Beer style beer differently. Since sugars are converted to alcohol during the process of fermentation, gravity can be used to estimate the final alcohol. In beer brewing, a distinction is made between the "original gravity", the gravity of the wort before fermentation has begun, and the "final gravity" of the product when fermentation has completed. Since the concentration of sugars is directly proportional to the gravity, the original gravity gives a brewer an idea of the potential alcoholic strength of the final product. After fermentation, the differences between the final and original gravities indicates the amount of sugar converted into alcohol, allowing
P. Ballantine and Sons Brewing Company brand began losing popularity. In 1965 Carl Badenhausen sold the company but remained at the helm until his retirement in 1969. In the mid-1960s the company went into decline. It was losing market share to lighter lagers with less alcohol content. In 1972, despite advertising efforts to revive the company, the owners agreed to sell the brand, the company, and all their assets to the Falstaff Brewing Corporation in 1972. The new owners closed the original brewery in Newark, started brewing elsewhere, and did not strictly adhere to Ballantine's recipes. The general consensus is that, under the stewardship of Falstaff,