I am a ginger ale fiend. Whenever I can get my hands on a new kind of ginger ale, I'm all over it. I am referring to 'golden ginger ales.' These are ginger ales that have a very robust ginger flavour (or should at least) and are often made by fermenting ginger pulp along with sugar and sometimes other spice.
'Dry ginger ales' are those like Canada Dry, Seagram's, and the like. These were created during the prohibition as a mixer and have much less of a ginger 'kick' than golden ales.
This post documents the golden ginger ales I have tried so far, with the addition of Vernor's, a dry ginger ale, that I've added because it is a sort of midwest/east coast novelty for me.
I've reviewed these ginger ales in terms of flavour, heat, colour, and the presence of ginger pulp.
The Ginger People's Ginger Beer: Warm, dark, smoldering is how I'd describe it. Strong ginger flavour balanced nicely with sweet. The heat seems to build as you drink it. Contains ginger pulp. Milky hue. Top 3
The Ginger People's Lemon Ginger Beer: Very similar to the original GP's ginger beer, but perhaps brighter and cleaner in flavour. It is in a green bottle and that alone sways my senses to a cleaner taste vs. the brown bottle of the original. Still has a strong presence of ginger and is quite delicious. Contains ginger pulp and is clear when ginger pulp is settled, though I believe takes on a milky hue when the ginger pulp is dispersed.
Blenheim Red Cap Ginger Ale: Spicy, bright, intense, clean. Real spicy punch on first sip. Subsequent sips are also hot (though one can grow accustomed to it over time...though last time I drank the last 1/4 of the bottle fairly quickly and my mouth was hot for quite a while afterwards). Good ginger flavour, though, to me, the spice of the ginger is largely supplemented by some third party spice. No ginger pulp. Rich amber colour. Top 3
Cock and Bull Ginger Beer: Similar to GP's Ginger Beer, but not quite as strong to me. Still very delicious. Same warmth of GP's. Perhaps more ginger flavour though? I'd have to try it again. Contains ginger pulp. I believe milky hued as well (it's in a dark bottle dontcha know!)
Reed's Ginger Ale: Not my favourite. Not that strong, and it has a weird flowery/honey flavour that I'm not accustomed to. And believe me, I tried. I got a 4-pack for Christmas. Kinda had to force myself to drink it all. It was fine going down for the most part (though mild), but the breath out had that weird flowery smell/taste. Wouldn't buy again. Contains ginger pulp. Clearish I believe.
Oogave Ginger Ale: Made with agave nectar as sweetener, this ale (which I'm drinking as I type) is very desserty. Think a mild ginger ale meets cream soda. Or simply a ginger ale with added cream. Very mild ginger flavour. It's very good, though not what I was expecting. I would drink one of these after dinner as a sort of dessert. It's very good. Not what I had in mind, but it's good. No ginger pulp. Slightly milky colour, taking whatever hue is behind it.
Vernor's: This is a good ginger ale, though I really think it borders on a dry, if it isn't classified as such already. The bubbles will make you cough, VERY spicy bubbles, but somehow, the drink itself is very mild. Heavily carb'd. I'll have to try a full one though, I only had a sip of my mom's (one of my presents to her (6-pack), she grew up with it, so I don't want to impose on her present:) ) Golden colour. No ginger pulp.
Fentimans Ginger Beer: I was really looking forward to trying this one. At the local Market of Choice in Corvallis where I have purchased all of these ales (save Vernor's), a four pack of Fentiman's was almost $10. Or about $2.80 ish for one bottle. Compared to The Ginger People's Ginger Beer at about $6 for a four pack. Here's the kicker: Fentimans is only 9.3 oz. Compared to all the above which are 12 oz. bottles. I figured I was going to hit ginger ale paydirt.
What I found was a ginger beer, that, while still very good, did not approach the complexity of flavour or spice that most of the above accomplished. It was only slightly spicy and unfortunately left me with a 'blah' feeling. It surpasses Reed's, but for the price, is a very mediocre ginger ale. I believe it also possesses a milky hue (housed in a very dark bottle). Contains ginger pulp.
I must say though, that it has the most interesting bottle of all. Short and squatty, and adorned with the words "Botanically Brewed" and wrapped in traditional looking stickers. Very classy. I will be sampling their other soda offerings as they market some very interesting sounding drinks.
Sprecher Ginger Ale: This one interested me as is has a penguin and blue flames on the label. This is the most 'wallet-friendly' ginger ale I've come across a around $1.70 ish for 16 oz. But compared with the other offerings, you get what you pay for. That shouldn't come across as saying it's a bad ginger ale, just that it isn't at the caliber of some of the above-mentioned. It was a very even-stevens ginger ale that had a bit of spice, nothing to write home about, and a good ginger flavour. At 16 ounces though, it was perfect for drowning away my sorrows of a poor calculus test taken earlier that day. If my memory serves me right, this one did not contain any ginger pulp.
I'll add to this post either with a series...I've always wanted to have a running blog series... or just by editing this post... but thinking about it. I'm going with the series. Hooray! I'm hoping to give homemade ginger ale another shot, this time with brewer's yeast and not instant. I'll return with results.
Ethan.
