Colt 45 Malt Liquor - Pabst Brewing Company

MikeNMER

New Mexico

4.38/5  rDev +93%
look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

I've graded this on the 40-scale, meaning that if you're not into drinking 40oz beers, then you won't understand the high ratings.

Serving - 40-oz bottle.

Mouthfeel - It doesn't foam up much, so under the yardwork/tv/videogame/guitar/backyard conditions that 40-oz'ers are consumed, this is good. Sometimes, I go as far as shaking the beer to flatten it almost all the way.

Taste - There probably aren't any hops at all. It's like taking corn on the cob, blending it into a gallon of water, and putting in a double shot of vodka just for a tiny alcoholic hint.

Smell - Boiled corn.

Overall, this is for 40's. Hang out, no refrigerator trips necessary. Enjoy it.

Serving type: bottle

04-01-2012 08:39:08 | More by MikeNMER

J23hc

New Jersey

2.88/5  rDev +26.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Pours a straw yellow, almost golden, with a soapy looking bright white head. The color is further from urine than others, so i enjoy it. Smell is acidic alcoholic and grainy. Decent sweet taste and good bubbliness, refreshing as well. One of the first beers i ever tried and haven't had it in years, but it isn't a bad choice, more flavor than most adjuncts, but doesn't quite beat mickey's, my model malt liquor

Serving type: bottle

03-11-2012 17:07:35 | More by J23hc

tdm168

North Carolina

2.63/5  rDev +15.9%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Pours a pale gold with a thin layer of loose, bubbly, white head that has little retention. The smell is very faint but sweet and grainy. The taste is grainy and very, very subtly grassy. The mouthfeel is very light and crisp.

This isn't a bad beer, but honestly even for the style there's nothing special here. It may be worth the cheap price tag for a a cheap drunk but otherwise avoid.

Serving type: can

03-02-2012 00:25:44 | More by tdm168

boilermakerbrew

Indiana

3.03/5  rDev +33.5%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Grabbed a 40 of this classic beverage. Had to try it. Typical light golden pour with a huge foamy head that goes away quickly. Actually decent lacing. Pretty bad skunk smell, but the flavor was actually decent, just a little skunky malty. Light as they come on the palate.

Overall, great choice for a classic game, Edward 40-Hands.

Serving type: bottle

01-22-2012 01:02:16 | More by boilermakerbrew

phenomenologian

Nebraska

1.6/5  rDev -29.5%
look: 2 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Last time I tried this it was skunked as hell and was in the nitro bottle. This time its in a nitro-can. Expecting god-awfulness.

Anyway, I opened it and poured into a glass. Not really any smoke. Pours with very small head but bubbles rise quite a bit making the brew kinda foamy but not really a large head at all. The head dissipates quick. The color of the body is a yellow brownish gold color. Not too cloudy as you can see bubbles rise.

The smell is of corn and alcohol. I pick up corn definitely and the alcohol seems to be there also. Smells not appetizing to me but Ive smelled worse.

The taste is of corn, alcohol, and grain. It has an overall sweet taste being composed of the corn and grain taste. The alcohol is an aftertaste finish kind of taste. The mouthfeel is nice actually- its not too carbonated and its very drinkable making it not too bad to drink.

I do not particularly enjoy it as I really enjoy a beer thats bold, robust hoppy and bitter- which Colt 45 is not. Colt 45 is made as malt liquor to taste a certain way and to serve a certain function-getting you drunk. If a beer has a purpose other than to just be enjoyable for you in taste alone, its cant be great. Others probably like it because some people like the sweet taste and the "getting drunk" side of malt liquor.

It could be worse but malt liquor is just not my favorite thus the rating I give it.

Serving type: nitro-can

12-02-2011 04:46:25 | More by phenomenologian

mrfrancis

Kentucky

2.8/5  rDev +23.3%
look: 2 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

A: Poured from a "fourty," Colt 45 is a clear straw yellow with a very little head. Looks like every other mass produced lager you'll see.

S: As long as this stuff is cold, it smells alright-faint aromas of corn, grain husks, grass, and fusel alcohol are present on the nose. As it warms, the smells becomes metallic and nasty.

T: Opens grainy and moderately alcoholic with notes of roasted corn, grain husks, grass, lemon, minerals, fusel alcohol, and metal. The finish is sharp, yet short, with grain, alcohol, and corn notes. Could be a lot worse.

M: Relatively light-bodied, crisp, and firm, with active carbonation.

O: This stuff actually isn't terrible. I was expecting much, much worse.

Serving type: bottle

10-17-2011 17:00:01 | More by mrfrancis

CaptJackHarkness

New York

3.18/5  rDev +40.1%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

From a "Fourty"

I figure, if Lando Calrissian drinks the stuff, it can't be that bad! All things considered, its' not!

