Malta, young beer, Children's beer or wheat soda is a type of soft drink

Soft drink

A soft drink is a non-alcoholic beverage that typically contains water , a sweetener, and a flavoring agent...

. It is a carbonated malt beverage

Malt beverage

Malt beverage is an American term for both alcohol containing and non-alcoholic fermented beverages, in which the primary ingredient is the grain, or seed of the barley plant, which has been allowed to sprout in a traditional way called slightly before it is processed...

, meaning it is brewed from barley, hops, and water much like beer

Beer

Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...

; corn and caramel color may also be added. However, Malta is non-alcoholic, and is consumed in the same way as soda

Soft drink

A soft drink is a non-alcoholic beverage that typically contains water , a sweetener, and a flavoring agent...

 or cola

Cola

Cola is a carbonated beverage that was typically flavored by the kola nut as well as vanilla and other flavorings, however, some colas are now flavored artificially. It became popular worldwide after druggist John Pemberton invented Coca-Cola in 1886...

 in its original carbonated form, and to some extent, iced tea

Iced tea

Iced tea is a form of cold tea, often served in a glass with ice. It may or may not be sweetened. Iced tea is also a popular packaged drink. It can be mixed with flavored syrup, with common flavors including lemon, peach, raspberry, lime, passion fruit, and cherry...

 in non-carbonated form. In other words, Malta is actually a beer that has not been fermented. It is similar in color to stout (dark brown) but is very sweet, generally described as tasting like molasses

Molasses

Molasses is a viscous by-product of the processing of sugar cane, grapes or sugar beets into sugar. The word molasses comes from the Portuguese word melaço, which ultimately comes from mel, the Latin word for "honey". The quality of molasses depends on the maturity of the sugar cane or sugar beet,...

. Unlike beer, ice is often added to Malta when consumed. A popular way Latin Americans sometimes drink Malta is by mixing it with condensed

Condensed milk

Condensed milk, also known as sweetened condensed milk, is cow's milk from which water has been removed and to which sugar has been added, yielding a very thick, sweet product which when canned can last for years without refrigeration if unopened. The two terms, condensed milk and sweetened...

 or evaporated milk

Evaporated milk

Evaporated milk, also known as dehydrated milk, is a shelf-stable canned milk product with about 60% of the water removed from fresh milk. It differs from sweetened condensed milk, which contains added sugar. Sweetened condensed milk requires less processing since the added sugar inhibits ...

.

Nowadays, most Malta is brewed in the Caribbean

Caribbean

The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...

 and can be purchased in areas with substantial Caribbean populations. Aside from the islands of the Caribbean, Malta is also popular in Caribbean coastal areas such as Panama

Panama

Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...

, Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

, and Venezuela

Venezuela

Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

 and countries that share a Caribbean coast. Malta is brewed worldwide, and is popular in many parts of Africa like Nigeria, Chad, Ghana, Cameroon, and in the Indian Ocean. This beverage is also popular in several parts of Europe, especially Germany. Malta Guinness is brewed under license internationally.

Malta originated in Germany, as Malzbier

Malzbier

Malzbier is a form of sweet, low-alcohol beer that is brewed like normal beer but without fermentation by adding the yeast at or about 0 °C. CO2 and sugar is added later. It's a common beverage in Germany, Austria and Switzerland...

 ("malt beer"), a malty dark beer whose fermentation was interrupted at approximately 2% ABV, leaving quite a lot of residual sugars in the finished beer. Up to the 1950s, Malzbier was considered a fortifying food for nursing mothers, recovering patients, the elderly etc.
Malzbier in its native form was finally superseded during the 1960s by its modern form, formulated from water, glucose syrup, malt extract and hops extract, which had been on the market since the latter half of the 19th century, notably in Denmark.
Such formulated drinks are to be called Malztrunk

Vitamalz

Vitamalz is a German malt beer without alcohol.- Miscellaneous :Vitamalz comes in brown 0.33l or 0.5l bottles. The logo shows six circles in decreasing size with a color gradient going from dark blue to red to white, featured on a yellow background....

 ("malt beverage") according to German law, since they aren't fermented. In colloquial use, Malzbier has nevertheless remained, along with other nicknames such as Kinderbier ("children's beer").
Some native Malzbiere can still be enjoyed in Germany, notably in Cologne

Cologne

Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...

, where the taps of breweries Malzmühle and Sion sell it alongside their traditional Kölsch

Kölsch (beer)

Kölsch, also written Koelsch, is a local beer specialty brewed in Cologne, Germany. It is a clear beer with a bright straw-yellow hue, and it has a prominent, but not extreme, hoppiness. It is less bitter than the standard German pale lager. Furthermore, Kölsch is warm fermented at a temperature...

.
Many German breweries have a Malta in their range, sometimes produced under licence (for example Vitamalz).

Malta is also occasionally called "champagne cola" by some brands. However, there is a separate type of drink with this name, having a flavor and consistency more akin to cream soda

Cream soda

Cream soda is a sweet carbonated soft drink, often flavored with vanilla.-History and development:A recipe for cream soda—written by E.M. Sheldon and published in Michigan Farmer in 1852—called for water, cream of tartar, Epsom salts, sugar, tartaric acid, egg, and milk, to be mixed together, then...

. Despite this appellation, neither drink is a champagne or a cola

Cola

Cola is a carbonated beverage that was typically flavored by the kola nut as well as vanilla and other flavorings, however, some colas are now flavored artificially. It became popular worldwide after druggist John Pemberton invented Coca-Cola in 1886...

.

Due to its distinctive color, Malta is sometimes known as black brewed beer.

