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Big Daddy J's Malt Liquor - Full Sail Brewery & Tasting Room & Pub

Not Rated.
Big Daddy J's Malt LiquorBig Daddy J's Malt Liquor

Educational use only; do not reuse.

35 Reviews
very good

(Read More)
Reviews: 35
Hads: 58
Avg: 3.51
pDev: 14.81%
Wants: 17
Gots: 2 | FT: 0
Brewed by:
Full Sail Brewery & Tasting Room & Pub visit their website
Oregon, United States

Style | ABV
American Malt Liquor |  8.00% ABV

Availability: Rotating

Notes & Commercial Description:
Beer added by: msubulldog25 on 12-16-2008

No notes at this time.
Beer: Reviews & Ratings
Sort by:  Recent | High | Low | Top Raters | Read the Alström Bros Beer Reviews and Beer Ratings of Big Daddy J's Malt Liquor Alström Bros
Reviews: 35 | Hads: 58
Photo of smakawhat
4.02/5  rDev +14.5%

Poured from the bottle into a nonic pint glass.

Creamy off white one finger head, settling to a soft thin puck on top and thick rich collar. Body color is a cloudy somewhat murky amber. Not a single noticeable bit of carbonation can be seen. Nice glow to it, if a little lifeless.

Large sweet chewy apple fruit and orange notes. Hints of mild sensing fussel grain but very tiny. Clean and straightforward, about as simple and good as malt liquor can get. Some warmth but not overly strong or boozy.

Palate comes straight forward with a good dose of flavor and controlled booze. Not too much surprise taken from the nose, bringing in warm apple and sweet malt flavors. Finishes with a bit of a thump, good thick coating without too much of a syrup rush, a creamy feel as well, but no mistaking for the style.

Basically if you want a balanced controlled malt liquor with some decent taste look no further.

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Photo of Phyl21ca
3.03/5  rDev -13.7%

Bottle: Poured a bright yellow color ale with a medium size white foamy head with good retention and light lacing. Aroma of light cereal notes is pretty bland. Taste is also dominated by light cereal notes with adjunct barely noticeable. Body is about average with good carbonation. Nothing really special about that one and I can’t say I would have notice this was malt liquor if it had been a blind tasting.

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Photo of BeerAdvocate
3.81/5  rDev +8.5%

From BeerAdvocate magazine Issue #71 (December 2012):

Nope, we did not drink from a paper bag nor did we spill a little bit out for our homies, this is craft beer after all. It is what it is … a Malt Liquor and Full Sail does a good job at it. A bit more crispness and it would be heavenly.

STYLE: American Malt Liquor
ABV: 8.0%

LOOK: Hazed full amber, thin lacing

SMELL: Malty, cooked cereal, faint herbal hop, clean alcohol, faint white cherries, biscuity

TASTE: Malty sweet, slick, medium bodied, bready, growing warmth, slight hoppiness, husky, grainy, dried grass, mildly boozy, clean, semi-dry finish

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Photo of Cyberkedi
2.99/5  rDev -14.8%

Pours a typical clear yellow with a thick but effervescent white head. Aroma is malty, slightly fruity, crisp but unremarkable. Flavor is more fruity than malty, somewhat sweet but not cloying, not quite bold but better than what the aroma promises. Texture is smooth, but lacking in fizz or viscosity. OK, not so hot, but I am more of a stoutie; a lager lover should give it a fairer shake.

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Photo of pkalix
2.39/5  rDev -31.9%

