Malt liquor is beer. There are essentially three types of beers: 1) lagers (bottom fermented brewed at near freezing temps), 2) ales (top fermenting brewed at cellar temps around 50-60 degrees F) and 3) steam beer (a hybrid using lager yeast brewed at ale temperatures). Pilsner, vienna, marzen, bock, oktoberfest are all examples of lagers. Stout, India pale ale (IPA), bitter, ESB, porter, barleywine, scotch ale, altbier, heifeweizen, etc., are examples of ales. Anchor Steam is a steam beer.
In many states, a lager with an alcohol content of above a certain percentage must be labeled "malt liquor." In CA, that arbitrary percentage is 6% alcohol by volume. However, ales (and presumably steam beers) of any percentage need not be labeled "malt liquor."