King Cobra Premium Malt Liquor - Anheuser-Busch

Darkmagus82

Montana

2.65/5  rDev +28%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.75

Poured from can into a pint glass

Appearance – The beer pours a golden amber color with a tiny white head. The head fades almost instantly with only a trace of lace.

Smell- The aroma is mainly of a sweet corny smell with some lighter hints of a bready nature as well as a little bit of a metallic smell.

Taste - The taste begins with a mix of a malty and corny taste with a light hint of caramel sweetness. Surprisingly, it maintains this flavor largely to its end where only a faint cardboard yet somewhat very lightly citrus hopped flavor come to the taste leaving a somewhat crisp taste to linger on the tongue.

Mouthfeel – The body of the beer is on the medium side with a carbonation level that is rather average as well. A slightly lighter creaminess and mouthfeel may have suited the corny and lightly citrus and cardboard flavors better as well as made it more drinkable. Even with this said, the feel is not awful for the brew.

Overall – Not an overall massively tasty brew, but it is wicked cheap (~ 3 dollars for a 6 pack) and is drinkable, so it suits a need and a situation. For what it is, it is pretty decent.

Serving type: can

04-20-2013 00:41:58 | More by Darkmagus82

Fusion7777

Virginia

1.26/5  rDev -39.1%
look: 1.5 | smell: 1.25 | taste: 1.25 | feel: 1.25 | overall: 1.25

Drank from the can as part of a college dare. Objective was simply to finish the entire can without drainpouring. Incredibly cheap but also barely palatable. Tasted like corn and gasoline. We did finish them however, and autographed the cans upon completion. We displayed them as trophies for quite some time.

Serving type: can

02-02-2013 06:09:08 | More by Fusion7777

neal8929

Texas

3.95/5  rDev +90.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

I had this beer in a can.

The appearance was completely unknown because.... it was in a can.

It has a weak aroma but not a bad skunky smell as with other cheap beers.

The taste is very smooth but very bland. There are no strong flavors here, but what did you expect? You paid 4 dollars for a 6 pack.

Mouthfeel. This is a great beer if you are just going to chug it down as fast as possible. It is very easy to drink. After you have about 2 of them, they start to taste so delicious.

Overall this beer is great for the price range. Compared to the other cheap beers that cost less that $6 a 6 pack, this is the best choice. You get a huge can and it packs 6% alcohol content.

Serving type: can

05-16-2012 00:58:37 | More by neal8929

MTNboy

Missouri

2.42/5  rDev +16.9%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 3

Appearance: A transparent yellow body with allot of foamy yellowtinted head and lace.

Smell: Candy like fruit aroma.

Taste: This malt liquor actually has a very weak taste. There is a great deal of starch to the flavor like a potato or something.

Mouthfeel: Thin but with a major amount of burn.

Overall: Alright for a malt liiquor very adjuct. Believe it or not, I don’t see this one in Missouri very often. I just thought that was a bit weird for an Anheuser-Busch product.

Serving type: can

01-02-2012 13:06:01 | More by MTNboy

ronniebruner

Arizona

2.42/5  rDev +16.9%
look: 2 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

Okay, i will be fair on my assessment of this beer. Obviously malt liquor is not a gourmet beer, but this one is drinkable. First off, its cheap, and if youre broke or in a pinch, its not that bad. The downfall of this beer is the raunchy malt aroma which makes the taste all that worse. The beer pours like a stereotypical malt liquor and has the ubiquitous harsh taste.

Serving type: can

11-03-2011 02:58:35 | More by ronniebruner

streetcommander

Virginia

2.88/5  rDev +39.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Poured it into a coca-cola glass cause that's what I do. Nice yellow amber color with weak white head. Did leave some lacing. Smells of corn rice and hay in that order.

Taste like very high quality macro swill. Blows all the big boys decisively out of the water. You couldn't really call this beer ...they've don't well to call it a malt beverage.

Very drinkable and accept for a odd balsa wood/damp earth finish and the criminally minded manufacturer, this is a respectable accurately labled brew.

If the dollars are tight and your not a beer snob, this is a must try.

Serving type: can

05-21-2011 18:49:09 | More by streetcommander

HalfFull

California

2.73/5  rDev +31.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Poured into a pint glass from a 24 oz. can, my brief foray into Malt Liquors likely ends here. Haven't had this beer since college and I recall it being a modified Bud of sorts. Shows a clear medium straw in color on the pour, with a thin cap of white foam. Standard brief retention though some bubbles offer a glimmer of hope going forward and in fact allow for some forced lacing.

Nose is light with a hint of rice and some sweetness. A hop drifted by briefly. Even at a somewhat moderate 6 percent there is a bit of alcohol on the nose given the lack of other contributions along with a bit of wet sock yeast notes.

