What is the maximum percent of alcohol permitted to be served as a "beer" or "malt beverage"?!
Answers: At 7-11 I noticed they are selling a malt beverage named "Joose" which boasts 9% alcohol. At what point does this stop being beer and require a necesary liquor license?
It varies greatly by state although the majority of states allow an alcoholic beverage of a beer like persuasion up to 12% ABV to be sold with little attention or recourse. Anything above that is when you start getting in to some wonky taxation, distribution, and labeling laws. In Iowa for example, anything above 5% must be purchased via the state liquor agency along with booze orders, or in Texas they randomly label some beers as "Ale" (which is rather stupid BTW since ale is something specific). There are still some states though which absolutely bar the sale of beer with an ABV greater than 6% (I weep for them) such as Alabama.
This link will address any specific concerns you have...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_law...
Samuel Adams makes a beer called Utopias that is 25% ABV, and costs around $150 for a 750 mL bottle
it's not liquor until the producer uses the process of distillation to remove water and concentrate the ethanol
some states do have ABV restrictions or "caps", in which they will not allow beers over a certain ABV to be sold
It probably varies by state.