Ballantine was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
breweryA brewery is a dedicated building for the making of beer, though beer can be made in the home, and has been for much of beer's history. A company which makes beer is called either a brewery or a brewing company....
, founded by
Peter BallantinePeter Ballantine was founder of Patterson & Ballantine Brewing Company in 1840 in Newark, New Jersey.-Biography:...
who was born in
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
in 1781. It is best known for Ballantine Ale, a pale
aleAle is a type of beer brewed from malted barley using a top-fermenting brewers' yeast. This yeast ferments the beer quickly, giving it a sweet, full bodied and fruity taste. Most ales contain hops, which impart a bitter herbal flavour that helps to balance the sweetness of the malt and preserve the...
that is one of the oldest brands of beer in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. At its peak, Ballantine was the 4th largest brewer in the United States.
The company was founded in 1840 in
Newark, New JerseyBrick City redirects here. For the township in Ocean County, see Brick Township, New Jersey.Newark is the largest city in New Jersey, and the county seat of Essex County. Newark has a population of 281,402, making it the largest municipality in New Jersey and the 65th largest city in the U.S...
, by
Peter BallantinePeter Ballantine was founder of Patterson & Ballantine Brewing Company in 1840 in Newark, New Jersey.-Biography:...
(1791-1883), who emigrated from
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
Ballantine was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
breweryA brewery is a dedicated building for the making of beer, though beer can be made in the home, and has been for much of beer's history. A company which makes beer is called either a brewery or a brewing company....
, founded by
Peter BallantinePeter Ballantine was founder of Patterson & Ballantine Brewing Company in 1840 in Newark, New Jersey.-Biography:...
who was born in
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
in 1781. It is best known for Ballantine Ale, a pale
aleAle is a type of beer brewed from malted barley using a top-fermenting brewers' yeast. This yeast ferments the beer quickly, giving it a sweet, full bodied and fruity taste. Most ales contain hops, which impart a bitter herbal flavour that helps to balance the sweetness of the malt and preserve the...
that is one of the oldest brands of beer in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. At its peak, Ballantine was the 4th largest brewer in the United States.
Ballantine era
The company was founded in 1840 in
Newark, New JerseyBrick City redirects here. For the township in Ocean County, see Brick Township, New Jersey.Newark is the largest city in New Jersey, and the county seat of Essex County. Newark has a population of 281,402, making it the largest municipality in New Jersey and the 65th largest city in the U.S...
, by
Peter BallantinePeter Ballantine was founder of Patterson & Ballantine Brewing Company in 1840 in Newark, New Jersey.-Biography:...
(1791-1883), who emigrated from
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. 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-BuschAnheuser-Busch Companies, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev, is the largest brewing company in the United States. The company operates 12 breweries in the United States and nearly 20 in other countries...
. Ballantine added a second brewery location, also in Newark, in order to brew
lagerLager is a type of beer that is stored for at least three weeks before being served. It is a general term that includes several variations or styles, such as Pilsener, Export and Märzen.-History of lager brewing:...
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 from cancer in 1895. The last son died in 1905 and the company was taken over by George Griswold Frelinghuysen, the company’s vice-president, who was married to Peter Ballantine’s granddaughter.
Frelinghuysen era
George Griswold Frelinghuysen (1851-1936) was the son of
Frederick Theodore FrelinghuysenFrederick Theodore Frelinghuysen was a member of the United States Senate representing New Jersey and a United States Secretary of State.-Early life and education:...
and Matilda Elizabeth Griswold. He graduated from Rutgers College in 1870, received his Bachelor of Laws from
Columbia UniversityColumbia University in the City of New York is a private university in the United States and a member of the Ivy League. Columbia's main campus lies in the Morningside Heights neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan, in New York City...
Law School in 1872, and was admitted to the
New JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered on the north by New York, and to the east by the Hudson River, Upper New York Bay, the Kill Van Kull, Newark Bay, the Arthur Kill, Raritan Bay, Sandy Hook Bay, Westchester County, New York City, Long Island, and...
and
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
bars in 1872 and 1876 respectively. George married Sara Linen Ballantine on April 26, 1881. Sara was the granddaughter of
Peter BallantinePeter Ballantine was founder of Patterson & Ballantine Brewing Company in 1840 in Newark, New Jersey.-Biography:...
