The Cheap Alcoholic Drink Gen X Grew Up With At Parties

Are you a beer enthusiast or a wine lover? From the 1960s until the 1990s, imbibers didn't have to decide, thanks to Malt Duck. At its most popular in the '70s, this was like a beer-and-wine hybrid, combining beer with red grape juice. It offered the crisp, effervescence of beer, softened and sweetened with lightly tart fruit juice. And, perhaps more importantly for the Gen X crowd that would have been its target demographic, the drink was also a bargain. On a Gen X Facebook group post, a commenter says Malt Duck was the go-to for Friday-night celebrations when they only had five bucks. 

By 1974, Malt Duck's producer National Brewing Co. had clocked the popularity of the fruity product and added an apple variety among others. Beers with fruit flavors, considered flavored malt liquors or flavored malt beverages, were all the rage in the early '70s. There was Hop'n Gator, a lemon-lime Gatorade-infused lager from Pittsburgh Brewing Company; Right Time, a red flavored malt drink from Hamm's Brewing; and a zesty Lime Lager from Lone Star Brewing Company. Malt Duck, however, outlasted them all. 

While it may not seem like much in today's craft beer scene where 7% ABV IPAs are the norm, Malt Duck packed nearly 5% alcohol in an era when the average beer hovered around 3.5%. Gen X college students looking for an accessibly tasty, fruity buzz on a budget had found their golden ticket. So how did Malt Duck eventually become of the many once-popular drinks that have now disappeared from store shelves?

In 1975, G. Heileman Brewing Co. purchased National Brewing Co., who only continued to make Malt Duck until 1992. On one hand, this seemed to be for the best as craft beer was beginning to explode, and many beer drinkers were seeking out styles like stouts and wheat beers over the cheap thrills of fruit juice-infused lagers. But, plenty of Malt Duck fans nursed nostalgia for the low-priced, malt beverage that fueled the parties of their glory days. In 2016, one of the breweries that helped spark the craft beer movement decided to do something for those malt liquor fans — suddenly, Malt Duck was a nostalgic drink back on the market.

Established in 1985, Milwaukee brewery Sprecher Brewing Company resurrected Malt Duck to its own standards. The company made a more modern malt beverage by insisting on natural flavors and no added sugar. It was a different approach, but one that proved successful both with older, Malt Duck-familiar imbibers, as well as younger legal-age drinkers. Sprecher used Concord grape juice, and kept Malt Duck's higher-skewing ABV, pushing it further to 5.9%. Of course, an independently brewed rendition with real fruit juice couldn't recreate the same steal of a price as its original inspiration. Sprecher's version was harder and pricier to make, and the brewery did not add the niche beverage to its permanent lineup. If you're looking for a fruit-infused beer to fill the Malt Duck void, try Mango Cart, a refreshing hefeweizen with real mango.