July 8, 2020
Frostie Ginger Beer | A Review
George Rackensperger in 1939 needed a home for his new soda company and found a prison. The abandoned penitentiary in Catonsville, Maryland offered all the room he needed to get started. The bottling line went into the paddy wagon garage while the ingredients and supplies found storage in the cells. Frostie was born.
Eventually Rackensperger moved to a better location and launched a new root beer. Acceleration: the business soared as their new concoction flew off shelves and soon it became available nationally. With the windfall Rackensperger bought up competitors and restaurants.
40 years after its inception Frostie was sold and it bounced around until the current owner, Detroit’s Intrastate Distributors, bought it in 2009. Though it no longer enjoys the success of its heyday, Frostie root beer can be found easily across the nation. Their ginger beer though is a little bit harder to find.
Their winter-themed label highlights this clear, 12oz, heritage-style bottle. Interlocking triangles of alternating shades of green make up the background while the snow-capped, 50’s-style logo features up front. Longtime mascot, the earmuffed elf, leans in just behind while a barrel — clear to let the liquid show through — sits just below. It is retro through-and-through and nods to the origin of their famous root beer.
To carbonated water and cane sugar is added the ambiguous “natural flavor” and citric acid. Sodium benzoate keeps it shelf-stable while quillaia extract piles on a little extra foam. Tally them together and the sum is a whopping 200 calories for the bottle.
As can be seen through the glass, the liquid is light-colored and opaque with no trace of sediment. Generous fizz generates when poured and in the glass it gives off the scent of ginger and substantial sweetness. Those hints on the nose are dead-on as sweet hits right off the bat. Ginger rushes in quickly, heat tagging along. The abundant sweetness builds and builds as a touch of tart joins in for the climax. There’s a burst of sugary sweetness before fading into the finish, accompanied by a subtle ginger. Prickles jig upon the tongue, the residuals of a hefty heat.
While there’s nothing outlandish about it, Frostie does take a chance with its sweetness. This is a sweet-forward ginger beer, likely too sweet for some, but the considerable heat attempts to balance it. Both are above-average which imparts an intensity to the flavor. This take on the formula can be called bold and interesting but the sweetness is ultimately a bit much.
Final Decision: Third Tier – Enjoyable
Purchased at: Beverages Direct | Also available online at: Antiqology, Soda4u, Specialty Sodas.
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