Brewed by P.
Ballantine & Sons, Newark, N.J. Not intended for commercial sale, this
bottle brewed exclusively for L.M. Cannon on May
12 1934, bottled December of 1941. Ballantine Burton was brewed and aged at
the brewery in several batches over the years, with the intent being to
distribute it as gifts to family friends and sales contacts.
It's not everyday you drink a beer that's old enough to collect Social
Security. Frankly, I wasn't expecting much from this beer. I had heard a lot
of doubts about how good it could be after all this time. True, many beers
will improve with age, but this one had not exactly been stored under
optimal aging conditions. When I popped the cap, a small sigh of CO2
escaped, almost as if the beer was giving up the ghost. I poured half of the
7oz. of beer into two glasses, one for myself and one for a friend. The beer
poured to a beautiful ruby color, the bottom of the bottle was covered with
a sludge of yeast and protein sediment. It pretty much stayed there though,
and didn't end up in the beer. The nose was quite sherry like and vinous.
Then the first sip. Not surprisingly, a lot of oxidation. Not very beery
tasting. But the finish was VERY interesting. Reminiscent of Scotch, hinting
at vanilla, a very high octane burn, perhaps 10% or so alcohol seemed to be
present.
I'm sure this beer tastes nothing like it did when it was first released.
It's not something you'd spend an evening sipping. Still, it's interesting
to drink a piece of history, a beer that was brewed the year after
prohibition was repealed, sat in oak through most of the depression and the
start of World War II, was bottled the month Pearl Harbor was bombed, sat in
someone's house for God knows how long, was sold at an auction in a box of
assorted junk, was auctioned on E-Bay, survived the Postal Service,
and was drunk 65 years after being brewed.
Try it, if you can find it.
And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.
(B)=Bottled
(D)=Draft