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Ballantine Ale is one of those seemingly forgotten American beers that, when mentioned, can make your grandfather’s eyes widen with excitement and nostalgia. Its roots can be traced back to a Scottish immigrant who started home brewing in St. Louis, MO in the mid 1700s. Today, the bottle proudly states that it is “Union Made” in Milwaukee.
I read into its history (which is a relatively long one for an American beer) and found that there are many forgotten beers associated with the brewery that produces Ballantine. I’ll leave all that aside and focus on the fact that it’s a good, inexpensive, purely American beer that has survived the Anheuser-Busch regime.
Ballantine is a very drinkable and surprisingly flavorful beer. It’s “dry hopped,” which means that hops are added to the fermentation tank several days after primary fermentation has begun. This makes the beer hoppier. Boiling the hops in the wort before fermentation can yield an overall less flavorful beer.
This is a great beer that won’t fill you up. It’s great by itself or with a meal. I wouldn’t recommend it with filet mignon, but I certainly enjoyed it with pork ribs dowsed in Tabasco. Ballantine’s crispness helped extinguish the spiciness and still had enough flavor to stand up to the meal.
Ballantine is as smooth on your palate as it is on your budget. You can pick up a six pack at the Fairfield Wines and Spirits cooler for about $7.00. It will make Bud Light’s “drinkability” claim seem like a joke.
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