Pours a pale yellow with a hint of orangeness in color. Clear fizzy body, white head that lasts a decent time. It has the taste of corn, rice, some slight fusel oil. I thought it would taste more alchoholic than it does. Overall not bad

Serving type: bottle

09-22-2011 21:38:22 | More by CaptJackHarkness

JoLight

Georgia

3.7/5  rDev +63%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Appearance - golden, filtered, and a stark-white frothy head that retains very well.

Aroma - Sweetness, mostly corn.

Taste - unusually sweet, but then a general grain flavor. And literally almost no hop bitterness to speak of.

Mouthfeel - Carbonated and medium

Finish - Dry

Overall - It's peculiar, but there is nothing offensive about it. This is a good beer.

Serving type: can

09-22-2011 00:59:35 | More by JoLight

Alieniloquium

Florida

1.3/5  rDev -42.7%
look: 3 | smell: 1 | taste: 1 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.5

The first of our terrible beer sampling. Six beers sampled in a blind tasting. 40 oz. bottle poured into a tumbler.

Appearance - Yellow body, very clear, with a white head.

Smell - Sweet and revolting. Smells like fusel and corn.

Taste - Crisp, light, nothingness, except for the adjunct flavors that separate this from water.

Mouthfeel - Light bodied, of course, with high carbonation. It's drinkable, except for the taste. It's like drinking putrid water.

Overall - Bad, but drinkable because there's really nothing there.

Serving type: bottle

09-11-2011 20:32:05 | More by Alieniloquium

JayQue

Virginia

2.93/5  rDev +29.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

This wasn't as bad as expected. In my quest for the 104 beer styles, American Malt liquor is one of the last ones on the list. I had a choice between a fo-tay of Mickeys and this. I chose the 24 oz rather than the fo-tay.

Poured into my Hooters 25 oz mug from a 24 oz can. Clear gold color, big white fizzy head, head retention is pretty good, lacing is minimal...not bad.

Smell is less than average. Mild, faint corn aroma. Hardly inviting. Taste is a bit stronger than the BMC usual lagers. Still a corn and rice mix with not much hoppiness, slightly sweet. This is drinkable as a lawnmower beer, nothing offensive about it.

Mouthfeel is less watery than some of the Amer. Adjunct Lagers. Not a great beer but the mouthfeel is at least as solid as the better cheap lagers. It is crisp, there is a bit of a stale aftertaste but is mostly refreshing if not good or memorable. I was expecting some nasty alcohol aftertaste, but I guess this is more of a problem with the higher octane Malt Liquors. This one is not in any way offensive.

Overall, an average experience...thirsty? hot? want a little buzz? This is certainly a cheap remedy.

Serving type: can

08-05-2011 20:56:37 | More by JayQue

barrenbane

Ohio

2.9/5  rDev +27.8%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A - Pale golden with a slight hue of orange, which is probably from the malt. Pours a small head that quickly dissipates. Lacing disappears within 30 seconds.

S - Corny, malty, and sweet. Only a slight hint of booze. Not too offensive.

T - One of the better malt liquors available. The malt makes it sweet and smooth. Very drinkable.

M - Has a decent body. Moderate carbonation that won't overwhelm.

O - For a malt liquor, it's quite tolerable. The alcohol content isn't too high, so it doesn't have a boozy aroma or flavor like others in its category. If you want a cheap moderate buzz, treat yourself to a deuce or a forty (brown bag included).

Serving type: can

08-05-2011 07:00:42 | More by barrenbane

drabmuh

Maryland

3.05/5  rDev +34.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

At the time of this Bad Beer Thursdays review, this is the #22 American Malt Liquor on the best of list, also the #81 beer on the bottom of the barrel list on here, poured from a clear bottle into a Golden Pheasant glass.

Beer is yellow, clear, heavily carbonated, nice white head, no lacing.

Aroma is sweet with a mild vegetalness.

Beer is sweet medium to light in body. Actually not bad, there is no aftertaste, it is slightly corny throughout but I've had much much worse. It is wet throughout and the finish is also wet. I drank the whole thing and I doubt I'd ever have more if it but it was as good as Schlitz. Which is a compliment if you were confused by that comment.

Serving type: bottle

08-04-2011 23:39:43 | More by drabmuh

MadCat

New Jersey

2.3/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 2.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

40oz of cheap beer. Who can resist? Figured I should try it for fun. Tastes very similar to PBR to me, so the review that follows is similar to my review for PBR.

Appearance: Pours a very pale yellow, with a decent white head, leaves no lacing

Smell: Light grains and light fart.

Taste: Light grains and adjuncts. Not a whole lot of flavor there. A little bit bitter. Thats about it.

