Why Did Magnum Malt Liquor Vanish From Shelves?

Years ago, Magnum malt liquor stopped showing up at most liquor stores, joining the ranks of discontinued beers you'll probably never drink again. While it was never as big a name as fellow Molson Coors products like Coors, Miller, and Blue Moon, it managed to last long after its 1981 debut. So why's it gone now? It turns out that, despite the very word being on its label at the time of discontinuance, Magnum wasn't deemed "premium" enough to play a role in the company's long-term plans.

In a 2021 earnings call, Molson Coors' then-president and CEO Gavin Hattersly explained that the company was streamlining and "premiumizing" its U.S. offerings, focusing instead on faster-growing and legacy brands (via Food Manufacturing). That, unfortunately, meant Magnum got the axe, along with 10 other Molson Coors favorites getting discontinued. It's also a little sad considering that Magnum said goodbye in the year of its 40th anniversary, but that's just how business works.

While Magnum may no longer be on store shelves, it appears that bottles can still be found online. If you happen to spot a bottle for sale, just keep in mind that the beer in front of you is at least five years old at this point, and likely older. Drinking beer past its expiration date might not cause you any physical harm, but there's no guarantee it won't taste terrible, either.

There's no guarantee you would've liked Magnum malt liquor back when it was still around. The beverage has an "Awful" rating of 52 on Beer Advocate, though user reviews on the platform tend to range from inoffensive to surprisingly decent. The drink itself was thin in texture and smelled of corn, with an earthy, slightly bitter taste. Drinkers also found it fairly priced, with a 24-ounce can costing around $1.66 in 2019.

By all accounts, it seemed to have been a drink that found its niche market. A Reddit user searched for one last bottle after hearing their favorite cheap beer was being discontinued, while another Redditor remembered it as the 40-ounce bottle of choice in their youth. Back on Beer Advocate, a commenter recalled a neighbor who drank Magnum and described sharing a few bottles with him, despite finding the taste and smell unappealing.

It seems that Magnum's fanbase was too small to bring back. Although a good number of fast food items were saved by the internet through platforms like Change.org (Taco Bell's Mexican Pizza being one of the more famous success stories), there doesn't seem to be any such movement for Magnum. The malt liquor will remain a relic of the past, unless Molson Coors changes its mind like it did with Keystone Ice, which returned in 2026 after being cut alongside Magnum five years earlier.