Stone jars were used to hold his new drink which he stamped with a picture of his dog Fearless.  He loaded them all up in a horse-and-cart and delivered them door to door.  Popularity quickly came and the business expanded to include several breweries in northern England.  To this day Fentimans remains in the family and though the product line greatly expanded, the ginger beer is still the cornerstone.

Tonics of the late 19^th century inspired the packaging design with its abundance of text, numerous descriptors and vintage silhouette.  A label featuring Fearless encircles the elongated neck of the 9.3oz (275ml) bottle and highlights the inaugural year of the business.  It’s entrancing, drawing in shoppers for a longer look and underscoring the uniqueness of the beverage.  There’s absolutely nothing else on the shelf like it.

Inside that bottle dwells a fascinating list of ingredients for this 130 calorie drink (translating to 168 for 12 ounces).  Into carbonated water go fermented ginger root extracts with cane sugar and glucose syrup as sweeteners.  There’s speedwell, juniper and yarrow extracts for the botanical burst.  Pear juice concentrate gives a depth of flavor and cream of tartar adds tang.  Citric acid is present as well.

Prominent fizz builds when pouring Fentimans.  The sparse sediment drifting in the cloudy, gold-tinted liquid isn’t all ginger.  Some bits hold a darker color, traces of the botanical emphasis on this ginger beer.  The nose is heavy in ginger, with an overture of botanicals and sweetness.  It’s that sweetness which touches the tongue first with ginger trailing close behind.  Alongside come the herbal tones.  The pine taste of the juniper comes through as does a tarragon-like flavor of the yarrow.  Breaths of lemon highlight the climax which also carries notes of pear.  There’s a bit of heat, prickles quietly playing on the tongue.  Botanicals then join the pear and whisper through the mildly sweet finish.

The flavor tells a story.  Pieces are introduced that entwine during the progression, building in intensity before settling into a satisfying denouement.  The herbs, the pear; Fentimans offers up an experience like no other ginger beer.  It’s complex and precise, infinitely creative and must be tried to be understood.

Final Decision: Second Tier – Alluring

Purchased locally at: World Market. Also available at British Isles | Available online at: Antiqology, British Food Shop, British Isles, BritSuperstore (a variety of options), Soda4U, Soda Emporium (singles & 4-packs), Soda Pop Stop.

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But why stop at beer?  Randy began brewing many years before, after his return from military service in Germany.  He was as versatile as he was knowledgeable and so in 1988 added brewed sodas to the company’s repertoire.  Root beer and cream soda were first off the line but a ginger beer followed later.

Sprecher ginger beer rests in a 12oz. brown-glass, long-neck bottle with a defined curve at the shoulder.  An ombre paints the label’s background, yellow to orange to brown, highlighting the roaring lion crest at its center.  Oddly, metal-look edges border the top and bottom, complete with screws.  Old English type makes up the logo sitting above the crest.  The design conjures thoughts of Germany, sitting at long wooden tables with cold mugs in hand.

Carbonated water leads the ingredient list as expected with glucose syrup acting as sweetener.  Real ginger and natural flavors make up the taste, along with citric acid.  Sodium benzoate keeps this 150-calorie beverage tasting fresh.

Pouring into a mug generates a generous fizz and even an ephemeral head which hangs on for a handful of seconds before dissipating.  The liquid is a light, transparent golden hue with a nose of twining sweet and ginger.  Sweetness touches the tongue straight off, preceding the advent of the ginger.  The ginger amplifies in strength building to a startling strike of sour, nested in botanical notes.  Heat settles mid-tongue, depositing a trail of prickles.  It’s sharp, above average.  The sour-ginger medley fades through the finish with the sour hanging on long after.

The label cries, “Craft soda with a bite,” and this one’s all teeth.  The astonishing arrival of the sour marks the most memorable moment of the progression.  It’s the climax of an unusual flavor profile that’s initially objectionable but soon grows on you.  Daring describes this wholly original ginger beer, the type of flavor that generates opinions.  It’s certainly not for everyone but it does have its merits.  There’s an ocean of competitors out there and in its vast reaches Sprecher’s divisive punch will not be forgotten.

Final Decision: Third Tier – Enjoyable

Purchased at: Beverages Direct, though it’s no longer available there. | Also available online at: Sprecher, Antiqology

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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.

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Quite a brag it is but a hollow one it is not.  Dozens of awards followed and their tonic water stands as the top selling brand.  Fever-Tree’s availability spans more than 70 countries and it almost certainly adorns a shelf in a nearby grocery.  For them the success has rained down in sheets.

The bottle suits the mission.  With a curvy, elegant silhouette, the 16.9 ounce (500ml) glass container sports an embossed fever tree and attractive labelling with a metallic finish.  The logotype feels a bit mundane and the font choice below it the same.  On the neck label, the logo’s tree is printed over the logo’s tree, which looks messy and seems unnecessary. The total effect presents as upscale but better packaging exists.

Within live 100 calories per 8oz serving, translating to 150 for 12.  Carbonated spring water makes up the base layer, sweetness blooms from real sugar and on top of that it touts natural ginger flavoring as well as actual fresh ginger.  The ginger used arrives from three different, far-reaching origins.  Ivory Coast contributes one, Nigeria the second and the third grows in India.  Each rides a slightly different spectrum of flavor which Fever-Tree claims compliments each other perfectly.  No preservatives are present.