Flavor too is funny sweet with a bit of orange on the finish. A decent carbonation masks much in the flavor department initially before the odd sweet fruit flavor hits you. Feel is cold and thin yet somewhat welcoming given other flavors, and finishes with a bit of dry husky grain.

Otherwise this beer lacks the creamy nature found in a few others of the style and no longer bears any resemblance to your standard Bud. Might be me, might be the beer after these years. Interestingly this beer fills out a bit, keeps its carbonation and becomes more balanced well through 50 degrees, rounding out the aroma and feel in doing so. Flavor still falls a bit short of average.

Serving type: can

01-03-2011 02:45:07 | More by HalfFull

sheetmetalsorock

New York

4.38/5  rDev +111.6%
look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

King Cobra is the only beer I buy! The price is excellent $.75 for a 16oz can. Its the only beer that has that "full" taste. You know your are drinking beer, when you drink King Cobra. I'm not sure about the appearance because I only buy it in the can. But if you drink King Cobra regularly you'll lose your taste for any other beers, because they are so weak.

Serving type: can

12-11-2010 22:53:13 | More by sheetmetalsorock

Halcyondays

California

2.05/5  rDev -1%
look: 3 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 1 | overall: 3

24 oz. can,

A: Pours the palest of yellows with a surprisingly long lasting head.

S: Corn, apples, fusel alcohol/boozy.

T: Very light flavour. Mild apple/acetylaldehyde and alcohol, that's it really.

M: Extremely thin and fizzy, overcarbonated. Bud Select 55 may have more body than this.

D: In the realm of malt liquors this is a lightweight. Tastes and feels like a light lager, boring to drink. The fact that it's not particularly offensive is the only plus side.

Serving type: can

04-07-2010 01:44:09 | More by Halcyondays

RonaldTheriot

Louisiana

3.28/5  rDev +58.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

King Cobra has a surprisingly thick white head and is golden and clear in appearance. Carbonation is moderate to high. Aroma is grainy and stinging, but not terrible strong. The taste is a bit metallic, with fruity notes and heavy corn presence. Sweetness is subdued and slight bitterness is detected. Mouthfeel is very heavy; this malt liquor has a lot of body, if nothing else. Drinkablility is challenging. This one has to be consumed in sips and at an extremely cold temperature. If done according to these specifics, King Cobra can be an occasional pleasure. Overall, it's okay and has its place in the beer world.

RJT

Serving type: can

01-18-2010 11:51:13 | More by RonaldTheriot

woodychandler

Pennsylvania

1.2/5  rDev -42%
look: 3 | smell: 1 | taste: 1 | feel: 2 | overall: 1

Woody continues to do the CAN-CAN. What else would I do on Christmas Day, 2009?

A nice tallboy of this to start the day. Yum! The CAN mentions "... for your drinking pleasure and complete satisfaction". Fair dinkum. If this doesn't come off as advertised, I'm going to call the 1.800 number on the CAN and inquire about a refund, especially if it becomes a drainpour. I really do not think that it will require a full 24-ounces to get an idea of what is going on.

I have never seen a finger's worth of bone-white head disappear so quickly. It was as if Harry Houdini had commanded it to "Vanish!" Color was a light golden-yellow, causing it to look like liquid sunshine in a glass when peering out my kitchen window on a dreary afternoon. Clarity was NE-quality and I could see that it was now starting to rain outside. Nose was really fusel, ghastly. I want to go across the parking lot and offer to buy something good for anyone who might be drinking this garbage in a gesture of goodwill and peace on earth. Mouthfeel was watery-thin with a grape soda pop-like taste in the mouth. How did they achieve this? The esters were all reminiscent of bubble gum. Whew. Finish left me breathless, but not in a good way. This was like a punch to the solar plexus.

Time to make a phone call before heading to the sink.

Serving type: can

12-25-2009 17:34:09 | More by woodychandler

justince

New York

2.6/5  rDev +25.6%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Yeah, i understand, this isn't a brew I'd put down with some food either, but give it respect for what it is:
A collage brew.

Other than Natrual Ice, there isn't a beer that can compete with its amazing drinkability, tolerable taste, and price. At my local deli, 4.50$ for a 6 pack, 16oz cans. With the 5.9 ABV, this is equivalent to putting down around 9-10 macro lights, like coors or bud light. Your not getting a buzz cheaper or better than this.

Give it respect for what it is, a collage beer. A damn fine one.

Serving type: can

09-09-2009 18:40:24 | More by justince

biggred1

Indiana

2.73/5  rDev +31.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Clear light gold with a small white head. The nose is green apple skin and untoasted grain. Grits, sour apple skin and bubblegum with a funky hop bitterness in the finish. Light bodied and watery. Effervescent carbonation. Drinkable and inoffensive but more of an "ice" beer than malt liquor IMO.

