The small green bottle contains seven ounces and is wrapped in a label looking like textured paper torn across the bottom to reveal a bright orange region.  The logo gives the impression of a stencil and features a cluster of tightly-packed buildings and a squared-off typeface.  A fair amount of negative space surrounds it, drawing and steadying the eye.  It all looks hand-crafted, a positive impression.

In addition to the typical carbonated water: cane sugar, ginger, ginger extract and citric acid.  Not many ingredients and no fluff.  70 calories lurk within, translating to 120 for 12 ounces.

The instructions sent by Shaker and Spoon guided the creation of a cocktail called a Bajan Kiss, an elevated version of a beloved Barbados drink, the Corn ‘n Oil.  Dreamed up by Paul Yellin, it calls for:

2oz aged rum
1oz falernum syrup
1/2oz scotch bonnet-sea salt syrup
1/2oz lime juice
1/2oz ginger beer
1 dash Angostura bitters
coconut water

After the drinks stood prepared on the bar, plenty of ginger beer remained for sampling.  The cloudy liquid smells of sweet, earthy ginger as a healthy dose of sediment drifts beneath the surface.  The flavor development happens quickly.  A swift note of sweetness arrives followed closely by an ascending earthy ginger.  Then at the end of the progression, the heat hits hard right in the back of the throat and underscores, nearly but not quite shouting down, a finish of sweet ginger.  The heat is formidable, and lasting, and could scare off some unsuspecting drinkers but it never reaches a scalding level and plays well with the ginger and sweetness.

Brooklyn Crafted has brewed a well-tuned ginger beer for those seeking a fiery twist on the drink.  The heat is regulated, set to thrill without overwhelming, to accentuate the primary duo of ginger and sweetness without hogging the spotlight for itself.  Indeed, that’s not an easy task but it’s been well sorted here.

Final Decision: Second Tier – Alluring

Purchased at: It came in a Shaker & Spoon box. | Available online at: Brooklyn Food & Beverage in 7oz and 12oz bottles.

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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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