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

Back to: All Reviews

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

Back to: All Reviews

The ginger beer sits stored in a silver can with royal blue trim.  The background is filled with wooden planks not unlike a backyard fence.  The hand-written logo floats above an illustration of a golden retriever, the most eye-catching feature of the can.  There’s a story there.

John grew up with a family dog like a lot of kids did.  His was a beloved pet lovingly named Bailey.  Bailey performed classic tricks, like fetching the newspaper, and loved boat rides to places where she could search for fish slipping by.  Bailey was cute as a button and in her picture sports a fetching red bandana.  Not many ginger beers have a mascot, and Bailey suits the job well.

Kure’s is comprised of only four ingredients with no arcane preservatives.  Carbonated water makes up the foundation with cane sugar, ginger juice and citric acid.  Ginger juice always feels good to see on a label.  This combination is good for 100 calories in the 12-ounce can.

On the nose floats the welcome scent of ginger, smelling freshly cut.  The cloudy white liquid holds plenty of sediment, that real ginger drifting through.  The inception tastes slightly sweet until a rush of fresh ginger storms through, accentuated with citrus.  A touch of heat tickles more than prickles.  Ginger persists after the swallow, then is joined by a jolt of tartness before a finish of sweetness, lazily lingering for a few seconds.  Heat builds as the can is consumed but never reaches a distracting intensity.

Kure’s began with home brewing and even now, canned, tastes like it was just created in the next room.  The ginger is a superstar, coming through brilliantly and the citrus emboldens the effect.  It’s not trying to do anything fancy, just deliver a great tasting traditional ginger beer.  It succeeds wildly.

Final Decision: First Tier – Exceptional

Purchased at: Mayfair Liquors in Denver, CO. Also available throughout Colorado and northern Illinois. | Cases available online at kuresgingerbeer.com

Back to: All Reviews

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?

Back to: All Reviews

On their current roster of products sits their 225-calorie Jamaican Ginger Beer, rooted in triple-filtered carbonated water and sweetened with high fructose corn syrup.  Natural and artificial flavors come together to provide taste, including Jamaican ginger extract.  Brominated vegetable oil swims within as an agent keeping the liquid from separating.  More promising-sounding ingredient lists exist yet this ginger beer is not to be discounted.

The label hugging this 12-ounce, heritage-style bottle lacks appealing design.  It’s dull in color, suffers gaping leading between “JAMAICAN” and “GINGER BEER,” and the mascot lacks charisma.  It looks budget, unable to inspire confidence in the quality of the product inside.

On the tongue the ginger hits almost immediately, feeling as a vapor, floating on the carbonation to brush up against every part of the mouth.  A deep sweetness drifts down the tongue as spices tickle the tip.  Gentle prickles linger there and at the back of the mouth.  They hang on through the finish.

Deep layers of flavor don’t exist here.  Neither is there a drawn out progression to it but complexity isn’t synonymous with good. The modest heat plays well with the generous sweetness.  Both mesh with a selection of background flavors and plenty of ginger to form a traditional Jamaican ginger beer that’s anything but standard.  Never mind the label.  Never mind the ingredients.  This brew far exceeds expectations.

Final Decision: First Tier – Exceptional

Purchased locally at: HEB

Back to: All Reviews