July 24, 2019
OliKo Ginger Beer | A Review
Not long after my return from Alaska, my daughter shipped off to summer camp. It’s a good time to do something for myself so I hopped a plane to Denver to visit a friend. While I was there, I made a point of picking up three local ginger beers, one of which was OliKo.
Gabriel Oliver-Kose calls Boulder his original home. He worked dining and bar jobs there and in Denver and on the side nurtured a passion for fermentation.
The early history of ginger beer walks hand-in-hand with fermentation. Yeast bacteria and sugar were stirred into a solution of water, ginger juice and other desired flavorings. The mixture was left to ferment, producing a flotilla of bubbles (and if left long enough, alcohol too).
Inspired by the classic history of the drink, Oliver-Kose founded OliKo, producing a fermented ginger beer made from cultures and fresh ingredients.
The packaging is stunning. There’s nothing else on the market like it. The logo features a beautiful typeface adorned with just enough detail to generate interest and a modern look that’s not so trendy that the design will expire when a fad passes. The geometric artwork carries a freshness, appearing modern and young, though upscale without being stuffy. The clear glass bottle holds a shape unseen in the ginger beer world, offering an impression of a carefully crafted small-batch beverage. The sum design defies convention, implying a one-of-a-kind product, no less than a disrupting force.
There’s four ingredients: filtered water, ginger vinegar, cane sugar and cold pressed ginger juice. Nothing else. No preservatives at all, not even the gray-area occupying citric acid. The label calls for constant refrigeration. It goes on to say that the 12-ounce bottle holds 100 calories, two six-ounce, 50-calorie servings.
On the nose floats a tangy ginger, fresh smelling, strong too, with a hint of fermentation. Shaking and pouring reveals minimal carbonation. Nestled in a glass, the liquid is opaque and just a perfect color. Very enticing, very tempting. And that temptation pays off.
There’s first a zing, the tang of the ginger vinegar. Sweetness hovers there, suspended low like a cloud of dry ice. It’s tamed, well-behaved, minimal, just enough to avoid dryness but attracting little attention. The ginger rushes in, strong and energetic, tasting remarkably fresh-squeezed. Botanical notes follow. The finish is lively, prickly and tangy. Going back in for more immediately crosses the mind. The moderate heat builds a little with each taste, prickling mostly on the tongue but brushing the roof, lips and back of the throat, lingering on long after the sip.
Exciting describes the progression. Fireworks. The flavor comes in phases, constantly reinventing itself. This is such a fresh-tasting ginger beer, alive with the sights and smells of a farmer’s market. The ginger flavor feels like you dug it up there at the farm itself, sliced it open with a pocket knife and pressed it directly to your nose. The hints of vinegar, the acid, it just deepens the experience. The sweetness stands behind, with dignity. Most ginger beers are built on pillars of sugar and ginger, the two starring roles. Here the sweetness is a supporting actor, or even an extra, enriching the scene but not featuring in it.
There’s no doubt about it. This is one of the best ginger beers ever made.
Final Decision: God Tier – Untouchable
Purchased at: Mother Tongue in the Broadway Market in Denver, CO. Their website has a list of other locations in Boulder and Denver. Their online shop currently says “under construction” so maybe one day you can order it? Maybe?
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