bought this on the heels of the Full Sail Barrel-Aged Stout thinking 'how can I go wrong?'.... let's see....
pours an effervescent transparent golden with low effervescence. looks like a Mickey's Big Mouth...
smells like .. . .. .. ... .. idunno... some fruit maybe? mostly just a regular commercial barroom tap... total commercial stuff.... fancy bottle though.... I mean Olde English 800 doesn't have THIS much to read on its label. probably because it KNOWS its clientele doesn't need to be bothered with reading much.
tastes . . . . idunno again. I suppose kind of smooth. has that kind of Olde English 800 twang to it, but I don't think even Olde English is this strong.... it's only, like a 6.9%... I don't know what to think of this stuff. prejudiced? maybe. I mean, who calls their stuff 'malt liquor' these days? and who refers it to BIG DADDY J's MALT LIQUOR if they want any respect for their product? maybe a homey little cutesy name for their home crowd?
it just kind of sits there with a few bubbles rising from the bottom of my tulip glass. under the heading 'malt liquor, it IS ranked 12th at a respectable (cough) 3.57 for BA... idunno. I just don't get it. why would a reputable brewery do something like this? why would they brew something that automatically brings to mind Mickey's, or Olde English 800, or Colt 45? unless they made it super awesome.... maybe my taste buds are snobs. maybe it's because I just had an AVENTINUS. maybe it's because it was RIGHT NEXT to the Barrel-Aged Stout from Full Sail in the store and I thought it could do no wrong?
close to dumping this one. I mean, I guess it's not bad if you're on a budget and looking for a decent way to get buzzed; but then, if you're on a budget why are you in a Total Wine store and buying a 'malt liquor' beer for $6?
I dumped it.... sorry. it really wasn't that bad; i'm just spoiled today. after the surgery, and with all the pain (and the pain killers) I just didn't have the tolerance for this beer. not totally bad, but I wouldn't buy it again... I saw it was for a charity. geez, put something out that tastes SPECTACULAR if you care about the charity, ya know?
and you know what? ratebeer has it at a 47 ! ! ! ! and we ALL know ratebeer has loose standards.... seems EVERYTHING is 15 to 25% higher rated on ratebeer... so I don't feel bad about this assessment at all...

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Photo of facundoCNB
3.89/5  rDev +10.8%

a somewhat hazy, mostly clean golden/copper pour with a finger of white head which dissipated rather quickly. as far as malt liquor goes, this smells fantastic - almost barleywine-like.. lots of sweet malt, caramel, nutty/biscuity aromas. lots of sweet malt, nutty/biscuity/bready flavors..subtle bitterness, oh man.. THAT flavor.. yeah, the flavor i haven't tasted in YEARS! holy crap.. does malt liquor have a hidden ingredient that causes that somewhat rusty skunkyness? for the style, again, this beer is FULL of flavor. hands down the best tasting malt liquor i've ever had. medium to full body, mild carbonation, very sweet finish.

overall, i feel like this is almost a gimmick beer or whatever, but in the same sense i can appreciate it because.. i've been there. i think we all have. this brings back memories of a forgotten (mainly due to blackouts) style of beer but in a very tasty effort. thanks, full sail, for making this.

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Photo of MasterSki
3.64/5  rDev +3.7%

Another fine malt liquor, thanks to Chris (spycow). Served in a tulip.

A - White foam settles to a collar and a few stray specks of lace. Transparent golden body. Style-appropriate, with a bit better retention than expected.

S - Pretty authentic aroma too, with notes of corn, cereal grains, yeasty bread, and light alcohol. No discernible hop character, and thankfully no chemical or overly fusel flavors either.

T - The taste is more saccharine, with the corn flavors emerging more significantly and some nebulous fruitiness as well. Sweeter than I prefer, but thankfully never reaches cloying levels. Well-hidden booze here, with no chemical or off flavors.

M - Smooth, medium body, with a light grain to the texture. Pleasant carbonation, and some slight warming in the finish.

D - A well-executed malt liquor. Not the best craft attempt I've had, but a lot better than most mass-produced offerings. Would obviously lose the price/performance debate, but otherwise pretty true to style.

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Photo of DavoleBomb
2.25/5  rDev -35.9%

Poured into a perfect pint.

3.0 A: Lightly hazed light orange color. One finger of frothy white head. Retention is worse than average and not much in terms of lacing.

3.0 S: Graininess, corn and more corn, and some breadiness. Not digging it. Light earthy hops.

1.5 T: The corn does not mix well with the hop bitterness at all. Perhaps this is why there's never any hops in malt liquor. Grain and breadiness.

3.5 M: Medium body. Good moderate carbonation. Light creaminess. Not bad here.

2.0 D: Ehh, kinda sucks.

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Photo of t420o
4.01/5  rDev +14.2%

Full Sail Malt Liquor

A- pour produces a 1 finger white head that fizzes away leaving slight lacing. Beer is golden in color. 3.5

S- this brings back some memories here. The typical malt liquor alcohol/grainy smell is most prevalent. Corn, sweet malt and no real hop presence. Smells better than the average Malt Liquor for sure. 3.75

T- this is a very smooth and quaffable brew. Corn and grain are on the forefront with a caramel malt and the Hallertau hops make there presence known even though the presence is very small. Hides the 8% abv extremely well. 4

M- smooth and crisp. Medium body 4

O- rating this compared to other malt liquors, its the best malt liquor I've ever had. Brings back some college memories (funny because first thing I thought was smells like college, then I read the label and it says it was brewed in part to "celebrate the inner college student in everyone" me likey. 4.5


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Photo of UCLABrewN84
3.66/5  rDev +4.3%

Pours a murky orange with a foamy beige head that settles to wisps of film on top of the beer. Tiny dots of lace line the glass on the drink down. Smell is of malt, grain, fruit, and nail polish remover aromas. Taste is much the same with fruit and alcohol flavors on the finish. There is a mild amount of hop bitterness and an alcohol kick on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good beer with some odd aromas but the flavors are tasty.

