Bruz: Ballantine Ale is a classic 40 with a classic ale flavor. It's definitely a good brand to grab when you're looking for something different than the OEs & Colts. I'm a big fan of the "spicy" taste of this crisp ale. I drink it often, but drank too often & it can get old. You need your OEs & Colts to balance our your malt lifestyle properly. Overall, this is a great 40 that everyone should drink on special occassions. 8/10 swills

40 Ounce Killa: Thanks out to elantrax for the hookup on this. I was very eager to try this 40 after all the good things I have read about it. Well, it didn't disappoint. This was delicious, with a bit of a funky flavor that reminded me a lot of Private Stock. It was so good that I finished it in about 20 minutes. Buzz factor was pretty decent considering it's not a HG, but that might also have been because I drank it so quick. This is only available in 12oz bottles in my area, but I'm going to start buying it. I give Ballantine 9/10 swills.

91firebird: Shit was good. Very spicy like Bruz said. Kina nutty too. Reminded me of St Pauli Girl or Becks .Good 40, but compared to the other green 40s in rotation gotta say that Private Stock is a little better. Overall great 40. Buzz was OK, ripped a few Coors Light 16ozers after. Overall 8/10 Buzz 7/10, drinkablilty 9/10 this 40 is Nice. Thanks to Splatterhouse for letting me try this 40

4TDogg: Kinda smooth at the start but it fell off from there. was not down with the fruity/bitterness either. thus I drank it slower than usual and paid the price. should carry a warning on the label about dangers of letting schwag get warm. buzz factor was average. 5 out of 10

AK40seven: I'm drinking back a 40oz of Balling Time Ale as I like to call it now. Thanks out to Satan for this trade. I'm sure I've had Ballantine before, but it was so long ago I don't recall if it was the ale or the lager, never had it in a 40oz. This is most definitely an ALE, not only does it say on the bottle, I'll bet I could do a blindfold test on this and tell it's an ale. Crispy and somewhat dry, it has the notable bubbly uniform body of an ale. Rather light bodied and lightly hopped as in the American style, it possesses an easy to drink appeal that most tastes can handle. 7/10 for this American 40oz ale.

Alvin Karpis: First off a big shout out to NickMoulton for the hook up on this East Coast legend. Small crack and hiss, very funky ale smell. First sip and this has Ale written all over it, very good taste. Shit this is just like a weaker Rainier Ale, which is a very good thing! Holy shit I like this alot. Ballantine is to the East Coast what Rainier Ale is to the West Coast, two classic Ales in the 40oz. While drinking this Ballantine I was bumping some River Grove Rap by Satan165 to set the drinking mood. The buzz is even pretty good for a non HG. Everyone should try this 40. Taste 10/10 Buzz 6/10 Overall 9/10 (Extra point for this classic old school brew)

beam21: I ripped 3-4 16oz cans of ballantine in 2004 among a smorgasbord of beers when I was in maine and I've been thirsting for the 40oz like none other ever since... shit was amazing to say the least. Crisp and refreshing, kinda like a watered down private stock. It had an above average crack and it had an instant musky smell that blasted outa there when I cracked it, also similar to p stock. There really isn't that much to say, it was more like drinking a premium brew than a malt/typical 40, delicious, minimal but present buzz. This is the prototype of an everyday 40 and nearly the tastiest I've ever had if not #1. Ballantine 40oz is a revelation. Taste A+ buzz doesn't matter, 9.5/10. Big thanx out to dukesplace for the connect!

Bud404life: I was in the Midst of swillin my Ballantiine and White Mikes drunk ass dropped it and it foamed up, its like a mix of Heiniken and Private stock. If he didnt drop it i would of rated better. It gets a 7.5/10.

Buzzcore: Well, back in the 60's and 70's this stuff was considered a quality brand, in NJ. When the brewery was still in Newark, it was aged in oak barrels for 12 months before it was packaged and sold. The ABV% was much higher than it is now, too. (Currently it's 5.4%) Over the years, the aging process has changed a lot. These days, I doubt it's aged at all, but for what it is, it still tastes pretty good. I'll give it a 8/10 'cause it's easy to find (around these parts, at least) and almost as good as it's Narragansett Brewing mate, Private Stock.

ders0: I got this thanks to dukesplace today. I cracked it open while watching the wild playoff game. The wild just scored to tie it up 1-1. Fucking awesome. First first period goal of the playoff series. Well wild shit happened while drinking this. I'm 3/4 through and its awesome. Right after I cracked it I was swiggin it and it tasted fucking great. I drank a few grain belts and some scotch before it so I was buzzed and I was taking a big swig off teh ballantine and boom I dropped that shit and caught it after it fell a few inches and it starts exploding like when someone cracks a bottle of beer over the top of your open bottle and it blows up all over. I got fucking ballantine spilling all over my carpet and I get up quick and run that shit to the sink. I lost like an inch or two off the 40 in foam but it still tastes alright. Not as good as before, but still good. Ballantine rules.

DolbyZero: Thanks to White Mike for this one. It was the first non-malt that I drank in about a month, so It was kinda weird to me. It was a little like Heineken. It was proabably the best "ALE" that I have, but I couldnt make it my weekend beer. Gave me a little buzz. 6 outta 10 swills.

Drastic Mezures: Ballantine is one of the strongest 40's out there thats not malt liquor. This stuff is as strong as Steel Reserve and every bit as nasty when you first try it. I had a friend try it once and they said it tasted like elephant sperm. I don't know about what elephant sperm tastes like but I do know Ballantine is definetly an aquired taste but once you get used to it it'll fuck you up dumb nice. The first time I had it I tried havin' tacos afterwards and when I went to go eat one it missed my mouth and hit into my chin instead. The next taco I tried to eat missed also. Ballantine definetly messes with your coordination.