, the company founder. George and Sara had two children together: Peter Hood Ballantine Frelinghuysen I (1882-?) who married Adaline Havemeyer (1884-?); and Matilda Elizabeth Frelinghuysen (1887-?). He started his career as a patent lawyer, eventually working for and becoming President of Ballantine at the death of Robert Francis Ballantine (1836-1905), who was the last surviving son of founder
Peter BallantinePeter Ballantine was founder of Patterson & Ballantine Brewing Company in 1840 in Newark, New Jersey.-Biography:...
. George died in 1935 and the
George Griswold Frelinghuysen ArboretumThe George Griswold Frelinghuysen Arboretum is an arboretum located at 53 East Hanover Avenue, Morristown, New Jersey. It is open daily without charge. It is also the headquarters of the Morris County Parks Commission....
is named for him.
Badenhausen era
In 1933 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 1950's, 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.
Specialty Products
Through the years Ballantine offered a range of products in addition to its flagship Ale and Lager; other specialties included a Porter; a Brown Stout; a dark lager; and a Bock beer. Also in regular production was a now legendary and very highly regarded world-class
India Pale AleIndia Pale Ale, abbreviated IPA, is an ale that is light amber to copper in colour, medium to medium-high alcohol by volume, with hoppy, bitter and sometimes malty flavor. IPA is a style of beer that is usually included in the broader category of pale ale. It was first brewed in England in the 18th...
(an intensely bitter and aromatic brew which was aged 1 year in wood prior to bottling). Also of note was a special Burton Ale (which was aged from 10-20 years in wood prior to bottling). The Burton Ale was never a commercially sold product, rather, it was a special strong brew in the barleywine style which was given as a gift at Christmas to Ballantine distributors and VIPs. Surviving unopened bottles are still bought, sold and traded to this day among collectors, more than 60 years after being brewed. Because of the long aging and generous hopping as well as an ABV content comparable to barleywines, the beer had remarkable keeping qualities. While it could be argued that the beer was probably at its prime at the time of bottling, reports of modern day tastings indicate that properly handled vintage bottles of this unique beer still yield a complex taste experience of very high calibre.
Decline
In the 1960s the company went into decline. The breweries were closed and the brands acquired by Falstaff Brewing under whose stewardship the beers remained faithful for a time to their original flavor profile. By the late 1980s, though, Ballantine Ales were produced by a number of different outsourced companies. Katherine Ballantine, granddaughter of Pete, now resides in Greenwich, CT. Alice Saunders, great granddaughter of Peter and Alice Ballantine currently lives in NJ, with her husband Kerby Saunders, former owner of Carleton Stuart Corp, current owner of Saunders Enterprises and Mangnalube. Together they have three children; Luke, Leah Ballantine, and James. They each still receive dividends from the Ballantine estate and Ballantine House Museum in Newark, New Jersey.
Brand name sold
Since 2005, the Ballantine Ale brand has been owned and marketed by the
Pabst Brewing CompanyPabst Brewing Company is an American company that dates its origins to a brewing company founded in 1844 by Jacob Best and by 1889 named after Frederick Pabst. It is currently the holding company contracting for the brewing of over two dozen brands of beer and malt liquor from defunct companies...
, which in turn outsources the brewing to the
Miller Brewing CompanyMiller Brewing Company merged with Coors Brewing Company on July 1, 2008, to become MillerCoors. Prior to the joint venture, Miller Brewing was the second largest brewing company in the United States behind Anheuser-Busch and was based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It was owned by SABMiller...
.
The brand today
Because Ballantine is now widely sold in 40 oz bottles, it is often lumped together with
Olde English 800Olde English 800 is a brand of malt liquor produced by the Miller Brewing Company...
and other
malt liquorMalt liquor is a North American term referring to a type of beer with high alcohol content. In legal statutes, the term often includes any alcoholic beverage above or equal to 5% alcohol by volume made with malted barley. In common parlance, however, it is used for high alcohol beers made with...
s in the public mind
http://www.falstaffbrewing.com/ballantine_ale.htm. By contrast, in its heyday it was a popular and well-regarded pale ale. While there are claims that the original formula has not been changed since then,
it is fairly obvious that the formula and brewing process have both changed quite considerably over the years (multiple times) and that the present day Ballantine bears only a very slight resemblance to the original brew. This is most notably evident in the lack of hop character that was present in the original (which was a direct result of the generous addition of house-distilled aromatic hop oils). Despite a greatly diminished flavor profile, Ballantine Ale remains a beer of character (particularly given its price) when compared to its peers, even if somewhat altered from its glory days as "America's Best Selling Ale".
