Cawston Press Ginger Beer, like their other offerings, comes in a white can featuring Victorian-inspired design.  The era was known for its “Fat Face” type with a mixture of fonts and rules selected to fill every square inch of space.  The logo sits high and earns a few points for the “PRESS” bit being nestled in lines implying a fruit press.  A pattern of daisies encircles the top, an indicator of freshness and care in the contents.

No sugar gets added to Cawston Press products as the fruit adds all the sweetness they feel is needed.  That’s what’s not in the ginger beer.  What is in the ginger beer is pressed apple juice, carbonated water, ginger extract and vitamin C for tartness and to protect the color.  The final tally is a pretty reasonable 90 calories for 11.15 ounces.  For comparison’s sake, that’s 97 calories in 12 ounces of the stuff.

Light fizz appears when poured.  The liquid is opaque and darker than a typical ginger beer, owing to a healthy dose of apple juice.  It suspends some sediment within, though it’s difficult to detect with the cloudy opacity.  The nose is apples and ginger.

A dryness kicks off the flavor development before the apple arises, building slowly.  Ginger follows, in step, complementing the stronger notes of apple and adding a touch of heat.  There’s a tartness to the finish and a slight bitterness lingers thereafter. 

Cawston Press is proud of their apples and like all of their products, apple figures prominently.  It should be regarded as the primary component of their ginger beer with the ginger in more of a supporting role.  It’s rather the opposite of another appley ginger beer, Top Hat, in which the roles are reversed.  Reviews here are given based on a beverage’s merit as a ginger beer and though Cawston Press has made a tasty soda, it’s too much of a departure from what one would consider for the category and would most likely turn off purists.  While it can’t be considered a recommended ginger beer, it is a recommended soda, especially for fans of apple.

Final Decision: Fourth Tier – Passable

Purchased locally at: HEB | Available online at BritSuperstore.

Back to: All Reviews

See, Top Hat ginger beer was forged in the fires of festivals across America.  With thousands of people in attendance, storing and chilling enough to quench the masses becomes unwieldy at the very least.  But serving it bar-style (syrup mixed with carbonated water, same as a soda fountain) eases the difficulty of such a task and offers a fresher product to boot.

So this is a company that was never a bottler.  It rose to prominence serving ginger beer from a gun.  Craft syrup is their product so craft syrup is what you take home.  Mixing it with bubbly water and taking that first sip will make anyone a believer.

Buying craft concentrate means buying a lot of it at once.  While extra-large sizes for bar use are available, this personal-use Top Hat occupies a 32-ounce plastic bottle meant to mix 1:5 with sparkling water; that’s 32 six-ounce servings or 16 12-ounce.  One container of Top Hat and anyone is set for quite a while.

The plastic bottle is a dash of disappointment but no carbonation means no concerns of it going flat so it suits the application just fine.  The label design has a vintage vibe with its slightly unsaturated color printed upon textured paper.  Charming retrofuturistic flying machines and all the sprockets you can handle fill what is a busy background, requiring the logo and grungy, Victorian type to be wreathed in an outer glow in order to be clearly defined.  While not spectacular design, it is friendly and accessible.

56 calories make up a six-ounce serving; that’s only 112 for 12 ounces, quite economical for a ginger beer as full-flavored as this one.  Barring only one essential and unconcerning preservative, the ingredients are natural and enticing. Included: lemon, apple cider vinegar and natural ginger with sugar cane playing sweetener.

Mixed up, the drink is delightfully cloudy with lazily floating sediment throughout.  Carbonation gives the power to choose.  With Ozarka sparkling water it remained a bit flat but came alive with club soda.  The extra carbonation also amplified the heat level, a nice surprise.

The taste of apple cider floats across the tongue, a preamble to the ginger’s spicy appearance.  The notable burn wanders through the mouth and tickles the nose.  The sweetness falls in balance.  Traces of lemon are detectable and continue through to the finish.  The prickles linger for a couple beats, floating in the mouth and caressing the lips.

Top Hat ginger beer is daring, and perfect for sipping in a comfy porch chair on a delightful day.  All lingering syrupy concerns wash away with the unique and refreshing taste.  Who cares if the vessel isn’t included?  A palette of intriguing flavors await, regardless of the delivery system.

Final Decision: Second Tier – Alluring

Received as a gift. | Online availability at: Amazon

Back to: All Reviews