Ballantine Ale

P. Ballantine and Sons Brewing Company was an American brewery founded in 1840, making Ballantine one of the oldest brands of beer in the United States. At its peak, it was the 3rd largest brewer in the US. The brand is currently owned and operated by Pabst Brewing Company. Throughout history it is best known for its Ballantine XXX Ale; however, in August 2014 Ballantine IPA relaunched and has been received with mixed reviews (3.46 on Untappd). Ballantine is Pabst's foray into the craft beer market.

History

Ballantine era

The company was founded in 1840 in Newark, New Jersey, by Peter Ballantine (1791–1883), who emigrated from Scotland. The company was originally incorporated as the Patterson & Ballantine Brewing Company. Ballantine rented an old brewing site which had dated back to 1805. Around 1850, Ballantine bought out his partner and purchased land near the Passaic River to brew his ale. His three sons joined the business and in 1857 the company was renamed P. Ballantine and Sons. The name would be used for the next 115 years, until the company closed its brewery in May 1972. By 1879, it had become sixth largest brewery in the US, almost twice as large as Anheuser-Busch. Ballantine added a second brewery location, also in Newark, in order to brew lager beer to fill out the company product line. Peter Ballantine died in 1883 and his eldest son had died just a few months earlier. His second oldest son then controlled the company until his own death in 1895. The last son died in 1905.

Frelinghuysen era

Following the death of the last son of Peter Ballantine the company was taken over by George Griswold Frelinghuysen, the company's vice-president, who was married to Ballantine's granddaughter.

Frelinghuysen was the son of Frederick Theodore Frelinghuysen and Matilda Elizabeth Griswold. He graduated from Rutgers College in 1870, received his Bachelor of Law from Columbia University Law School in 1872, and was admitted to the New Jersey and New York bars in 1872 and 1876 respectively.

The 18th Amendment took effect in 1920, beginning Prohibition. The company was forced to consolidate, and they manufactured malt syrup to stay in business. The Ballantine family continued to own the brewing company all throughout Prohibition. But by the time the 21st amendment was passed in 1933, the family was ready to sell the company.

Badenhausen era

In 1933, after Prohibition was lifted, the Ballantine company was acquired by two brothers, Carl and Otto Badenhausen. The Badenhausens grew the brand through its most successful period of the 1940s and 1950s, primarily through clever advertising. Ballantine Beer was the first television sponsor of the New York Yankees. It was during this period that the brand was elevated to the number three beer in the U.S. It was also during this period that the company grew into one of the largest privately held corporations in the United States. Ballantine Beer enjoyed a high level of success into the early 1960s, however, by the mid-sixties, the brand began losing popularity. In 1965 Carl Badenhausen sold the company but remained at the helm until his retirement in 1969.

The decline

In the mid-1960s the company went into decline. It was losing market share to lighter lagers with less alcohol content. Despite advertising efforts to revive the company, the owners agreed to sell the brand, the company, and all their assets to the Falstaff Brewing Corporation in 1972.

The new owners closed the original brewery in Newark, started brewing elsewhere, and did not strictly adhere to Ballantine's recipes. Falstaff was successfully sued for violating the terms of the sales contract. The general consensus is that, under the stewardship of Falstaff, the beers remained faithful for a time to their original flavor profile. But Falstaff was doing poorly financially and was sold to Pabst in 1985. At an unknown point during these changes, the original recipes were lost.

Pabst continued to brew some of the Ballantine portfolios throughout the late 1980s and 1990s. They stopped brewing the IPA in 1996, and gradually all of the beers were discontinued with the exception of the flagship Ballantine XXX Ale. Throughout the 2000s and into the 2010s, Pabst continued to brew Ballantine's signature ale, but the recipe changed several times. The most notable changes are a markedly lower bitterness, lower alcohol content, fewer hops, and in general a much less assertive aromatic character. The use of distilled hop oil was discontinued until 2014 when Pabst Brewing Company relaunched a new version of Ballantine IPA.

The revival

In August 2014, a version of Ballantine IPA was revived by Pabst Brewing Company. Reports indicate that the original recipe has been long lost; however, some pains have been taken to attempt to recreate the palate and distinctive aroma of the original product. The recipe was reverse engineered by Pabst brewmaster Greg Deuhs. Because he had no recipe, he relied on analytical chemistry reports from as far back as the 1930s that tracked the ale's attributes (alcohol, bitterness, gravity level). He also researched what ingredients were likely used, historical accounts of the beer and beer lovers' remembrances.

In an interview in September 2014, brewmaster Greg Deuhs discussed the possibility of bringing back other beers in the Ballantine portfolio: "Just on the Ballantine side we're looking at the Brown Stout, they also made a Bock as well as the Burton Ale, which was highly regarded. I would like to bring out the Burton Ale as the true Barleywine Style Ale that it was. ..ight now our hands are full with the Ballantine relaunch, but yes, we are starting to stoke the fire on what we can bring back."

On November 13, 2014, Pabst announced that it had completed its sale to Blue Ribbon Intermediate Holdings, LLC. Blue Ribbon is a partnership between American beer entrepreneur Eugene Kashper and TSG Consumer Partners, a San Francisco–based private equity firm. Prior reports suggested the price agreed upon was around $700 million.

Because Ballantine XXX Ale has in recent years been widely sold in 40-ounce bottles, it is often lumped together with Olde English 800 and other malt liquors in the public mind. This is in direct contradiction with Pabst's vision for the brand today. Pabst revived Ballantine India Pale Ale to enter the craft beer market. It is unclear at this time if Pabst will take steps to align Ballantine XXX Ale more with the brand of the relaunched Ballantine IPA.

In July 2015, during an interview with John Holl, Kashper hinted at the possibility of building a small brewery in Newark, NJ, where the company was founded.

On November 16, 2015, Pabst announced that it would be reviving Ballantine Burton Ale for the 2015 holiday season. This new version was reverse engineered by Pabst brewmaster Greg Deuhs as was Ballantine IPA from 2014. This barleywine style ale has 11.3% ABV, 75 IBUs, and a starting gravity of 26.5 Plato. It is no longer aged 10–20 years in oak barrels, but to help recreate the flavor of the original, Pabst ages this reboot for several months in barrels lined with American oak. The major difference is that this rendition will be sold to the general public, while the original was only given as gifts to high ranking executives at the company, friends of the company, and VIPs such as President Harry S. Truman. Pabst says this is a seasonal brew and have made no comment as to any further plans with Ballantine Burton Ale after the 2015 holiday season.

Logo

The Ballantine logo is three interlocking rings, a design known as the Borromean rings. According to legend, Peter Ballantine was inspired to use the symbol when he noticed the overlapping condensation rings left by beer glasses on a table; however, this logo was not created until 1879. In some advertising campaigns in the mid-1900s, Peter Ballantine was referred to as "Three-Ring Pete"; however, it is unknown if this was his nickname when he was alive. The rings represent "Purity, Body, and Flavor". New York Yankees announcer Mel Allen called it "the Three-Ring Sign".Baseball-fever.com archive

Products

Throughout the years, Ballantine offered a wide range of different products, some of these include:
* The XXX Ale, their flagship product, which is top fermented.
* A light lager
* A dark lager
* An India Pale Ale, which was an intensely bitter and aromatic brew that was aged for a year in wood prior to bottling.
* A Brown Stout, also aged for a year in wood prior to bottling.
* A Porter, with the XXX designation.
* A Bock beer
* A Burton ale, never commercially sold, it was brewed to be given as a gift to Ballantine distributors, executives, and VIPs. It was a strong brew in the barleywine

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