Logo
The Ballantine logo is three interlocking rings, in a design known as
Borromean ringsIn mathematics, the Borromean rings consist of three topological circles which are linked and form a Brunnian link, i.e., removing any ring results in two unlinked rings.- Mathematical properties :...
. In the logo used in advertising, the rings were labeled "Purity, Body, Flavor".
http://www.falstaffbrewing.com/ballantine_ale.htm http://im-possible.info/english/articles/borromeo/ According to one legend, Peter Ballantine was inspired to use the pattern after seeing by the condensation rings left on a table top from beer glasses.
http://www.euroartmagazine.com/new/?page=1&content=110
Presidents
- Peter Ballantine
Peter Ballantine was founder of Patterson & Ballantine Brewing Company in 1840 in Newark, New Jersey.-Biography:...
(1781-1883) from 1840 through 1883
- Robert Francis Ballantine (1836-1905) possibly from 1883 through 1905
- George Griswold Frelinghuysen (1851-1936) possibly from 1905 through 1936
- Carl Badenhausen (1894-1981) from 1933 through 1969
Ballantine in popular culture
- The brewery had a long sponsorship arrangement with the New York Yankees on television and radio, spanning the 1940s to the 1960s. Team announcers, most notably the legendary Mel Allen
Mel Allen was an American sportscaster, best known for his long tenure as the primary play-by-play announcer for the New York Yankees. During the peak of his career in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, Allen was arguably the most prominent member of his profession, his voice familiar to millions...
, labeled Yankee home runs, "Ballantine Blasts." Ballantine was responsible for making Phil RizzutoPhilip Francis Rizzuto , nicknamed "The Scooter", was an American shortstop in Major League Baseball who spent his entire career from 1941 to 1956 with the New York Yankees....
a Yankee broadcaster after his release. Years after he was famously let go by the Yankees, Allen told author Curt SmithCurt Smith is an American author, media host and columnist.Smith is a 1973 graduate of SUNY at Geneseo. He worked as a Gannett Company reporter, a speechwriter to former Texas Governor John Connolly, and an editor at the Saturday Evening Post. In 1989 he joined the George H.W...
that Ballantine had ordered his firing as a cost-cutting move.
- In Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Raoul Duke orders a Ballantine in Baker, California: "a very mystic long shot, unknown between Newark and San Francisco."
- Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in 1968 by Jimmy Page , Robert Plant , John Paul Jones and John Bonham . With their heavy, guitar-driven sound, Led Zeppelin are regarded as one of the first heavy metal bands, helping to pioneer the genre...
drummer John BonhamJohn Henry "Bonzo" Bonham was an English drummer and songwriter, best known as the drummer of the band Led Zeppelin.He was renowned for his power, fast right foot, distinctive sound and "feel" for the groove....
was reputed to have "borrowed" the design of Ballantine's three-ring logoIn mathematics, the Borromean rings consist of three topological circles which are linked and form a Brunnian link, i.e., removing any ring results in two unlinked rings.- Mathematical properties :...
for his representative symbol on Led Zeppelin IVThe untitled fourth album by English rock band Led Zeppelin was released on 8 November 1971. No official title is printed on the album, but it is generally referred to as Led Zeppelin IV, following the naming standard used by the band's first three studio albums...
.
- Some statisticians refer to Venn diagram
Venn diagrams or set diagrams are diagrams that show all hypothetically possible logical relations between a finite collection of sets . Venn diagrams were conceived around 1880 by John Venn...
s as Ballentines (note spelling) because the beer can's label looked like a Venn diagram.
- The Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys is an American hip hop group from New York City. The group comprises Michael "Mike D" Diamond, Adam "MCA" Yauch, and Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz...
made reference to Ballantine in their song "High Plains Drifter" on 1989's "Paul's Boutique", with the lyric: "Ballantine quarts with the puzzle on the cap". Ballantine bottle caps have a rebus puzzle printed on the underside.
- The abstract expressionist
Abstract expressionism was an American post-World War II art movement. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve worldwide influence and put New York City at the center of the western art world, a role formerly filled by Paris....
painter Willem de KooningWillem de Kooning was an abstract expressionist artist, born in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.In the post-World War II era, de Kooning painted in a style that came to be referred to variously as Abstract expressionism, Action painting, and the New York School...
said of galleryAn art gallery or art museum is a space for the exhibition of art, usually visual art.Museum can be public or private but what distinguishes a Museum is the ownership of a collection. Paintings are the most commonly displayed art objects; however, sculpture, photographs, illustrations,...
owner Leo CastelliLeo Castelli was an American art dealer. He was best known to the public as an art dealer whose gallery showcased cutting edge Contemporary art for five decades...
