Whoever lies at the heart of Wild Spur gave the world a 170-calorie ginger beer, made with familiar ingredients like carbonated water, sugar and natural flavor as well as some unusual too, like modified food starch, glyceryl abietate and brominated vegetable oil.  The latter three sound arcane but they essentially keep the liquid from separating and thicken it up just a tick.

There’s a western theme to the label on this 12-ounce, long-neck bottle.  A shiplap background underlays a rope-wrapped illustration of a mounted cowboy at sunset.  Nautical stars float nearby.  The logo is as western as a cattle drive with a boot-shaped “L” and a spur branching off the “U.”  Taken as a whole, the label certainly drives home the idea of a drink from another era.  It’s not inspired design but it gets the message across just fine.

The bouquet is sweet ginger with a hint of spiciness.  A pour reveals generous carbonation but no sediment in this apple-juice-colored beverage.  Tasting immediately takes an unexpected turn.  Wild Spur begins drier than the scent would suggest though still mildly sweet.  Ginger then envelops the tongue, carrying a notable dose of heat and prickle interlaced with a bit of citrus.  The finish offers another twist as the sweetness implied by the nose finally shows up.  Heat lingers on the tongue and lips.

Some ginger beers stretch their legs a bit, mixing in unique flavors like apple or salt.  Like the label design promises, Wild Spur eschews that adventurousness, delivering a traditional flavor experience.  It delights with a well-tuned level of heat, above average for sure.  It possesses substantial body, with a bit of a cola feel and is pleasant to drink.  While it can’t be called a stand-out, it is quite good, somehow deepening the mystery of its origins.

Final Decision: Third Tier – Enjoyable

Purchased at: Beverages Direct | Available online at: Antiqology, Binny’s

Back to: All Reviews

But it wasn’t always about bottles.  Chicago Draft Style first appeared in kegs back in 2006 but generated so many requests for individual servings that a plan for bottling materialized.  Delivering them to their destination became the next obstacle.  Founder Bill Daker approached several beer distributors with zero luck so he did what had to be done.  He added some sales people to the team, bought a truck and drove the bottles anywhere they needed to go, which nowadays means all over Chicago and the surrounding area.

Those bottles are brown-glass, 12oz, softly curved long necks adorned with an unusually low-slung label.  The ginger beer label gets a golden background with a slightly metallic sheen.  Search lights scan the skies, framing the Willis Tower.  A retro look offers some personality.  The goal was to shout that this is a Chicago product and that can be counted as mission accomplished. 

The 190-calorie liquid flows from the bottle a rich amber color, with no cloudiness, and wafts a scent that’s softly sweet but also with a nose-prickling spiciness.  An easy sweetness greets the tongue first.  Then the ginger comes on accompanied by a crescendo of heat that adheres to the tongue and roof of the mouth.  The earthiness of the ginger presents itself before a sweet and spicy finish.  The heat sticks around, spreading to the lips and top of the throat.

The centerpiece of this ginger beer is the heat.  The amount of ginger flavor present doesn’t seem enough to produce this level of heat which then feels almost like a solo act because there’s not a similar intensity of sweetness either.  But it works.  The cumulative effect tastes pleasant and feels nice to drink, even though it can’t be called perfectly balanced.

Bearing the name Chicago makes this ginger beer a de facto representative of the Windy City.  It carries that mantle well.  It’s a solid take on a traditional formula and Chicagoans should be glad to have it.

Final Decision: Third Tier – Enjoyable

Purchased at: Beverages Direct (in 6-packs and 12-packs) | Also available online at: Specialty Sodas

Back to: All Reviews

A mostly clear label wraps the clear and colorless long-neck bottle, giving a clear look at the contents.  The logotype is gracefully understated, stepping back to let “Spicy Ginger” take the spotlight.  The streamlined banner enveloping them overlays a photograph of a sprawling ginger root, a hint as to what to expect from this craft soda.  The reserved, mature design sets it apart from most of its competition, suggesting a beverage tuned for the adult palate.  Conspicuously missing is a designation as ale or beer.

Carbonated water forms the bedrock here with sugar as the sweetener.  This 180-calorie drink gets its taste by way of the amorphous “natural flavor” and there’s citric acid for tang.  Altogether few ingredients are found, the only others being a preservative and caramel color.

There’s sweetness when smelling and ginger too in this amber-colored beverage.  How does it taste?  Imagine a party.  Walk through the door and a throng of sugars rush up, all speaking loudly at once, escalating in volume.  Ginger stands behind and waves a bit but can’t get more than a couple of words out without being talked over.  In frustration, ginger walks away.  The sugars ease up a bit and there’s a clipped glimpse of lime, looking bored.  Finally, the sugars thin out and exit a few at a time until they’re gone.  The last one there is earthiness who gives a smile on the way out. Heat never showed and prickles skipped this one.  Can’t blame them.

Interestingly, it feels a bit creamy in the mouth but the centerpiece is fruity sweetness, cranked up until it drowns out everything else.  A touch of heat could probably improve the experience.  After all it’s called Spicy Ginger; a little heat seems appropriate. 

Putting a designation on it proves difficult.  It tightropes between ginger ale and beer, not so sedate as an ale, not so aggressive as a beer. Either way it’s too sweet, not spicy enough and too little ginger flavor.  Find your next ginger beer fix somewhere else.

Final Decision: Fifth Tier – Skippable

Purchased locally at: Shell | Available online (often labelled Goose Island) at: Antiqology, Soda4u, Specialty Sodas

Back to: All Reviews