Oh yes, friends. You know what it looks like. BIG glass bottle, little tiny cap. Hard to get a hand around, especially when coated in a thin sheen of
condensation oh so common on these hot summer nights. Give the aluminum cap a sharp counterclockwise twist and the
tensile stress generated by the
torque of your forearm and the
pitch of the threads on the neck makes the body of the cap overcome the ultimate strength of the aluminum safety ring. After the satisfying crack of localized ductile failure, tip that giant tankard up to your lips and gulp in that sweet, satisfying, carbonated and charcoal filtered beer (which for legal reasons must be called
malt liquor). Drink it down deep, until you feel the rising pressure in your chest. Belch, loudly and proudly. Congratulations, you're a cheap bastard. Smile. Some people say you drink the first third of a bottle of malt liquor so you
can drink the rest. i disagree. i drink it quickly because it gets warm fast, it goes flat fast and it gets you drunk fast.
Olde English "800" (commonly referred to as "OE") is brewed in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin,
USA by the Olde English 800
Brewing Company, a
trademark of the
Miller Brewing Company.
Miller is owned by
Philip Morris, also known for
Kraft Foods and
Marlboro cigarettes, among other brands.
OE is available in 16 and 24 ounce aluminum cans as well as 22 (the double deuce), 32, 40 (the forty), and 64 ounce glass bottles (and rumored to even come in 128 ounce bottles). Like all malt liquor, OE is high in alcohol, middling in taste and low in price. Both in Hotlanta and my current digs in Chicago, a 40 of Olde English "800" will run anywhere between 2 & 3 dollars. Devon_Hart assures me that an ice cold OE forty costs him a solid $3.28 CDN (including tax). It's distinctive gold and maroon label make it easy to spot. It has been seen in The Crystal Method's new album liner notes and the film Kids.
Personally, i like the taste. i'd rather drink OE than just about any cheap beer. It tastes about the same but the low price and high alcohol content certainly give it the edge. Suckapant is dead on the money, friends. Tip out the last of your 40 for all things lost and remembered. A solemn moment in your night of revelry will keep you grounded. You can't raise hell if you don't believe in it. Now go grab another 40.
Why, might you ask, is it refered to as a "malt liquor" instead of beer? Well, over heah in the states, various state laws limit the amount of alcohol permissible in beer. To be able to sell something with a higher alcohol content than those laws allow, it can't be called beer. Hence OE is a malt liquor.