I would, that’s who.Back in the old days when I first started drinking Ballantine XXX ale, it had a noticeably short lived skunky aroma. The source of this is from the action of light on the ingredients of the beer. My Ballantine XXX was never in the sun, yet every bottle had a delightful whiff of “Flower”. The ale itself was, and still is, flavorful with a satisfying and lingering aftertaste of bitter hops. Not as much as a good IPA, but enough to differentiate it from ordinary lager-type beers. The reason for the whiffiness was the green bottles, and it didn’t take much sunlight to change the hops iso-alpha-acids into skunkiness. It goes away quickly, though, so get ready for it.
Ballantine XXX Ale and other Ballantine brews had a long and twisted history, summarized nicely on the Falstaff fan site linked below. The beer industry went through a major shake-out after Prohibition, and many wonderful brews went away. The Ballantine lable and some of the brews were repeatedly sold and still managed to survive. So look for it and try it if you can.
Sometime, somewhere when you least expect it, you will open a bottle of good ale, hopefully Ballantine XXX, and get a whiff. Don’t be put off! Enjoy the moment. It may never come around again.
Image: http://www.falstaffbrewing.com/_borders/ballantine.jpg
http://www.falstaffbrewing.com/ballantine_ale.htm
Skunky beer: http://www.evansale.com/skunked_beer.html
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1 comment:
Had a very, *very* hoppy IPA last night -- the kind with a hoppy scent that reached out and smacked you before you got the bottle to your mouth. I drank some of it for you.
Not likely to drink any more of it, as it was really, truly hoppy. Like, "I wonder what it would be like to chew on a handful of hops" hoppy. But I've noted the brand (a local/regional). You can have it when you visit.
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