This is the second "malta" drink I've tried out. The first being Vitamalt, here. The genre of malta drinks sits on the fine line between beers and sodas. They often called "children's beer" or "young beer" and yet they generally considered sodas. Though they are brewed like a old-fashioned soda or beer, the primary difference is that maltas are not fermented so they are naturally free of alcohol.
Malta India comes from the Compania Cervecera de Puerto Rico brewery. Founded in 1937 by the Valdez brothers, they began selling Malta India in 1939. These malta beverages are popular in the Caribbean where they are often served over ice or with evaporated milk mixed in.
Personally, I find the aroma very unappealing. It's something like a molasses and alfalfa soup smell with the lingering hint of a box of dry Grape Nuts cereal. For those with any belief that this would taste like beer, you'd be sorely mistaken. It's dark colored and tastes repulsively like cold gerbil food pellets. I cannot fathom how people might enjoy drinking this other than knowing that it contains vitamins beneficial to health. I have to recommend steering clear of this.