Serving type: can

09-07-2009 21:39:00 | More by biggred1

Spikester

Oregon

3.7/5  rDev +78.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours rich clear gold with a modest white head and good lacings. Aroma is mild malts and a touch of corn. Taste is sweet malts with a typical macro amount of hops. Palate is just right carbonation for the style. The 6% is just right for a ML. This is the best mass produced beer that AB makes IMO. This is probably what Bud should taste like with maybe a touch more hops. Amazingly corny belches! From a 24 ounce can with a born on date of Jan. 9, 2009. So it was about two weeks old. Best tasting malt liquor I've had.

Serving type: can

01-23-2009 07:43:08 | More by Spikester

MasterSki

Illinois

2.15/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 1.5

Got this as a joke gift for a New Beer Sunday. Poured the 24 oz tallboy can into a pint glass. I'm going to try to objectively review this as best I can.

A - Pours out a transparent golden-yellow color. Huge foaming head that has surprisingly good retention and solid lacing. Massive amounts of carbonation present - the sides of the glass are covered in bubbles. I'm getting bloated just looking at this - but all joking aside, other than the obligatory urine reference this doesn't look all that bad. I've seen worse looking brews...

S - Yuck - I had to take a second whiff just to be sure. It smells like metal, but with a hint of corn sweetness. There's actually a little bit of spice in there, but I'm not sure what is causing it. It's pretty bad.

T - This is bone-chillingly cold, so it doesn't taste like much. There's a little bit of sweetness at the back end. The smell is actually much worse than the taste, although I suspect if I left it out it'd get worse. I'll give it the benefit of the doubt, as I don't want to wait around just to find out.

M - Watery, thin, overly carbonated - not really much going for it. I guess it isn't gritty, chalky, or sludgy. The texture isn't gag-inducing. Largely neutral here.

D - There is no way I could drink a 24oz can. I'm getting bloated after a few sips, and my stomach is beginning to feel a little funny. The huge can is sitting there mocking me, so I'm just gonna give up and pour this guy out.

If this were the only thing available on a hot summer day at the ballpark I might be able to force down 8oz, but as it stands I don't see any good reason to subject my body to this punishment. Perhaps this will aid in unclogging my bathtub...

Not the worst thing I've ever tried, but pretty bad nonetheless.

Serving type: can

01-20-2009 00:28:10 | More by MasterSki

PatrickJR

North Carolina

2.5/5  rDev +20.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Poured from a 24 oz can into nonic pint glass.

A - Typical pale golden in color, completely clear. A finger of head pops up and dissipates quickly leaving some tiny strands of lace.

S - Lots of grainy aroma with a touch of DMS. There's also an overlying sweetness that's sort of pleasant.

T - Inoffensive but bland for the style. Very seltzer-like throughout most of the taste. Late palate there's a light, watery tea note with a smidge of sourness. There's a hidden graininess but it has little bearing on the almost nonexistent flavor.

M - High carbonation with a relatively light body. Both factors contribute to percieved lack of taste.

D - An ok example of the style. King Cobra is another malt liquor that better deserves it's spot among American macros. However there really isn't anything bad about this brew, just some things missing from the malt liquor standpoint.

Serving type: can

01-06-2009 08:57:04 | More by PatrickJR

popery

California

1.53/5  rDev -26.1%
look: 2 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1.5

It's not so much that this is horrible, but it is like an extremely light lager with poorly hidden alcohol and that's just not very good. There's just almost nothing positive to say about the beer. It could certainly be worse. I had a sip of Joose, an energy drink/flavored malt beverage, and that deserves a score a few points lower across the board than this beer (a technically impossible negative numeric score, but then it should be classified as a sin against humanity rather a beverage). Anyway, King Cobra looks ok. It has a very unexciting look, incredibly clear pale gold with some ugly white lacing. The nose is metallic, alcoholic and corny. It makes some adjunct lagers taste malty. Then again, it's not patently offensive. I wouldn't slap someone in the face for giving me a glass of it. It just tastes like very cheap beer made with little to no care for flavor. The flavor is mild with notes of metal, corn/rice which comes out a bit biscuity in a bad way, and too much alcohol for the body. The feel is thin and mildly gag-inducing. The alcohol and other bad qualities grow as I make my way through a glass. Speaking of which, Duvel please forgive me for misusing your tulip so. All in all, I would pass if this were the only thing on the menu and it was free, but I wouldn't punch someone in the face for giving me one. That might not sound like a compliment, but I'm working up to my Bud Chelada review.

Serving type: can

12-22-2008 03:12:24 | More by popery

brdc

Wisconsin

1.83/5  rDev -11.6%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Large can poured into a pint glass.