, that "he could sell anything. He could even sell beer cans." The artist Jasper JohnsJasper Johns, Jr. is an American contemporary artist who works primarily in painting and printmaking. He is represented by the Matthew Marks Gallery.-Life:...
heard of this statement, and produced a series of castings in bronzeBronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive, but sometimes with other elements such as phosphorus, manganese, aluminium, or silicon. It was particularly significant in antiquity, giving its name to the Bronze Age...
of Ballantine Ale cans, with labels painted on, under the title Painted Bronze.
- Artwork on the label is a set of Borromean rings
In mathematics, the Borromean rings consist of three topological circles which are linked and form a Brunnian link, i.e., removing any ring results in two unlinked rings.- Mathematical properties :...
; these are mathematically interesting because all three are interlinked but no two of them are linked.
- Notorious B.I.G. made reference to Ballantine in his song "Long Kiss Goodnight", with the lyric: "Distribute to kids who, take heart like Valentine, drink Ballantine, all the time".
- The Wu-Tang Clan
The Wu-Tang Clan is a New York City-based hip hop group. Wu-Tang Clan consists of RZA, GZA, Raekwon, U-God, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, Method Man, Masta Killa, the late Ol' Dirty Bastard, and Cappadonna...
has made many affectionate references to the drink, i.e. "shine shine shine like 409 / here comes the drunk monk with a quart of Ballantine" (GZAGary Grice , better known by his stage name GZA and The Genius, is an American hip hop artist best known as a founding member of the seminal hip hop group the Wu-Tang Clan and for his inclusion on their group albums, his groupmates' solo releases and a successful solo career...
, Clan In Da Front)
- Singer-songwriter
A singer–songwriter is a musician who writes, composes and sings their own material including lyrics and melodies. They often provide the sole accompaniment to an entire composition or song, typically using a guitar or piano...
Kevin DevineKevin Devine is an American songwriter and musician from Brooklyn, New York, who is known for alternately introspective and political lyrics and melodic acoustic guitar tunes. He cites his influences as Bob Dylan, Elliott Smith, Brother Paramo and Nirvana, among others. He grew up in Brooklyn and...
references the drink in his song "Afterparty," i.e. "you keep drinking all my Ballantine and laughing while your lips turn blue."
- Tom Waits
Thomas Alan "Tom" Waits is an American singer-songwriter, composer and actor. Waits has a distinctive voice, described by critic Daniel Durchholz as sounding "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car."...
mentions Ballantine in his 1983 song "Swordfishtrombone".
- On the television show Frasier
Frasier is an American sitcom broadcast on NBC for eleven seasons, from September 16, 1993 to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee in association with Paramount Television.A spin-off from Cheers, Frasier stars Kelsey Grammer as psychiatrist...
, the title characterDr. Frasier Winslow Crane, M.D., Ph.D., A.P.A. is a fictional character on American television sitcoms Frasier and Cheers. He was played by Kelsey Grammer for twenty years, tying the record for the longest-running character on prime-time American television, which was set by James Arness, who...
's father, Martin CraneMartin "Marty" Crane is a character on the American television show Frasier. He is played by Lancashire-born actor John Mahoney. Martin is the father of Frasier and Niles Crane.- Biography :...
frequently drank Ballantine and it was referred to extensively. In one episode, while discussing a trip to FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
, Frasier notes that Martin could enjoy an imported beer in a cafe, to which Martin replies "I only like Ballantines." Frasier ripostes by pointing out that, in France, it is imported beer. In another episode, Ballantines is being discontinued, possibly a reference to the real-life decline of the brand. Martin exclaims, "Christmas just won't be the same without Ballantines!" His son asks if anything is the same to him without Ballantines, to which Martin replies, "Sure, lots of things." (Thoughtful pause, then), "No, not really."
- Singer-songwriter
A singer–songwriter is a musician who writes, composes and sings their own material including lyrics and melodies. They often provide the sole accompaniment to an entire composition or song, typically using a guitar or piano...
Aimee MannAimee Mann is an American rock guitarist, bassist, singer, and noted songwriter. She has won a Grammy Award .-Early life:...
references the drink in her song "Ballantines." The music video includes references to the product and the original logo.
External links