Mouthfeel: Light body, crisp carbonation.

Overall: If it weren't for the fart smell, this wouldn't be half bad. If you're in the mood for something cheap without a whole lot of flavor, its not a bad way to go. Hard to beat the price too. And who can resist consuming 40oz in one sitting?

Serving type: bottle

08-01-2011 02:24:52 | More by MadCat

twiggamortis420

Texas

2.75/5  rDev +21.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

18 oz clear bottle with Billy Dee holding a can with a question mark..."Find Billy Dee's Colt 45 and win a trip to meet Dee in Las Vegas"...nice, I must say the label reeled me in, along with the fact I have never seen an 18 oz bottle before. Pours a clear, dark gold color with a fizzy white head. Retention sucks, but it does leave a fairly nice sheen and collar. Lacing shows up after a few drinks.

Nose is clean, light grainy malts and cornbread. Not much else, maybe a splash of alcohol.

Taste is sweet and full-bodied. Grainy and adjunct filled flavor with plenty of scrubbing carbonation. One of the smoother malt liquors, but at 5.61%, it falls on the low side of the scale for this style. I would rather grab a few Coors Originals than drink this stuff. Has a light mustiness and the hops are pretty non-existent. I think the 7-8% ABV range is the money slot for malt liquors, above that and they start getting grimacingly tough to drink and below that you might as well just go with your basic Adjunct Lager.

Serving type: bottle

07-30-2011 17:09:07 | More by twiggamortis420

jeranbrews

New York

2.7/5  rDev +18.9%
look: 2 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A - diluted urine color. Gold spray paint. Clear. Low bubbly bleach white head.

S - dry stale hay bitter caustic cheap.

T - surprisingly paletable. I don't want to throw it down the sink but I don't want a second one either. Not too dry not too bitter.

M - kind of creamy. Like corn on the cob with not enough butter.

D - if you can get past the smell this is worth giving a chance just due to the price

Serving type: bottle

07-21-2011 22:15:02 | More by jeranbrews

keeganfrank

Ohio

2.1/5  rDev -7.5%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

Brownish gold beer straight out of a 40 ounce bottle. No pouring necessary, except what's poured for my homies. Smells a little skunky and of sweet adjuncts. Sugary sweet flavors of corn and grain. It's not something I'll buy very often. Milwaukee's Best 40s are cheaper and taste better, even if they don't have that signature bottle shape.

Serving type: bottle

06-16-2011 19:27:31 | More by keeganfrank

Natural510

Ohio

2.73/5  rDev +20.3%
look: 1.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 3

22oz bottle, no dating.

Pretty awful pour....light golden straw color with fizzy white head which quickly dissipates to nothingness. Flat appearance.

Scent is mostly made up of creamed corn with hints of minerals and grasses.

Flavor is mostly corn adjunct as well; light and sweet with a hop presence which balances it out somewhat.

Body tastes about as flat as it appears, and has a watery consistency as well. Nonetheless, it is still drinkable for effect.

I haven't had a malt liquor since I was a teenager, and I suppose my personal prerequisite is it not make me sick. Colt .45 isn't half-bad, similar to your average mass-produced American lager.

Serving type: bottle

06-02-2011 03:12:09 | More by Natural510

ElCommodoro

Texas

1.9/5  rDev -16.3%
look: 2 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Had this straight out of the 40, as God intended. It was a very light gold colour. I can't say anything about the head, obviously. The smell was sort of a nauseating sweet malt with some corn. The taste was the same, but with a twist. There were hops in this beer! I could clearly taste a slight piney flavour. Except it was real cheap and accentuated by the sweetness of the corn in such a way that it was more like Pine Sol. It was gross. Those piney-flavoured hops have no place in a malt liquor. As a result, this is now among my least favourite malt liquors and the worst 40 I've had so far. Oh well. At least now I know. I guess there's a reason this doesn't get sold anywhere near me. Sorry Lando, I'm sticking with Olde English.

Serving type: bottle

05-08-2011 14:36:36 | More by ElCommodoro

JizackFH

New York

1.5/5  rDev -33.9%
look: 1.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1.5

A - This beer pours a clear pale yellow straw color. It has a small fizzy 1-finger head. the head fell very quickly, leaving no lacing behind. There are tons of visible carbonation bubbles rising in the glass.

S - It smells of your average malt liquor. It is mostly just sweet corn and barley. Definitely not very appetizing.

T - Not good. Like the nose, it is basically just sweet corn flavors and sort of grainy. Other than that there is not much flavor. The finish has a bit of a sourness to it.

M - This has a light body and high carbonation. It goes down like water, and has a bit of alcohol sting.