It actually does not look bad, light golden, big white head, average retention and even some lacing, although not much.
Nose, like the taste, leaves something to be desired. I am not sure if rice is a part of the recipe, but feels like it. Aroma is a mixture of alcohol and the smell from boiling rice - not bad, just does not feel like beer.
Taste feels like a lot of alcohol with a lot of sugar; not bad but certainly not good; I can see this being used to get drunk, but by no means as a way to enjoy beer. Straight drainpour for me.

Serving type: can

11-15-2008 06:02:07 | More by brdc

changeup45

Florida

1/5  rDev -51.7%
look: 1 | smell: 1 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1

I wish I could vote a "0" here. Well, maybe not, because then Milwaukee's Beast would be rated higher and we just can't have that. I'll tell you what though, those looking for a quick drunk for the price, here you go... this is SOOO cheap. Then again, do you even want to drink stuff that's this cheap? What do they put in it anyways? Nevermind, don't want to know. This is a hangover waiting to happen.

Serving type: can

08-23-2008 17:34:29 | More by changeup45

Offa

California

1.13/5  rDev -45.4%
look: 1.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1

This is one of the worst beers I've ever had, to me far worse than most other malt liquors even, and so far only Yeti Special Export is worse.

This is very pale yellow, almost green, with a huge, but very airy white head that steadily dissipates to almost nothing.

The aroma, unpleasant, is old, sweet apple cider that has turned and rubber.

The taste is worse. Watery and bland, it's almost salty at first, then metallic and soapy with an unpleasant chemical sharpness in the finish before an exceedingly faint, brief, corn element but even this is both faint and brief.

Serving type: can

05-08-2008 22:08:43 | More by Offa

atrus138

Kentucky

1.8/5  rDev -13%
look: 1.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

I was intrigued by seeing these cans littered all over my local park, so I decided to see for myself what's inside. Turns out it's fizzy and extremely clear yellow. Thin white head that leaves minimal lacing, though I was surprised there was any at all. Smell is of cooked vegetables, most notably corn. Taste is an acidic blend of corn and grain, though there is little of either. The alcohol burns away any trace of flavor leaving no aftertaste. Gets much worse as it warms up. Carbonation is way up there and the body is extremely thin.

Not as bad as I thought it would be, though still pretty terrible.

Serving type: can

01-25-2008 05:29:34 | More by atrus138

Rootdog316

Virginia

1.53/5  rDev -26.1%
look: 2 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1.5

Pours golden/yellow with sudsy-white head and good lace. Harsh aroma of grains, hops, and possibly industrial solvents and oils. The mouthfeel has almost no character - turns to water in the mouth. The best, although nothing great, part is the flavor - malty, hops, lemon, some bitterness. Overall, a pretty weak beer, yet it is drinkable, unlike some other cheap malt liquors.

Serving type: can

10-13-2007 01:36:34 | More by Rootdog316

Floydster

California

1.58/5  rDev -23.7%
look: 2 | smell: 1 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Tall can from a liquor store in Redlands on Orange Street

Light brown when poured into a glass with a soapy head and the taste was pretty nasty

Meant for mass consumption and a quick buzz

Not very drinkable though, must have been because I was so repulsed by the taste

Not recommended

Serving type: can

09-12-2007 18:04:07 | More by Floydster

Drew966

Florida

2.85/5  rDev +37.7%
look: 2 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

King Cobra Premium Malt Liquor pours a pale orange with a white head from a sixteen ounce can. The aroma is a little fruity. The taste is a bit fruity too, followed by grain. Interesting to revisit this one, it was my go to 40 oz in college when I'd have to dig up change to find enough money to go buy a beer. I still think it's pretty drinkable for a malt liquor.

Serving type: can

04-15-2007 00:33:10 | More by Drew966

WVbeergeek

Ohio

1.5/5  rDev -27.5%
look: 1.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1.5

Another malt liquor like you really need another one after Hurricane...appears a clear glden tone with a large white head leaves behind even lace but it dwindles quickly. Aroma has a slight metallic grainy note that has a sort of semi sweet alcohol corn and rice appeal to it and of course cooked veggies with a touch of fruity tart apple. Flavors collide to form a harsh metallic grainy offness on the palate wow this is rediculous has how bad it is but a mild sweet tone with evident alcohol and finishes with a very chemical edge to it, definitely will induce a headache drinking this stuff on the regular. Mouthfeel has high carbonation light bodied some stickiness to it all but c'mon another beer within the same damn style. Drinkability mass produced malt liquor beer you buy when your broke and don't care about taste...what more can be said this one sucks.

Serving type: can

12-11-2006 11:46:45 | More by WVbeergeek