The brewery obtained the very first license in the nation to produce beer after Prohibition and saw much success as it was passed down from generation to generation of Matts throughout the years.  In 1995, with Nick and Fred in control, the Matt Brewing Company made a return to soft drink production and today hosts a line of nine varieties including this Saranac Ginger Beer.

Green stands out as the primary color of the label on this 12-ounce brown-glass longneck bottle.  The sharp-serifed logo dances at the top while “ginger beer” floats over a barrel illustration in flashy yellow type.  Wrapped around the neck clings another small label where a short paragraph description promises “tons of ginger.”

High fructose corn syrup sweetens this beverage built on filtered water.  Citric acid plays a part as taste ambiguously rises out of natural and artificial flavors.  Also present are the preservative sodium benzoate as well as caramel color.  The entire bottle counts for 160 calories.

The liquid appears as pale gold, devoid of sediment.  Its rich carbonation materializes as a thick blanket of foam floating near the rim of the glass.  There’s a sharp ginger on the nose with unexpected floral undertones. 

Sweetness emerges in a gradual crescendo joined quickly by a shy ginger which never reaches an equilibrium.  The texture surprises with a cottony creaminess and vanilla graces the finish.  Heat is absent.

It’s best described as a ginger cream soda rather than a ginger beer, a bold direction that could burrow a successful niche with just some tuning.  The creaminess is pleasant but can be off-putting to some palettes while the ample fizz is welcome.  Unfortunately the problems are significant.  The ginger refuses to come forward and since heat is eschewed it would make for a poor choice of mixer and ultimately stands as a below average example of a ginger beer.

Final Decision: Fourth Tier – Passable

Purchased online at: Beverages Direct | Available locally at: Total Wine | Also available online at: Soda4U, Soda Emporium, Specialty Sodas

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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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Enter Jackson Hole Soda Company.  Founded in 2002, they serve a line of Old-West-inspired soft drinks anchored by the likes of root beer and sarsaparilla but stretching into more niche fare like strawberry rhubarb and huckleberry.  Each carries a clever name inspired by the region and its history, like Grand Teton Grape or Cowboy Cream Soda, and each bottle features an endearing period photograph that’s just a bit whimsical.

There’s a giant hat on the head of a mounted cowboy in the photo on bottles of Jackson Ginger with its peak blending perfectly into the string of jagged mountains rising behind.  Badges adorn the top two corners and a field of green stretches across the background, meant to look like aged paper.  Besides the appeal of the photo, there’s not a whole lot to get excited about, design-wise.  Elements look tacked-on and don’t integrate together well, looking like a collection of separate pieces that aren’t on speaking terms. 

The label tells you nothing about the company besides its name.  No specific location is given for bottling or headquarters, only the patriotic yet uninformative, “Brewed and Bottled in the USA.”  The ingredient lists offers a similar lack of specificity.  All flavoring comes listed under “natural flavors,” which can mean practically anything.  In fact the name itself presents questions as well.  Jackson Ginger.  Is it an ale?  A beer?  The label seemingly raises more questions than it settles.  Some stuff we do know: cane sugar provides a sweet taste, carbonated water provides bubbles and there’s only the one preservative, sodium benzoate. Calories total a fairly steep 194.

The nose is mildly of ginger, though of a tang and a bit leafy.  The appearance is as well mildly of ginger, offering the barest stain on this nearly clear liquid.  The experience begins with sweetness quickly striking first before a soft touch follows, this of a hollow ginger, like an air or fog, not really a direct contact. There seems to be a lace of vanilla too. The ginger possesses an unusual character that falls short of desirable. There’s an earthiness to the sweet finish that’s almost chalky.  The heat feels like an echo, only really noticeable after the action, never amounting to much. 

So is it a ginger ale or a ginger beer?  Its character classifies it as a ginger beer but it feels distanced from either due to the odd tack taken with the ginger flavor.  Though the ginger presumably gets listed under “natural flavors,” the taste here feels like a poor approximation of it. The final impression lacks enthusiasm. In a ginger beer emergency, it’ll do but it’s too dull and imbalanced to merit recommendation.

Final Decision: Fourth Tier – Passable

Purchased at: Beverages Direct | Also available at: Soda4u

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He took inspiration from his dad.  The man was an admitted soda addict and Trevor saw that as an opportunity.  He began brewing his own kombucha with a new idea: what if it could be made to taste like soda?  After trials and errors and much tinkering, in 2012 Live Beverages came to life.  Trevor had finally developed a kombucha that tasted much like soda.  His dad embraced it and never looked back.

On the subject, their kombucha still tastes like kombucha, but that flavor rides shotgun with the soda flavor behind the wheel.  The sharp edges normally found in the taste are sanded down, making what is oftentimes a distasteful beverage quite delicious.

Live Soda came next.  By reversing his thinking Trevor created a soda with probiotic content like kombucha.  Several flavors are now on offer like Cola, Root Beer and this, Live Soda Ginger, which is said to ride the line between ginger ale and ginger beer.

It’s worth mentioning that the claimed benefits of probiotics are questionable, but one thing Live Soda has going for it in that regard is that, unlike a lot of other probiotic foods, it contains bacteria that actually are a member of the human gut flora ecosystem.

The packaging is excellent.  Live Soda won a BevNet award for their rebranding and it’s understandable why.  The clean and attractive logo features prominently on the two-tone can.  “Ginger” slashes in a stylish typeface across a golden background filled with bubbles.  It’s all very modern and enticing and clearly communicates what makes this soda different from its shelf companions.  Full marks.

As the can proclaims, Live Soda Ginger contains no calories.  Instead of sugar, erythritol and monk fruit extract perform the sweetening duties.  Accompanying them are carbonated water, natural flavors, citric acid and the probiotic bacillus subtilis.  Quite concise.

The liquid appears a robust bronze color with moderate carbonation and without sediment.  It smells only weakly of ginger.  The initial taste sensation is stark dryness, almost as if sipping carbonated water.  Ginger then unfurls, not prickly yet tactile, carrying a bright tartness but no heat.  There’s no evolution to the finish; the flavor just attenuates until it’s gone.

Live Soda achieves a hybridity between ginger beer and ale but it stands dryer than either one.  Without the sweetness, it feels unsatisfying, a reminder that this is supposed to be good for you. There’s nothing about it that feels like an indulgence.

What’s more, the flavor profile is simple to the point of being uninteresting.  Without a unique and attractive taste, to choose this beverage is only to choose the probiotics.  It struggles to compare favorably to otherwise similar ginger soda options, like those low in sweetness or calorie count.  If it’s a practical decision, then it’s not much of a decision at all.  But if it isn’t, then it might be best to explore elsewhere.

Final Decision: Fourth Tier – Passable

Purchased locally at: HEB

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