Ballantine XXX Ale

Pabst Brewing Company
Brewed at Miller Brewing Company (MillerCoors)
Style: Golden Ale/Blond Ale
Woodridge, Illinois USA

The aroma was corny and a bit stinky with DMS fairly strong when first poured. As the head fell back the aroma became lightly spicy with a low level of caramel. The beer poured into the glass clear golden straw with a low white head which didn’t last long. The flavor was nicely flavorful with some corny characteristics and caramel and a bit of sweetness. Hops were only present in the bittering enough to keep the malt from becoming cloying. The finish was just a bit sweet with lasting corn into the aftertaste. The body was medium, actually just a smidge more, with a somewhat low level of carbonation. An ok beer, but not overly flavorful. 12 ounce bottle.

Better than the pitiful rating on this site, this above average golden ale is still better than the three crappy macro pale-lagers:bud, coors, and miller. drink it cold and fast.

Pours a clear golden color with a medium and fizzy white head that dissipates steadily. Stringy lacing. Grainy malt aroma with some corn and weird-smelling hops. Light-bodied with tart sour fruit, earthy malt and light hops. The finish is more grain and malt, with an off-tasting hops aftertaste. Very one dimensional and barely above a drain pour.

This was my dad’s old brand in New York years ago, so I had to try it. The first batch I had was rather nasty, others were much better. The can is a simple, classic design and the beer looks quite attractive when poured. Pretty fair head, moderately long-lasting. No lacing that I saw. Clear, medium gold color with some small bubbles. Carbonation not excessive. Has the sour, ’beery’ aroma typical of mass-produced lagers. Thin on the palate, but not too watery. Flavor is so-so, not as strong as a malt liquor but with more character than other nostalgia brews. Some bitterness and hops on the end, especially when drunken from the can. It has a pretty good kick, which is a plus in my book. Price is quite good for the amount you get. You have to hunt a little in my area, but it’s becoming fairly common in the bigger stores. If you want a cheap beer, you should take it over the other cheap stuff in the case. I know it’s not great, but it has some positive features that lift it to the head of the nostalgia beer class. It’s one of my brands now, too, just like it was my dad’s.

The label proclaims it "America’s Largest Selling Ale", along with "XXX" and the 3 rings of "purity, body, & flavor." A persistent head sits atop a straw-colored brew. There is a wan scent of malt and yeast. The brew is sudsy and weak-bodied, with a moderate hoppy bitterness. I must admit to having some affection for the stuff. For many years this was my top choice for inexpensive drinking assignments, partly because the flavor holds up after repeated glasses. You can also add a dash of Jim Beam (for brave souls only), and it still manages to taste pretty good. Ballantine’s still surpasses most cheap American brews.

THOUGHTS: A step up from Macro lagers, but just a so, so beer. This was probably the first ale I had ever tried, and I rembered it being better than this, but that was back when I was stepping up from Miller Lite and Busch, not stepping down from Stone and Dogfish Head. This one is definitely better cold. TECHNICAL: Bottle. Poured yellow with a average to large, white, foamy head that slowly diminished and left fair lacing. The aroma was light to moderate malt, and moderate barnyard, cheese and earth yeasts. It started out smelling sweet then changed to a barn yard metallic aroma. The initial flavor was moderately sweet and acidic and lightly bitter, while the finish was moderately sweet and heavily bitter with an average finish. The flavors were malt with a little bit of hops and a slight lomony presence. The light body was watery with tingly carbonation and a metallic finish.

40 . . its a golden light color . . aroma is malt liquor and slight hops . . my fav out of all the malt liquors . . very drinkable but i wouldnt say good haha

From a bottle marked D6028 E51089. I originally gave this an 0.8 rating in June ’07 and rated it from memory. So I went out and bought some to try it again and now I am re-rating this in Feb ’08. Pours a golden yellow with a weak head, Kind of metallic and corny taste but not as bad as I remembered. It’s still not a fabulous brew but it is better than I remember.