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Photo of kojevergas
1.98/5  rDev -43.6%

28 IBU. Old style rustic label. Acquired for $5.00 at a local SoCal beer store. 1 pint 6 fl oz brown glass bottle with branded standard pressure cap. 8% ABV confirmed. Not big on this brewery, but expectations are above average; I'm in the mood for the style, actually. Served into an Oskar Blues pilsner glass in me gaff in low altitude Los Feliz.


A: Pours a 1.5 finger white colour head of pretty good (~3 minute) retention for the high ABV, but it's devoid of cream and the thickness is below par. Body colour is a weak pale translucent clear yellow-copper. Carbonation bubbles are rampant. Not much to look at. No yeast particles are visible. No bubble show. Meh.

Sm: Sweet malts, pale malts. A light simple aroma. Heavy corn adjunct. Somewhat sugary. Meh.

T: Generic floral hop character alongside a pleasant sweet malt/corn adjunct foundation. A bit grassy. Some artificial fruit. A bit of pineapple acidity in the third act. It's more balanced than most beers in the style. The corn feels cheap and weak. A bit of caramel malt on the climax is all the good flavour you're gonna find here. Weak and empty up front; no depth of flavour to this one. Simple and lackluster. Meh.

Mf: Thin, weak, smooth, and wet, with some adjuncty coarseness. Artificial buttery feel. Crystal malt lends it a light tingly feel. Overcarbonated. It's to style, but it isn't all that great.

Dr: 'Overpriced garbage' might be a bit harsh of a label, but it did go through my mind. Is it better than Mickey's? I don't know, actually. To be honest, Steel Reserve is probably better. I any case, it does a decent job of hiding its ABV. Why brew this? I think many reviewers are giving this high scores merely because they want to support this brewery and its take on this specific style over macro-brews, but in a blind taste test they'd prefer the very breweries they're attacking. Make no mistake, this is pretty crappy. Difficult to drink. It does remind me of college, but is that really a good thing? Congratulations, Full Sail, you've brewed a shittier malt liquor than Miller does. How cachet.


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Photo of AlCaponeJunior
4.35/5  rDev +23.9%

Very happy to have just purchased this beer from Gabriel's in San Antonio! I can already tell you that I am going to get more of this one just in case they run out!

Pours a nice clear tan color with slight orange notes. Head and lacing weren't bad at all.

Aroma is already FAR beyond any malt liquor you've ever tried. It's incredibly complex, assuming from the (probably generous amounts of) Hallertau hops. It's not overpowering like an IPA, rather more delicate and subtle, but wonderful! I get tons of herbal and grassy notes, a delicate peppery smell, and some fruitiness. It would be impossible to categorize this as a malt liquor if this were blind and you were just going by aroma (and maybe taste, see next paragraph).

Flavor... again, WOW! Very nice! The peppery spiciness is more apparent now, as is the fruitiness. Although it's got some malt-liquor like properties (a little sweet corn, grainy notes, some light alcohol), it's more between a strong dry pale ale and a very strong, hoppy lager.

Body is dry and light, alcohol apparent on the backside, and overall just plain delicious.

Just amazing, great flavor, great aroma, great body, great job Full Sail!

This is getting a ridiculously high rating because it's hands down the best American Malt Liquor I've ever tried. Rate to style, right? This beer is just amazing and deserves a great rating.

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Photo of LiquidAmber
3.8/5  rDev +8.3%

Poured into an Arrogant Bastard Ale pint glass. Pours a light to medium golden amber with a thin white head with good retention and slippery lacing. Aroma dominated by biscuit malt, a hint of citrus. Flavor is sweet bready malt, vague fruit esters and just a touch of pure alcohol. Pretty cool, the brewer captured the essence of a cheap malt liquor (malt and alcohol), but made it pleasantly drinkable. The hint of pure grain alcohol was genius and appropriate for the style. Medium bodied with a touch of creaminess, much too nice a mouthfeel for a malt liquor, but I appreciated it. I'm not sure I'd buy this as a go-to beer, but for an attempt to craft-ize a classic brown bag American style, they nailed it. I like this Brewers Share series. Most haven't knocked my socks off, but all are interesting and well worth trying.

