Ballantine XXX Ale
The world famous three ring sign (Purity, Body and Flavor) has been used since 1879, making it older than any Motorcycle, Escalator or drinking straw. When you are ready to revel in history and enjoy one of America’s finest Ales, reach for a Ballantine and enjoy its flavorful body and taste that no other beer can provide.
2.2
241 reviews
Irwindale, United States
Community reviews
DATE REVIEWED: August 9, 2014... GLASSWARE: Baltika stange... OCCASION: Sharknado with Matt, Jer and Shan--a win!...APPEARANCE: cler golden yellow body; bubbles are consistent; crisp white head that spreads upward with cirrus wisps; smeary lacing... AROMA: funky tin malts--as expected from a 40 oz. bottle--and some banana at the end--mostly wet pennies... PALATE: thin at first; beefy ending; gassy and slick; easy drinking otherwise... TASTE: lemony wheat grass; biscuity and toasted malts reign supreme in this otherwise thin profile...OVERALL: intrigued by its history--and ODB’s proclivity for it, according to song--this 40 oz.er drinks easy and malty with a bit of refreshment to it--but it also is a bit thin and unimpressive in its refrigerated neighborhood, where OE 800 and Mickey’s reside...
Boy, does this one bring back childhood memories. The drinking age in New York was 18, I could get served at age 13, Son of Sam was stalking the city, and this was about the only thing we had too cool us off - especially when the big power failure hit. Don’t know where I’d find it these days.
12oz bottle poured into a shaker glass.
Clear deep hay with a minimal white head.
Adjunct aroma, with soft grains, faint floral hops and white bread.
Light malt flavors, low bitterness, some sweet corn and faint metallic notes.
Light bodied, boring, lager-like. So so.
Bottle at home from old backlog notes. Pours a clear golden/light amber color with a medium sized foamy white head. The aroma and flavor had some earthy hops, grainy and pale malt, hints of fruity esters, everything is pretty soft, if there was something off it was mild too. Light body very forgettable stuff.
Reviewed from notes. More Miller brews, here we go.
Various times this was poured into a pint glass and other times it was poured into a pilsener and honestly, there really wasn’t much difference.
The appearance was a somewhat hazy yellow/orange color with a half finger’s worth of foamy white head that left a little bit of lacing.
The smell was dried and sweetened corn with a little grassiness about it.
The taste was mainly sweet through the corn. There was a decent sweet corn aftertaste with a mild dry sweet to bitter finish.
On the palate, it sat pretty light and showed a fair sessionable quality about it. The carbonation was fairly light but still showed some harshness over the mouth and tongue.
Overall, this isn’t bad if ya don’t pound it. Drink don’t sip and but pound the whole six pack.
Bottle to plastic via the bar. Probably the most foul, I have ever smelled. Strong skunk and armpit aroma. But hey, this beer has a beautiful head. Taste is not much better but with some hay mixed on with light bread. Overall pretty gross.
12oz bottle (Old Notes)-Pours golden with a small head. Aroma of skunk and grains. Taste of the same. This light bodied brew is not as bad after the aroma.
Almost undrinkable. Skunk like you wouldn’t believe. Soapy flavor and terrible off taste in the end. Found an old bottle in an attic that I was re-doing and decided to try it out, not that bottle of course, a new one from the package store, but in the end I don’t think it mattered.
Bottle. Pours lighter with little to no head. Nose and taste of grain and similar flavors. Lighter medium body.
green bottles pours pale gold. skunk wet corn, puke all wrapped in a thin watery body. grosser than expected
Aroma is strong, malty and - ew, more than a bit skunky. It pours a clear straw yellow with a fluffy white head. Flavor is - uh, malty, just a little bit, barely distinguishable from water. Texture is thin and watery, just a little fizzy. Ugh. Well, the best way to appreciate good beer is to have a meh beer now and then.
Pour from a 12 oz bottle. Lighter shade of pale yellow with puffy white head. Aroma of skunk, not much more. Taste is adjunct grain, a little bitter in the finish, more skunk. Palate is thin and lifeless. This is just another low end brew. I used to enjoy this back in the 70’s - maybe they changed the recipe, maybe I was too dumb to know better. Maybe I’m too dumb to know better today and its a great brew....
