Malt liquor, a lager with an alcohol level from 5.5%  to 8% or higher, can be boozy and bland (A standard lager has about 5% alcohol per volume or ABV). A growing number of craft brewers are determined to mend the style’s reputation by creating malt liquors worth contemplating, not chugging. But if malt liquor is a “sleepy” category, it’s also ripe for innovation, said Lester Jones, the chief economist for the National Beer Wholesalers Association. “Can you make a craft malt liquor? Of course, you can.”