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Photo of srandycarter
2.8/5  rDev -20.2%

I love Full Sail and I didn't even look to see what type of beer I bought. I took it out of the fridge tonight and realized it was a malt liquor. Ok, well, that could be an ok thing, so I give it a go.

Murky orange, not much head, no head, actually, no lace.

Smells sours, off. Cidery.

Tastes sour, off. Cloying and cidery.

Mouthfeel is just about as bad.

If I wanted Old English 800, I would have bought it and it would have been a lot cheaper.


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Photo of Ryan011235
4.02/5  rDev +14.5%

Poured into an Olde Hickory glass on 12/5/12

Dulled gold and honey hues; looks a lot like apple juice. Light haziness. One thumb head rises willingly and washes out shortly thereafter. Drippy lace.

Cereal grain jump out of the aroma with notes of orange rind and herbal/grassy hops. Hints of biscuit dust. Overtones of apple, too. Pretty good aroma. Alcohol is not at all apparent.

The taste has more of a malt liquor bent. Toasted and steeped grains with some alcohol slickness and heat, especially on the back end. Hops are at a low level; not a bad thing, just less notable than in the aroma. The finish fairly dry.

Medium body with average, maybe a tad lower than average, carbonation. The bubbles aren't overbearing. The alcohol actually dries up after a while. Slightly dusty finish. I like it.

Overall, this is pretty darn solid. It really comes together after setting out of the fridge for a while. It's rare to get a quality beer in a $3.99 bomber in Ohio; cheers to Full Sail for that. For whatever reason, I never see their bombers in Columbus.

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Photo of Reidrover
3/5  rDev -14.5%

22oz bottle from "Habits" in S.Salem. $3.99\ I am drinking this from the bottle wrapped in a brown paper bag. aroma from the bottle is mostly malty slightly caramel in aspect. Taste caramel,sugar and cheap vodka.. Mouthfeel very dry for style it helps. not great really..but i will drink it.

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Photo of sabinelr
4.65/5  rDev +32.5%

22 oz bottle poured into a Samuel Adams Winter Lager glass. Took a whiff, found the fragrance but not the skunkiness of Mickey's. Slammed down a decent swig, like you oughta with malt liquor, and had a good experience all the way. There isn't hardly any head, and the brew is a respectable clear amber. No harshness like the corner brews like Olde English or Steel Reserve. It's too bad this is a limited release. It's great stuff, and just what you need for watching your favorite football team or monster movie.

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Photo of beerpadawan
3.66/5  rDev +4.3%

What I like is that it actually has a lot in common with high alcohol classics such as Old English. The essence is there, they've just civilized it a bit, like Taco Bell in Demolition Man but with better results.

Gone is the medicinal, metallic, artificial twang that is the "finish" of common "high gravity" malt liquor. It is replaced with a clean-finishing, medium-bodied beer that still has a twang at the end. But it comes from mild but noticeable noble hops (Hallertau), providing light bitterness and a little spicy/earthy quality. The alcohol is hiding in plain sight.

The malt body adds sweet grain and a drop of honey. Very quaffable. Enjoyable offering that is both true to the style and not a mere stab at ironic self-deprecation, nor intended for those who might use it as a tool for such shenanigans.

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Photo of flagmantho
3.47/5  rDev -1.1%

Poured from 22oz bomber into a pint glass.

Appearance: golden hue with a moderate haze and lazy effervescence. Head is nonexistent. Pretty normal for the sytle.

Smell: moderate malt aroma with a character a lot like a Scotch ale, but with a nice hint of malt liquor. Not bad.

Taste: it's like a corn-tinged Wee Heavy. Perhaps not the best beer in the world, but absolutely outstanding for an American malt liquor. This is even a lot better than a Euro strong lager (usually a pretty equivalent style).

Mouthfeel: medium-light body with a decent effervescence and creaminess. Not bad.

Overall: drinkable and tasty example of the style. Perhaps not award-winning, but hey, I'm drinkin' a malt liquor here!

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Photo of twiggamortis420
3.5/5  rDev -0.3%

What...no clear bottle? 22 oz bomber pours a clear gold color with a small, wispy white head. Not much to look at, but what malt liquor is?

