Malt drink facts for kids

A malt drink is a special kind of drink made from barley, a grain that looks a bit like wheat. The barley seeds are allowed to sprout a little in a process called "malting". This malting step gives the drink its unique flavor.

The most well-known malt drink is beer. Beer is made by fermenting the sugars from malted barley and often has hops added for flavor. There are two main types of beer: ale and lager. Some malt drinks are made to have very little or no alcohol. These are sometimes called "low-alcohol beers" or "near beers" and have less than 0.5% alcohol.

In some places, like the United States, the term "malt beverage" is used for many different drinks made from malted grains. These drinks might have natural or artificial flavors added to make them taste like wine, fruit drinks, colas, or cider. Sometimes they are called "malternatives" because they offer a different choice from traditional drinks. An example is Smirnoff Ice (in the US and France). These drinks are often regulated like beer, which means stores with a beer license can sell them.

Malt Drinks with Little or No Alcohol

These drinks are made from malt but have very little or no alcohol content. They are popular in many parts of the world.

• Beer-style drinks:
  • Barbican (popular in the Middle East)
  • Julmust (a popular Christmas drink in Sweden)
  • Kvass (a traditional drink in Northeastern, Central and Eastern Europe)
  • Malta (a sweet, non-alcoholic drink from Germany and Denmark)
  • Podpiwek (a drink from Poland and Lithuania)
  • Supermalt (popular in the Caribbean and UK)
  • ISTAK (from Iran)
  • Hoppy (a Japanese drink)

• Milk-style drinks:

These are often powders mixed with milk, giving them a creamy, malty taste.

• • Horlicks (from the UK)
  • Malted milk (a type of milk powder)
  • Milkshakes (can be made with malted milk powder)
  • Milo (a chocolate and malt drink from Australia and Southeast Asia)
  • Ovaltine (another popular malted milk drink from the UK)

Other Malt Drinks

Some malt drinks contain more alcohol, but they are still made from the same basic malted barley.

• Low-alcohol beers:
  • Malt beer
  • Malzbier (a type of malt beer)
• Wine coolers (sometimes made with a malt base)

• Average-alcohol drinks:
  • Alcopops (sweet, flavored alcoholic drinks)
  • Malt beer
    • Malt liquor (a strong type of malt beer)

• High-alcohol drinks:
  • Malt whisky (a strong spirit made from malted barley)
    • Single malt whisky (made from malted barley at a single distillery)
    • Blended malt whisky (a mix of single malt whiskies from different distilleries)