ImissMy64oz: great brew
tastes like import
A+

JoeWebberlione: I love ballentine ale, up here in the 207 & down in the 603 this shit is widely available in the 16 oz can and 12 oz bottle. I've ripped both of these on several occasions its one of my main brews of choice, but thanks to my homie Dukesplace for the hookup on the 40 ounce bottle of Ballentine. First crack smell was amazing first chug was great, as a matter a fact I dont think there was a single sip of this that was un satisfying. There was no swill factor what so ever with this stuff. I love this brew so much, and apparently so did my grandpapi on my fathers side. So I got that malt gangsta shit all through my blood! 10 out of 10 swills hands down. This also is my favorite "green bottle 40"

Kool EJ: I love Ballantine Ale. Plain & simple. I recently found out that this was my grandfather's (RIP) drink of choice, along with gin, back in the day, so there must be something in my blood that attracts me to this sh*t!

I'm not sure either what classifies this as "ale". I would guess that it's stronger than beer, not as strong as malt liquor, but I could be wrong, since it tastes plenty strong to me.

My pops said it was traditionally known as a New York beer, even though Falstaff makes it now somewhere in the Midwest. I like that it's pretty easy to come by in NYC, regardless of who's brewing it now.

Overall rating: 10 out of 10. Great taste, nice & strong, cheap. What the f*ck more do you want?

I even made up my own slogan for it:
"Ballantine, feeling fine, sipping some Ballantine!"

lookin 4 a 40: Had this when I went up to New York for new years 08. I found it at this shitty bodega off of broadway and immediately had to make a purchase. They had em in 16oz light green cans labeled "Half Quart" and in the 4's. 40oz- This was remarkebly smooth, in my opinion tastes a little better than P-Stock, imported taste. This brew also stayed ice cold throughout the drinkin and the swill was a non factor. Very easy on the pallate. Green bottle, Smooth import taste both get this brew 9/10 Wish I could find em down south.

MarkBlackout: drank the ballantine drastic meazures sent me tonight.. i have to say i was very impressed. It had been probably four years since i'd had ballantine, and then it was in the lime-green 12oz cans. upon opening (with a loud crack and hiss), a nice hoppy scent emanated from the bottle. this stuff is smooth! much easier to drink than i remembered. sort of somewhere between a pale ale and a lager. i only wish i could get this around here.. highly reccomended. 9 out of 10 swills just because there might be something else out there i like better. purity, body, flavor. great fucking 40.

nickmoulton: Ballantine is common around the poughkeepsie area where I am schoolin'...I'm not going to talk about the smell and the color the SRSER wants to hear...I am going to talk about how much I enjoy this 40, because it is My review. Anyways...Picked this up yesterday at a new joint down the street called the Beer Depot. I have drank a lot of Ballantine in the past, mostly 6 pack cans.. but this 40 (at a rather expensive $2.49) hit the spot better then ever. This shit is delicious..totally different then the malts that you are used to drinking. It has a classic Ale taste, with an Extremely smooth swill. The Alcohol content isnt the greatest at a respectable 5.7%..but who gives a shit? I enjoyed this 40 more then most that I have had lately and I highly recommend it to anyone that has it available to them, I will also Happily send anyone on the board one of these if you are interested...9/10...definitley in my top 3 forties.

satan165: Thanx to my man 64 for the hookup on this bitch. As far as the 2 of us know, this shit is sold in only 1 store in the Chicago and surrounding areas. Immediate comparisons to the green bottle 40s come about -- but this is pretty unique. Of the 'greens', its most similar to Ranier Ale probably. I drank it after a 40 of Big Bear. Its lower alcohol % made it a prime candidate for such an occassion, combined with the fact that I had to drive the 20 miles or so home from 64's crib. All in all, its most similar to Rainier but much easier to drink. Not bad, but I'm not sure if its good enough to drink again. I'll stick with Private Stock. Buzz: C+, Taste: B+

TheSnakeDoctor: My gratitude goes out to Bruz for the hook-up. When I first started to drink it I noticed the piquant taste as everyone else had pointed out, but I also felt that there was nice full body that really increased the drinkability. The smoothness continued through its short life as it was very easy to kill. This is definitely one of the better ales that I've tasted and could certainly be a dinner 40. As for America's largest selling ale ... 8/10

ThUgWiGGa: Drastic hooked me up with a 1.99 SRP ballantine when we met up in montreal.
I cracked it the nite i got home
it was SO good!
very tasty and easy going down.
it is kinda imported tasting but very very smooth and premium tasting
i love this shit i would buy a case if i could access it
9/10

Tiger Tai: Bruz actually gave me this bottle before I ever drank one. I didn't get to drink one of these until I went to New York Christmas shopping. Ballantine actually wasn't too bad. It had a little bitterness but was kinda smooth. I'd give it a 7 of 10 Swills...

Vile Fiend: First of all, thanks to Brooks for hookin me up with this 40 when I was in Chi-town for the 2004 meeting of the minds. This was the first 40 I sipped there, after just one swill my eyes widened and I nearly collapsed……no not really, but it was by far the best tasting 40 I’ve ever had. If I could get this around me, I’d drink it on the reg. In fact, I would probably drink more of this shit than Rainier Ale. Such a great taste, it’s hard to explain, kind of light, kind of crisp, but with a definitive ale taste. I will probably do trades in the future just to acquire more of these delicacies. Not sure what the alc. % is on this bitch, but it was relatively weak, with a small buzz, but the taste more than made up for that. I’d give this 40 a 10 outta 10.