Reed's Original Ginger Brew, Ginger Ale.

Picked up a few ginger beers/ales from WF some time ago. I've always like ginger ale (which is what everyone must get from the drink serve on an airplane) and found ginger beer to be rising in popularity lately, but this summer, I have been killing it on the ginger scene. Ginger teas, ales, beers, all pretty good stuff.

Reed's Ginger Ale uses 25% pineapple juice and some honey, lemon, lime, spice and obviously ginger. It is gluten, caffeine, and preservative free. They also add "Fresh Ginger" to the nutritional information on the back. I don't think I've ever seen juice used in a ginger ale. It gives a root-y, earthy taste up front. 17 grams of ginger bring the bite which is fairly mild but long-lasting. Compared to soda ginger ales like Canada Dry, it's less sugary but sweeter in a syrupy way. The lower carbonation might let that be more pronounced here.

I remember Vernor's ginger ale soda being quite good and highly carbonated. I think that's still my favorite ginger ale.

Diesel.

A beer blended drink that was passed on to me. 1/2 Guinness and 1/2 root beer gave it too strong of a root beer bite and sweetness. 3/8 to 5/8 or 1/3 to 2/3 is a better ratio that preserves the Guinness Extra Stout roasted bitterness. The head turns into something akin to that of a root beer float but much subdued, which is interesting.

Gosling's Ginger Beer.

New ginger beer I saw at the store. Figures since Gosling's is one of the few dark rums out there for Dark and Stormys. Milky pour, high carb. I can smell the ginger in it, but the actual taste is restrained. Finishes with a bit of bite but a little too sweet (48g of sugar). Lingering burn. If I had dark rum, I would try a Dark & Stormy. But I don't have any.

DH Jamaican Ginger Beer.

A decent ginger beer but a little on the sweet side for me. 225 calories from the whopping 56 grams of sugar per bottle.

Barritt's Diet Ginger Beer.

Sharp ginger nose, a sweet but biting ginger taste. Carbing is a touch low but mouthfeel could be construed as a bit milky. Considering this is diet, this is probably one of the best ginger beers I've bought.

Sprecher Ginger Ale.

They give themselves an interesting self-description but it lives up to it well. Smoky, oaky, taste with a mild creamy, buttery finish. Assertive but not overpowering ginger bite. It comes in a pint bottle but only 140 calories for the whole thing, uses HFCS though. Pours fairly clear, standard soda head. Overall, I liked it and it's easier to open than their beers.

Boylan's Red Birch Beer.

Poured a little into a glass, deep red with a red head, artificially colored. Reminds me of Barq's Red Cream Soda but more root beer tasting.

Ryan Ginger Ale.

Another one of those classically-styled soda. Very mild in terms of sweetness and ginger but unusually carboated. I wish it had more ginger.

Saranac Orange Cream Soda.

Man, sometimes, I really like soda. Though, it's really too bad that the second ingredient is HFCS and not sugar.

Regatta Ginger Beer.

This is the ginger beer I was originally interested in. Soft drink imported from Bermuda. The term "soft drink" means something somewhat different to everyone outside of the US than it does here, so I had high hopes for this one. It's pretty awesome.

Good balance of ginger bite and burn. Not too sweet. Almost perfect level of carbonation, kind of wish it had just a little bit more. It was more fuzzy than fizzy, too much velvet.

Ithaca Ginger Beer.

I was at the beer store the other day to pick up a ginger beer that I saw on their new arrivals list and saw this as well. I figured I might as well pick it up now rather than later.

It's got some serious bite. Solid burn and not in that Jamaican-style way. I think the burn ends up overpowering the ginger though. It's a little more on the "soda" side than "beer" side. Little too much carbonation and sugar.

Addendum 61710: I just poured it into a glass, and it's clear. WTF.

Boylans Ginger Ale.

I don't normally drink soda, but I have to admit that I am a sucker for classic ones like ginger ale. I'm always on the the look out for a good ginger ale or ginger beer, so I picked up a 4-pack of this the other day.

Sweetened with cane sugar which makes a big difference in both flavor and body. The ginger wasn't very strong either because it doesn't use the enhancers like Canada Dry can or because it was super carbonated. Carbonated almost to the point of being painful. I had it first out of a bottle and then later tried it out of a glass. It was much better out of a glass. All that being said, it is really refreshing. And it has a sweet, green glass bottle.

Saranac Ginger Beer.

Saranac's soda is much better than their beer. Pretty good, but I'm still looking for more ginger, something at least as strong as whatever they serve at P.F. Chang's.

Goya Ginger Beer Jamaican Style.

I noticed some dude buying Goya ginger beer the other day at the grocery so I picked some up the next time I was there. I wasn't paying attention and didn't realize this was Jamaican style ginger beer which has capsicum in it. Crazy weird afterburn in your throat. Would rather find the non-Jamaican style.

GuS Extra Dry Ginger Ale and Tuscan Melon.

I actually bought this soda thinking it was ginger beer and not ginger ale. I didn't read the label very closely. GuS is Grownup Soda, marketing their less-sweet taste. I like it, but I was a little disappointed with how little ginger bite there was. I'll probably just stick with Canada Dry, maybe a diet version.

The melon was decidedly less amusing than the one that said "I am DELICIOUS," but it was still pretty good. I had intended to buy a cantaloupe, but this looked like a cantaloupe and was the same price so I got it. I actually let it get a little overripe on accident, making it taste sweeter than normal, I think, unless that's its normal flavor. And unless that's its normal flavor, I couldn't discern any difference from a standard cantaloupe other than the different rind.

Canada Dry Green Tea Ginger Ale.

I don't drink a lot of soda. I've bought two 12-packs in the last year and have yet to finish either of them. But I saw this and bought it on a whim/out of curiosity because I like green tea things and am a fan of ginger ale.

It's pretty good, still obviously ginger ale, but with touch of green tea at the beginning. I'm glad the green tea taste is mild rather than in your face and all since green tea just doesn't roll that way. Though, like most flavored sodas, particularly Vanilla Coke, the flavoring disappears into the background after a few sips, and it just tastes like the regular thing.