Colt 45
No ratings yet — be the first to log it.
Tasting Notes
The aroma is light and grainy, with faint corn sweetness and a mild yeasty note underneath. On the palate, it's medium-bodied for the style, with adjunct grain flavors — corn and pale malt — sitting up front alongside a subtle sweetness that doesn't fully dry out. The hops are barely present, contributing just enough bitterness to keep the finish from being cloying. It finishes clean but soft, with a lingering grain character.
About the Brewery
Pabst Brewing Company is headquartered in Los Angeles and is one of the oldest American brewing concerns, with roots going back to Milwaukee in the mid-1800s. The company functions primarily as a brand-holding operation, contracting production to other breweries rather than operating its own facilities. Their portfolio is a catalog of legacy American lager and malt liquor brands — Pabst Blue Ribbon, Schlitz, Old English 800, and Colt 45 among them — many of which carry strong regional or cultural followings.
Food Pairings
Spicy fried chicken works well here because the soft grain sweetness tempers heat without fighting the food's seasoning. A bacon cheeseburger pairs naturally since the mild malt body complements fatty, savory flavors without overwhelming them. Salty snacks like pretzels or chips play off the light sweetness in the beer and keep each sip tasting clean. Barbecue ribs with a sweet sauce echo the corn-forward malt character and hold their own against the beer's soft finish.
Style Guide
American malt liquor is a high-adjunct lager brewed to a slightly elevated alcohol content — typically in the 5.5–8% range — using corn or rice alongside barley malt to produce a lighter body and a smoother, often sweeter profile than standard American lagers. The style emerged in the United States in the 1950s and grew significantly through the 1960s and 70s, marketed largely as a higher-alcohol value option. It sits close to standard American adjunct lager in character but leans sweeter and less bitter, with the adjunct grain flavor more pronounced and the overall palate fuller than its lower-gravity counterparts.