Malta is high in B vitamins

B vitamins

B vitamins are a group of water-soluble vitamins that play important roles in cell metabolism. The B vitamins were once thought to be a single vitamin, referred to as vitamin B . Later research showed that they are chemically distinct vitamins that often coexist in the same foods...

. Some breweries, like Albani Brewery

Albani Brewery

Albani Bryggerierne A/S is a brewery located in Odense, Denmark, and the vast majority of its customers live on the island of Funen. The brewery was founded by MPharm Theodor Schiøtz in 1859...

 of Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

, fortify their non-alcoholic Malta beverages with Vitamin B complex. Albani Brewery claims on their website to have been the first brewery to create non-alcoholic malt beverages in 1859. http://www.powermalt.com/default.asp?id=1

Brands of Malta

• Afrimalt
• D&G Malta (Jamaica)
• Extracto de Malta
• Giant Malt (Saint Kitts and Nevis)
• Hummer Malt (Global)
• Karamalz (Germany)
• La Alemana Extracto de Malta Morena (Puerto Rico)
• Malta Iberia
• Malt Star (Israel)
• Malta Amstel
• Malta Andina (Ecuador)
• Malta Balashi (Aruba)
• Malta del Barú (Panama)
• Malta Bohio (Cuba)
• Malta Brasserie du Benin (Togo)
• Malta Bucanero (Cuba)
• Malta Caracas (Venezuela)
• Malta Carib (Trinidad & Tobago)
• Malta Con Leche (USA)
• Malta Coloso
• Pony Malt (Colombia)
• Malta Corona (Puerto Rico)
• Malta Corsaire (Guadeloupe
  Guadeloupe
  Guadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe...
  
  )
• Malta del Baru (Panama)
• Malta Econo
• Tiger Malt (Barbados)
• Malta El Sol (Puerto Rico)
• Malta Fresh (India)
• Malta El Miguelete (Valencia, Spain)
• Malta Estrella
• Malta Goya (Puerto Rico, US)
• Malta Goya (Lion Brewery
  Lion Brewery, Inc.
  Lion Brewery, Inc, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, United States, is one of the oldest breweries still in operation within Pennsylvania. Its beers and sodas are sold in Pennsylvania and neighboring states.-History:...
  
  , Pennsylvania
  Pennsylvania
  The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
  
  , US)
• Malta Goya Light (Puerto Rico, US)
• Malta Grande
• Malta Guinness
• Malta H (Haiti)
• Malta Hatuey (Cuban American)
• Malta Heineken
• Malta India (Puerto Rico)
• Malta India Light (Puerto Rico)
• Malta Leona (Colombia)
• Malta Maltex (Denmark)
• Malta Gallo (Guatemala)
• Malta Mayabe (Cuba)
• Malta Morena (Dominican Republic)
• Malta Morenita (Chile)
• Maltín Polar (Venezuela)
• Malta Princesa
• Malta Regional (Venezuela)
• Malta Siboney (Cuban-American)
• Malta Sunchy (Cuban-American)
• Malta Vigor (Panama)
• Maltextrakt (Iceland)
• Maltin Power by Backus (Peru)
• Malty (Israel)
• Nasmalt(Nigeria)
• Nesher Gold Malt(Israel)
• Pony Malta (Colombia)
• Powermalt - Power Malt Extra Energy (Denmark)
• Powermalt - Vanilla Power Malt (Denmark)
• Malta Regal
• Smalta (Trinidad & Tobago)
• Super Malta (Panama)
• Supermalt
  Supermalt
  Supermalt is a malt energy drink rich in B-vitamin complexes. It is an inexpensive, non-alcoholic, dark brown drink. It can be purchased in 330-mL glass bottles, cartons and cans, and their respective six-packs....
  
   Original (Denmark)
• Supermalt Plus with Ginseng and Aloe Vera
• Supermalt Tetra Pack (non carbonated)
• Tiger Malt (Barbados)
• Ultimalt (United Kingdom)
• Vitamalt Classic (Denmark)
• Vitamalt Plus (Denmark)
• Vitamalt Tetra Pack (non-carbonated)
• Vitamalz (Germany)
• Vitarroz
  Vitarroz
  Vitarroz, founded in 1955, is the second largest supplier and distributor of Hispanic food products in the northeastern United States. The company is based in Kearny, New Jersey....
  
   Malta (Lion Brewery
  Lion Brewery, Inc.
  Lion Brewery, Inc, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, United States, is one of the oldest breweries still in operation within Pennsylvania. Its beers and sodas are sold in Pennsylvania and neighboring states.-History:...
  
  , Pennsylvania, US)
• Egils Maltextrakt (Iceland)
• Víking Maltöl (Iceland)
• Maltina (Nigeria)
• Amstel Malta (Nigeria)
• Malta Guinness (Nigeria)
• Malt (Nigeria)
• Malta Gold
• Champ Malta
• Malta Lorraine (Martinique)
• Malta Pilsen (Uruguay)
• Okocim
  Okocim
  Okocim is a village in Brzesko County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland. Less than away from the village is Brzesko city. Okocim lies approximately south-west of Tarnów and east of the regional capital Kraków....
  
   Karmi (Poland)
• Ultimalt (United Kingdom)
• Malzbier (Brazil)
• Triple B (Bahamas)

Related drinks

• Kvass
  Kvass
  Kvass, kvas, quass or gira, gėra is a fermented beverage made from black...
  
   (Eastern Europe)
• Malt and Orange soda (Malt og Appelsín, Iceland)
• Hvítöl (Iceland)

External links

• Malta pictures