The enchanting scent of fresh ginger bursts from the bottle upon opening.  Nested in a glass, spiciness entwines for a heavenly nose.  There’s sugar too, subdued.  Moderate carbonation permeates a liquid given a frosted glass appearance by the powder of fresh ginger softly drifting within. 

A reserved sweetness blankets the tongue a moment before a satisfying dousing of fresh, earthy ginger.  Prickles play about in the mouth and tickle the nose.  Botanical notes arrive as the prickles travel back in the mouth and touch the top of the throat, offering a spicy finish.  The ginger taste holds for an extended portion of the progression, remarkably long.  Heat rests upon the tongue in its wake, a lasting token of the experience.

Like an orchestra, elements each lay down their parts, harmonizing into a symphony of flavor.  Notes come from everywhere in a sublime complexity, assembling into a sophisticated ginger beer, both exotic and accessible.

The objective at the outset was to create the best mixers ever made and it’s hard to imagine a ginger beer better than this one.  It ticks every box and creates several more.  It holds the perfect balance of sweet and heat and the ginger tastes freshly grated off the root.  It’s spectacular.  It’s perfect.  It’s everything a ginger beer aspires to be.

Final Decision: God Tier – Untouchable

Purchased locally at: HEB

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All Bundaberg varieties arrive in a 12.7-ounce (375ml), squat, brown glass bottle with their elaborate, swooping logo arching over the top of the label.  This special edition carries a deep red field bordered in a pine green with a star adorning a narrowing stack of brewing barrels, the shape conjuring images of Christmas trees.  The effect of the capable design does double duty: celebrates the holiday season and holds true to the classic Bundaberg branding.

Inside there’s 170 calories which proportions to about 160 for a 12-ounce serving.  Carbonated water forms the foundation of the beverage but there’s yeast included as well so some fermenting occurred at some point.  Sweetness comes from cane sugar and the ginger flavor is thanks to ginger root.  Cinnamon and clove add to the taste as does the touch of citric acid.  A couple of preservatives are included, potassium sorbate and sodium benzoate.  Vitamin C plays antioxidant.

A thick fizz builds as the ginger beer pours with a color that’s just a shade darker than a typical ginger beer.  Sediment meanders throughout.  The nose is lively and bright with the smells of sweet ginger and spices.  Christmas immediately enters the mind. 

It’s quite sweet right from the start, preceding the burst of ginger and spices.  Hovering within is an excellent balance of aromatic cloves and the bite of cinnamon.  The ginger blends seamlessly, giving the faintest hint at heat but absent of prickles.  The sweetness is considerable but it too falls perfectly in balance and advances the seasonal taste.  The spices carry through the finish as does the sugary sweet.

The flavor profile seems reminiscent of mulled drinks, yuletide teas or baked apples and entirely captures the atmosphere of the season.  Pour a glass or mix a drink.  It begs to be drunk while under a blanket near the hearth, surrounded by the family who will feel such delight at the gifts you’ve delicately wrapped for them.  Bundaberg Spiced Ginger Beer doesn’t just suit the season, it elevates it.

Final Decision: First Tier – Exceptional

Purchased locally at World Market

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Since locals look for local fare, where there’s a niche there’s an opportunity.  Pennyback, founded in 2018, looked at a lack of locally made mixers in a town full of locally made liquors and ventured to pack tonic and soda into that lack.  Mixing up a Moscow Mule?  Why not pair Pennyback ginger beer with your Tito’s vodka for fun Austin flair?

The clear glass 9.3 ounce bottle (275ml) is ensconced in an elegant label, cut away at 45 degrees and tracing the Pennyback crest, giving the impression that the liquid itself is part of the branding. A pair of unique details implying an artisanal product with careful oversight: there’s a field for the batch number (mine was 001) and a stamp over the stock number in a table low on the label (mine was 08).

This stunning packaging ports a near-clear liquid with just a tinge of ginger color, built on a foundation of carbonated artesian water.  While there’s no sediment, natural ginger root extract delivers flavor here along with agave and cinchona bark (a source of quinine).  Sweetening comes by way of the agave syrup and pure cane sugar.  100 calories dwell within.  For comparison concerns, 129 calories occupy 12 ounces of this ginger beer, extremely efficient indeed.

A quiet sweetness touches the tip of the tongue before the ginger sings its song.  A pleasant, peppery prickle dances about the mouth and tickles the back of the throat as the sides of the tongue detect notes of agave.  There’s a gentle salt surprise on the finish of this dry ginger beer that tacks a sophisticated coda onto Pennyback’s eloquent verse. 

If there’s an issue, it’s that Pennyback is a bit reserved, dampened a bit.  The flavor is fantastic, but it lacks a climactic intensity as the sensations play out in the mouth.

An experienced ginger beer drinker seeking something new and challenging will appreciate the care and skill taken to make Pennyback.  Anyone looking to mix a drink that escapes a rut should look here too.  It presses the bounds of convention, cruising to the horizon but never traveling so far as to become unrecognizable.  This is an engaging experience and one I anticipate experiencing again.

Final Decision: Second Tier – Alluring

Purchased at: Twin Liquors in the Austin area | Also available there at: Total Wine  |  Online availability at:  Maybe Amazon

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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

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