Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Wort as a beverage


My wife and I recently took a trip to Puerto Rico. We picked the most perfect time. Minnesota was suffering from record cold temperatures and Puerto Rico was not. It was great.

While in Puerto Rico, I discovered a drink that is very popular in the Caribbean, but I had never heard of before. And it is related to beer.

Malta. No, not the island, the drink.

Malta is essentially wort that has not been fermented. Wort, of course, is what beer is made from. It is made using barley, hops and water. In the case of malta, it is bottled and carbonated.

In Puerto Rico the brand I had was Malta India. It was exactly what anyone who has brewed would expect. It tasted like wort. It was sweet, balanced with a gentle bitterness. It is not a refreshing drink and one that requires an acquired taste. For those unfamiliar with wort, imagine watering down some molasses.

9 comments:

T.I.Houghton said...

I myself dabble in homebrewing and quite enjoy tasting the wort and the hot liquor before fermenting. It's nice to know that other people in the world also enjoy a similar taste. Thanks for the insight.

MJenks said...

Man, they should have put a picture of a falcon on there somewhere.

Glass Bottles said...

I traveled to the Caribbean last year on a cruise and was talking to someone about my home brews and they told me I had to try this stuff. I could only imagine what it would taste like, but I made one huge mistake... I waited to try it after a long day and you nailed it on the head- not a refreshing drink. Great seeing a post about this stuff... I will be back to your blog for sure!

OrganicOverdose said...

That sounds absolutely disgusting and yet at the same time I want to try it. Although watered down molasses sounds sickly sweet if you can make it into beer how bad could it be? ;)

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Anonymous said...

It is common in Cuba (or, it was) to give children Malta with Condensed Milk if they were too skinny. Imagine!

Richard Jaime said...

Hi guys! I am from Puerto Rico and a homebrewer! Woot! Malta is a malt beverage best served ice cold. Now if you drink it warm yes it tastes like wort... but when drunk ice cold the carbonation takes it to a wonderfully sweet taste. It is served with any kind of meal. It's mainly thought of a kids drink sorta' like what a juice box is in the U.S.

I always kid my friends cause i say that since most Puerto Rican kids are like wenned on the stuff, so i say that we are taught to learn how to drink beer since childhood. BUT funny thing though is if you present a Guniess like beer or a dark porter black lager etc to a Puerto Rican odds are they may not like it. Give 'em a ice cold glass of Malta and they'll slam it in a few seconds.. lol!! Take care all.

Unknown said...
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Unknown said...

Malta Goya has been available in Texas for at least 25 years that I know of, though it's never been a staple.
https://www.goya.com/en/products/beverages/malta