Malt Liquor - Forties

Forties

In the American vernacular, a forty-ounce or simply forty is a glass bottle that holds 40 fluid ounces (1.18 litres) of malt liquor. Malt liquors are commonly sold in 40 oz bottles, as opposed to the standard twelve ounce (355 mL) bottle that contains a single serving of beer. American domestic "malt liquors" tend to be very inexpensive – generally less than $3 for a 40 oz. bottle – although this is not necessarily true for foreign imports that are also labeled "malt liquor."

Examples of malt liquors sold in forty ounce bottles include Olde English 800, Colt 45, Mickey's, Camo 40, Black Fist, Country Club, Black Bull, Labatt Blue Dry 6.1/7.1/8.1/9.1/10.1, WildCat, Molson Dry 6.5/7.5/8.5/10.1, Private Stock, Big Bear, St. Ides, Steel Reserve 211, B40 Bull Max, King Cobra, Jeremiah Weed, and Hurricane. Dogfish Head Brewery has sporadically produced a high-end bottle-conditioned forty called "Liquor de Malt". Ballantine markets its ale in a forty ounce bottle as well.

At least for a brief period in the mid-1990s, some brands of malt liquor, including Olde English 800 and Mickey's, were available in even larger, 64-ounce glass bottles. Forty-ounce bottles are not permitted in some US states, such as Florida, where the largest container that a malt beverage may be sold at retail is 32 US fluid ounces.