Ballantine IPA is not a new craft beer chasing a trend. It is the beer that Americans were drinking in dry-hopped, oak-aged IPA form decades before “craft beer” was a phrase anyone used, and Pabst Brewing Company still makes it today. Here is what is actually in the bottle, how it tastes, and where you can still find it.
At a Glance
| Brewery | Pabst Brewing Company (originally P. Ballantine and Sons, Newark, NJ) |
| Style | American India Pale Ale |
| ABV | 7.2% |
| IBU | 70 |
| First brewed | 1878; reintroduced by Pabst in 2014 |
| Hops | Magnum, Columbus, Willamette, Cascade, plus imported hop oil |
America’s Original IPA, More or Less
Peter Ballantine started brewing in Newark, New Jersey in 1840, and by the mid-20th century his namesake brewery was the third-largest in the United States, trailing only Anheuser-Busch and Schlitz. Ballantine India Pale Ale was aged for up to a year in wooden tanks and dry-hopped with imported hop oil, a process that gave it a hop intensity almost nobody else in American brewing was chasing at the time.
Prohibition, corporate consolidation and changing tastes eventually caught up with it. The brand passed through Falstaff and then Pabst, production moved from Newark to Rhode Island to Indiana to Milwaukee, and the original IPA finally disappeared in 1995. Pabst brought it back in 2014, reverse-engineering the recipe with master brewer Gregory Deuhs to recreate the dry-hopped, oak-contact character of the original.
Pabst also still sells Ballantine XXX Ale, the brand’s lower-ABV, more widely distributed golden ale, which carries the same red-and-blue three-ring logo and a lot of the same hoppy backbone at a gentler 4.85% ABV.
Tasting Notes
The Beer Connoisseur’s professional review describes a deep golden to amber pour with a strong foamy head, and an aroma of “resinous, piney hop” fading into caramel malt with fruity notes of strawberry, tangerine and mandarin orange.
On the palate, expect caramel sweetness and toffee up front, then a “notable surge of hop character” through the middle that brings the beer back into balance, finishing clean and dry as the bitterness and carbonation take over.
“A very flavorful beer, with a blend of fruity esters, caramel malt, and firm bitterness that are not quite integrated.”, The Beer Connoisseur, professional review
Where to Actually Find It
This is the catch. Ballantine’s modern production is contracted out rather than run from a dedicated brewery, so distribution leans heavily on the East Coast: New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and occasionally further south. If your local liquor store does not carry it, calling ahead before a special trip is worth it.
- Genuine brewing history: dry-hopped and oak-aged in a way almost no other mass-produced American beer bothers with
- Hop-forward without tipping into modern hazy-IPA territory; a genuinely different flavor profile than most craft IPAs
- XXX Ale offers a lighter, cheaper way into the same brand and hop character
- Regional distribution mostly limited to the Northeast, so it is not an easy grab-and-go beer nationally
- Not currently available through Saucey, so delivery is not an option in most areas
- Some reviewers note the caramel sweetness and hop bitterness feel slightly unintegrated compared to a modern craft IPA
Beers to Try If You Can’t Find It
If Ballantine IPA is not on shelves near you, these two hop-forward American IPAs are easy to find and easy to get delivered:
For another beer with a similar heritage story, from a brand that helped build the American craft scene before disappearing, see our Pete’s Wicked Ale review.
FAQs
Is Ballantine IPA still made?
Yes. Pabst Brewing Company reintroduced it in 2014 after reverse-engineering the original recipe, and it is still produced today, mainly for Northeast markets.
What is the ABV of Ballantine IPA?
7.2% ABV with 70 IBUs, noticeably stronger and hoppier than Ballantine XXX Ale’s 4.85% ABV.
Is Ballantine XXX Ale the same as Ballantine IPA?
No. XXX Ale is Ballantine’s lighter, more widely available golden ale. The IPA is a separate, stronger, more hop-intensive product built on the brand’s original 19th-century recipe.
Where can I buy Ballantine beer?
Mostly in Northeast US states including New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Pennsylvania. It is not currently available through Saucey; Bell’s Two Hearted Ale IPA and Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA (linked above) are easy-to-find alternatives.