Nose is alcohol, sweet grain and an actual nice little burst of honeyed malt.

Taste has got to be the most quaffable malt liquor I have ever had. Nice little grain and alcohol, very little hops. What this has that most of the common MLs dont have is a nice caramel malt presence and a fine carbonation. As a beer in general, it is just ok, but as a malt liquor it is quite good. Coming from a craft brewery though, it just seems wrong in principle, so I cant morally give this beer perfect marks...sorry, I just cant. I might buy it again, depending on if I feel like having a reasonably priced high ABV bomber.

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Photo of metter98
3.55/5  rDev +1.1%

On-tap at Pony Bar Upper East Side, New York, NY

A: The beer is crystal clear yellow in color and has no visible carbonation. It poured with a thin off-white head that died down and left a large collar around the edge of the glass.
S: There are light aromas of sweet malts in the nose.
T: Like the smell, the taste has flavors of sweet malts and some vinous notes of grapes as well as some slight hints of alcohol.
M: It feels a little more than medium-bodied and slightly thick on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: There is nothing overly special about the taste of this beer but it is extremely drinkable and doesn't have any off flavors or a taste of alcohol.

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Photo of Rutager
3.67/5  rDev +4.6%

Appearance. Pours a pretty clear gold with over a finger of frothy white head.

Smell. Tons of light malts and a bit of corn. Some light grassy hops.

Taste. Sweet light malts, a little sweet citrus juice and light grassy hops again. Sweet aftertaste with a little bitterness. Giving this a seemingly high mark, but considering the company in this style that I've tried, this is pretty good.

Mouthfeel. Medium+ body, Medium carbonation.

Overall. This didn't exactly knock my socks off, but like I said, not bad considering most of the others out there...

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Photo of GMB
2.92/5  rDev -16.8%

Big Daddy J's Malt Liquor pours a golden body and fizzy white head that are typical of the style. Carbonation is at first typically vigorous, but very soon settles. The scattering of slowly rising bubbles tell me that this may be gentler on the tongue than most malt liquors.

The smell of alcohol is backed by that of toasted starches. Yeah, this is malt liquor alright. But wait. What's that? Where's the putrid smell?

I must admit that I expected to pour this into the glass, take a few sips, and then pour it down the drain. But the nose, while not enticing or appetizing, is certainly more appealing than expected. Can a beer earn a high rating simply because it exceeds its reviewer's expectations? Hmm. Nevermind the philosophy. Let's press on...

First sips can be deceiving. Fortunately, the taste of this beer is too monotonous to deceive. Alcohol and sweet grainy and corn (or is it rice?) malt. There you have it.

As I predicted, the beer is gentler on the tongue and more substantial than some of the cheap malt liquors I've tried over the years. Still, it doesn't offer anything special to recommend itself.

Full Sail earns points for its bravery. I am certain that there was a lot of heated debate at the brewery when one of the brewmasters suggested putting out a malt liquor as seasonal brew. And I suppose this beer should earn points for being a craft malt liquor that is widely available and relatively drinkable.

That said, Big Daddy J's Malt Liquor loses points for being a beer that, all things considered, I wish I hadn't had and won't drink again. It's better than most of the malt liquors out there, but that isn't saying much.

By the way, some argue that a malt liquor's high ABV ought to be taken into account in its review. I don't agree. There are plenty of beers out there with high ABVs that are also delicious. This one isn't.

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Photo of oberon
3.68/5  rDev +4.8%

Poured into a becker a deep golden with a large one finger white head that faded pretty quickly leaving a few small chunks of lace behind.Aromas were light with a touch of sweet booze and toast malt,a little corn came into play as the beer warmed.The flavors were not nearly as potent and boozy as I thought they would be,grainy and lithly toasted with just a light zing of sweet alcohol,the corn/adjunct flavors were pretty well hidden.This is a standard for American malt liquor wich might not being saying a whole lot, but this was pretty damn good and easy going down for how big it is.

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Photo of atr2605
3.5/5  rDev -0.3%

A-pours a golden straw color with a white head with average retention
S-just smells kind of sweet, no real distinction and no hop presence
T-lots of adjunct sweetness and a bit of bitterness to offset it in the finish
M-light-medium bodied despite the high abv
O-pretty much what you would expect from a malt liquor. Even though it isnt a fancy style, I think its pretty cool that full sail decided to make one, just something different

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Big Daddy J's Malt Liquor from Full Sail Brewery & Tasting Room & Pub
81 out of 100 based on 35 ratings.