is a champagne or a cola.

Due to its distinctive color, malta is sometimes known as black brewed beer. In fact, in Chile the word malta means a Schwarzbier beer.

Malta is high in B vitamins. Some breweries, like Albani Brewery of Denmark, fortify their non-alcoholic malta beverages with Vitamin B complex. Albani Brewery claims on their website to have been the first brewery to create non-alcoholic malt beverages in 1859.^[1]

Brands[]

See also[]

• Malt beer
• List of barley-based beverages
• Low-alcohol beer
  • Root beer
• Malt syrup
• Vitamalt

References[]

External links[]

• Media related to Malzbier at Wikimedia Commons