O - It goes down like water. There isn't much flavor, and the flavor it does have is not good. Overall, I definitely do not recommend picking this up. There is no reason to spend your money on this beer, unless you are just looking to get fucked up quickly without having to taste much.

PS - Do not let this get at all warm.

Serving type: bottle

05-02-2011 11:54:26 | More by JizackFH

BucBasil

South Carolina

1.68/5  rDev -26%
look: 2 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Drank from the 24oz can. I don't know how many more of these horrible beers I can take. Oh well... All in the name of beer exploration!

This one has that classic malt liquor sweet corny smell that can be detected from several feet away. It tinges your breath with the scent of sweet corn and death and lets everyone around you know that you are drinking some foul stuff. It reminds you of that bum you sat a few rows from on the Metro a couple of days ago who muttered to himself all the way home while sipping on a mysterious liquid in a brown paper bag, and now you are doing the same thing yourself. Each sip I take, I start muttering to myself, damn, what am I doing with my life. What Am I drinking? The taste is of corn and barley with a slight twinge of Wonder bread and failure. Finishes with an alcohol burn and an alcoholic's regret.

Horrible.

Serving type: can

05-01-2011 06:44:58 | More by BucBasil

WeezyBoPeep

Florida

2.4/5  rDev +5.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 2

Poured from a big can into a pint glass.

A: Looks ok, typical golden yellow with a decent amount of carbonation..a little wispy head and moderate lacing.

S: Weak and sour with corn traces and no hops.

T: Watery and thin with not much positive to say. Almost brings on an instant headache. Not too sweet at least. Nice mouthfeel I have to say.

D: I don't think I'd have more than one of these and the thought of having a 40? Maybe back when I was 14 that woulda been fun.

Value: Even for the price it pretty much sucks. Hmmm who can I give the other three of these to?

Serving type: can

04-22-2011 00:28:12 | More by WeezyBoPeep

ozzyCobblepot

New York

2.17/5  rDev -4.4%
look: 1.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

A: Dissipating, bubbly head ... Clear, pale golden color ... Light carbonation ... Kind of DOA
S: Straw malt notes ... simple and unobtrusive
T: Sweet grainy malt, bit of a sour aftertaste
M: Crisp, bubbly feel, light bodied
D: My favorite malt liquor, but after this review I realize that thinking too much about malt liquor isn't just some harmless exercise in irony--it ruins the beer, wastes your time. Please learn from my mistakes.

Serving type: bottle

03-28-2011 01:20:11 | More by ozzyCobblepot

esv

Virginia

4/5  rDev +76.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A) Bright-white head. Very porous. Looks highly carbonated. Crystal clear. Light champagne color. Looks like a big class of champagne. A little more straw than champagne. Head and light lacing all the way down?!?!

S) Corny nothingness

T) No real flavor. A slight nauseating sweet malt if you think about it too hard. I'm afraid that it's going to warm up though.

M) Light

O) Considering that it's a malt liquor, I think it's terribly drinkable and flavorless. In my book, this is a great malt liquor and the gutters and areas surrounding the street trash cans confirm it. ABV isn't nearly as high as I was thinking.

So I think this is an B+ malt liquor but can I really give a malt liquor beer an B+? Yes.

Serving type: can

03-27-2011 00:16:06 | More by esv

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

2.03/5  rDev -10.6%
look: 1.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

The first 40 I ever had. This beer is lightly golden in color mostly yellow. Not a bit of head retention after the pour. Grains and Malts on the nose. Not a lot of hops in the flavor or the aroma. I'm glad that I tried this, but I don't need to find this again.

Serving type: bottle

03-22-2011 03:29:23 | More by Knapp85

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

2.73/5  rDev +20.3%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

40-ouncer, the format of choice amongst those poor souls panhandling outside the liquor stores, in my experience. This one is 8% ABV, and made by the Silver Creek Brewery, of La Crosse, Wisconsin, blah blah blah. Sleeman must have some sort of agreement with Pabst in the US, because the label is identical, and I am not creating a new, unnecessary entry.

This beer pours a clear medium golden yellow colour, with two fingers of sudsy off-white head, which settles quickly, leaving a paint job of solid lace around the glass. It smells of ripe apple, pale adjunct grain, and mild boozy yeast. The taste is more well-aged (benefit of the doubt here) apple, this time stewed in soft fusel alcohol, and quite sweet, with some weird floral essence. The carbonation is very shy, the body less so - medium in weight through the contrivances of The Cloying! It finishes still sweet, albeit with some residual drying from the booze and dead flowers.

Not that bad, really. Without the big sugar (heh), this is pretty inoffensive. No skank, or alcohol edge - a hell of an option for getting your advanced buzz on for a mere fiver (or 'Laurier bleu', north of the 49th)...

Serving type: bottle

03-17-2011 23:27:47 | More by biboergosum