This is not your grandfathers Ballantine Ale, nor is it your fathers either, and I’m old enough to be one or the other of them. Still, it remains my favorite adjunct beer, a true lawnmower beer, not too repellant, not tasting of bad water shunted through rusty pipes, not corn-syrupy and actually having a little flavor. I prefer this to PBR.
I wish the corporate masters who oversee the production of this old favorite would return to the recipe of years gone by and produce once again that piney flavored, hoppy and refreshing brew that once was America’s largest selling ale.
Bottle @ home. Malt is very evident in the aroma. When poured a heavily carbonated white foam head is revealed above a clear, golden body. Taste is moderately sweet , with an absence of bitterness. Once on the palate you are greeted with a light thin fuzzy abrupt touch. 100% "best seller" typical.
Bottle @ home. Pours clear gold with a medium, foamy and frothy white head, short retention with light lacing. Aroma is spicy and earthy hops, grain and straw malt, and. No esters or off aromas. Flavor is lightly sweet malt, balanced spicy hops and bitterness, clean fermentation and a dry finish with light residual sweetness. Light body and moderate carbonation.
16 ounce can from Amity Wines, New Haven. Pours a clear golden color with a large white head. Good head retention. Aroma of some faint citrus and not much else. The taste is pale malts, apple and citrus. Thin bodied. Not horrible.
Green glass, screw top. Nose isn’t skunky but the initial wave was reminiscent, and the stream of corny, dirty malt did not allay my fear. Taste is sweet and industrial, remarkably dirty, corny with thin malt, heavy grain with minimal grassy hop presence, watery light body little more than an alcohol transference mechanism.
Bottle. Not sure why this is on the list, but I’ll rate it anyways. Golden pour with white head. Light malt tones, kind of like becks or Heineken. Flavor follows in that German/Dutch kind of way. Bland but not awful.
Pours a light straw/light gold color with a boozy head. Aromas of hay, grass, and slight grain. Flavors of straw, hay, and grain. Leaves a medium grain/corn aftertaste. Has a slight stale taste.
Bottle in Boston. Very pale color. Light body. Mild aroma. Tastes light and sweet. Very mild.
Bottle. Pours pale yellow with thin, fizzy white head. Aroma is cereal and bread malts, pears, floral hops, and light toast. Flavor is generic malty beer with some light fruit esters and some faint hops; dry, lightly sweet finish. Light body and medium carbonation.
"HALF QUART", as the can tells me. It’s also America’s largest selling ale... Score! Gold-gold in appearance. Thin whitish head. Blah, blah, blah... Smells and tastes of lawn trimmings, lemon juice, plastic, and ... I don’t know! TICKING THIS SHIT RIGHT NOW!!!!!
Pours a clear pale yellow with a medium white head. Aroma has sweet straw and grass. Flavor is slightly grainy/sweet with skunky grass. Mouthfeel is medium and creamy with a grassy/skunky finish.
12oz bottle - pours pale yellow with quickly diminishing white head and thin lacing. Nose is wet cardboard. Flavor adds hay. Light sweetness and equal bitterness. Usually don’t care for the style but for 89cents... Short finish. Refreshing. Inoffensive.
I’m alaways amazed when I (rareley) drink Ballantine’s!
It’s crisp, clean, has some hops (but not too much) and, incredibly, it’s an old American standby.
Sam Adams and so many other over-hopped, sophomoric brewers should study this beer.
Ballantine’s compares favorably with some of the better Pillsners.
Some brewer should buy this brand and do it justice thru quality control and brand revival and loyalty.
Bottle: Very shy Aroma. Only light notes of grain and hints of hops. Flavor is light bodied, light notes of grain and hops with hints of aroma hops. Easy drinkable, refreshing Heer.
16 oz. canWow! Found this in New Jersey and at Yankee Stadium this past weekend. Ballsy. Not for sissies! Huge malt mouthfeel. Slightly skunky. Heavy. BUT DELIGHTFUL!!!
Pours a clear gold with a decent white head & not much lacing. Aroma is fairly present - some malts? Taste is clean & crisp. Definitely a step up from the "watery" lite beers. Not too bad!
12oz can pours pale gold with a white head. Aromas of straw some malts and a bit funky. Flavor is weird and water
Pours a golden color. Smell is of malts, some sweetness. Taste is a pleasant surprise, malty, a bit of hops, more flavor than expected at this price point. Overall a good value for the dollar.