English food revisited - Ginger Beverage

bboyminn bboyminn at yahoo.com
Tue Sep 22 22:24:20 UTC 2009


---  "Tonks" <tonks_op at ...> wrote:
>
> 
>...
>
> Tonks:
> This reminds me. When I went to the UK many years ago, they had the best Ginger Ale. ...
> 
> I just ate a Java bar. ... Not that great anyway. I am looking forward to the Java (Jaffa?) cakes which I will have later tonight.  I really need to go on a diet, all of this sugar is probably killing me.
> 
> And Steve, why are you 'blue wizard'now. Are you depressed? Or freezing?
> Tonks_op
>

bboyminn:

Responding to Tonks and to someone who made a related comment,
I've always felt that whether a ginger beverage was call Ginger
Ale, Ginger Brew, or Ginger Beer was purely up to the maker and
had no real significants. Though I could be wrong.

I've tried several Ginger beverages from around the world.

Bundaburg Ginger Beer from Australia is very good. Has not 
nice heat without being excessive.

http://www.liquorama.net/bundaberggingerbeernon-alcoholicbeverageaustralia4pack375ml.aspx

Probably the best all round Ginger Ale is Boylans, made with
pure cane sugar. Excellent well balanced ginger ale with 
just a hint of burn.

http://www.boylanbottling.com/

http://www.beveragesdirect.com/detail-215-Boylans_Bottleworks_Ginger_Ale_24_Pack.asp?aid=15

Of course, as I already said, Blenheim's is by far the best,
and they have several different types with different levels of
heat and sweetness. I prefer 'Old #3 Hot'. 

http://theacf.com/blenheim/

http://blenheimshrine.com/

Now there are several regional ginger brews. 

Reed's Ginger Brew, also in a variety of heats and sweetnesses,
is very good with a hint of pineapple. I uses Jamaican Ginger.

http://www.reedsgingerbrew.com/index.php

Reed's also makes ginger ice cream, which, if you like ginger,
is very good.

Locally the easiest to get is Sioux City beverages. 

http://siouxcitybeverages.com/SiouxCity.cfm

While they make a very good Ginger Beer, moderately hot; they
make a Cream Soda to die for, and a very good Saraparilla, as
well as a good Root Beer. 

Also, if you have a Target food store or Target Superstore
near you, try their house brand "Archer Farms" Ginger Ale, 
very good, and reasonably priced. 

Another local Wisconsin micro/craft brewery makes a fantastic
Ginger Ale is Sprecher's Brewery. They do make beer and ale,
but also brew several non-alchololic beverages. There are
true brewed, not just carbonated flavored water.

http://www.sprecherbrewery.com/soda.php

They come in large bottles lightly sweetened, and pleasantly
hot with a hint of vanilla. Because these are only lightly
sweetened, there can be a hint of slightly bitter aftertaste.
Though it has never stopped me from consuming bottle after
bottle of the stuff. 

Now, if you want some fire, the consider Stewart's Ginger Beer;
this, my friend, has some fire. This is a Jamacian style ginger
beer, which accounts for the heat. The drawback is that there is
so much hot ginger, that to balance it off, they need 50 grams
of sugar; about double that of a normal soda. Still, this is
fantastic stuff.

http://drinkstewarts.com/flavors.aspx

This is really fantastic stuff. I top notch Cream Soda, and 
a very good Key Lime soda, plus fantastic Root Beer. 

One of the very best Ginger Ales I've had, is Stirrings from
Nantucket. Served in a tiny 6.3 ounce bottles. This has a 
pleasant Ginger zestiness, blended with a hint of lime, with
ultra-fine champagne bubbles. 

http://stirrings.com/products/cocktail-sodas

The link shows Stirrings in cans, but I much prefer bottles. 

That is just the tip of the ginger iceberg.

Vernor's and Dr. Browns are both oak aged. I didn't fine them
particularly pleasing. They reminded me to much of common
commercial Ginger Ale.

Sarnac's is a recent addition to my Ginger Brew collection.
Nice burn with good balanced flavor, much like Boylan's but
with more burn. Not easy to find though. This is also a truly
brewed ginger beer, not flavored carbonated water. Brewed 
since 1888.

http://www.saranac.com/page/ginger-beer

As I've said, HEAT is the key to good ginger brew. If you take
a hit, and it doesn't hit you back, then its not worth
considering. 

Any of the Ginger Brews I've mentioned will make Canada Dry and
Schwepps seem like Kool-Aid by comparison.

Also, the many craft breweries are far more likely to sweeten 
with real sugar rather than the dreaded High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Now, there are two (at least) Ginger Brews that I want to try -

Fentiman's, described as "This goes a long way to explaining the wonderful Ginger "Burn" that each bottle contains.".

http://www.fentimans.com/range.php

As well as the many other Fentiman's beverages.

And, the Idris 'Fiery' Ginger Beer -

http://www.foodireland.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=524009&Category_Code=beverages&Product_Count=14

Of course worldwide, there are many many Ginger Brews I
would like to try. I would like to go to Jamaica and try some
of their local ginger brews. I suspect these are hot enough to 
light fires with. I suspect there are some Asian Ginger Brews
that are equally as hot. 

A few more in the UK to consider -

DG Old Jamaican Ginger Beer -
http://www.britishfoodshop.com/shopexd.asp?id=87

JCS Ginger Beer -
http://www.britishfoodshop.com/shopexd.asp?id=1572

Cock n Bull Ginger Beer -
http://www.britishfoodshop.com/shopexd.asp?id=69

Schweppes Ginger Beer -
http://www.britishfoodshop.com/shopexd.asp?id=676

I don't expect much form this, but it would be worth
a try. 

This one might be interesting Ginger and Chili -

Breckland Orchards -
http://www.realfooddirect.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=3_22&products_id=5213

Not sure about this, is it wine, ginger brew, ???? -

Original Drinks Company - Rochester Ginger - Dark -
http://www.realfooddirect.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=3_22&products_id=4784

Last but not least, Bollington Ginger Brew made in Cheshire -

http://www.bollingtonbrewing.co.uk/drinks_find_2.htm

This particular Ginger Beer happens to be 4% alcohol.

Like I said, I like Ginger Brew.

As a side note: "BlueWizard" is the name I use in many other
forums. And if I come to this forum after being in those, I
frequently inadvertently sign 'Bluewizard' instead of 'bboyminn'.

Steve/boyminn






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