lemon – Moon Platoon | The Art & Design of Brett Haile

SoCo Ginger Beer Peach | A Review

brett — Wed, 22 Jul 2020 11:00:17 +0000

Named for the South Congress district—a cultural hub of Austin, Texas—SoCo Ginger Beer offers a ton of options, some available year round with others released seasonally. Their peach-flavored variety hits farmer’s markets, supermarkets and smaller shops during the bustling summer season, when the beloved fruits reach their peak tastiness. The Texas Hill Country grows tons of peaches so the perfectly ripe fruit can be trucked into Austin in an hour, making the city and its surrounding area an ideal place for peach-flavored foods and drinks.

SoCo Extra Ginger appeared before and won praise for both its packaging and its flavor. The bottle here hasn’t changed much. Its unusual shape gives an impression of freshness while the logo offers a bit of style. Here the seal is a fun pink and unique to the Peach. The only issue rises with the color of the printing on the label. The yellow type and line drawing disappear into the color of the beverage, a far cry from the well-chosen pink ink found on the Extra Ginger.

The yellow print doesn’t contrast well enough.

Inside the 16-ounce clear glass bottle, no preservatives can be found. This is a drink that needs to stay constantly refrigerated. Sparkling water, lemon, peach, organic cane juice, ginger and lime comprise every ingredient in this ginger beer. While even the hard-to-pronounce ingredients found in other competitors are perfectly safe, it can be nice to not feel like a Google search is required to enjoy a drink. The list instills confidence and puts the mind at ease.

Two 8-ounce servings occupy the container at 80 calories apiece. 12 ounces, for comparison’s sake, come to 120.

The gently rotated liquid is permeated with sediment and pouring generates a fair amount of fizz. The opaque color hints at the peach within, with its orange-yellow tint. Ginger and lemon float on the nose with perhaps just a touch of peach.

The lemon makes for a nice outdoor beverage.

It’s moderately sweet at first then the flavors step in, tart lemon out front with the ginger and the peach just behind. Just after that bright punch of lemon at the climax, peach steps forward. Ginger mixes well the whole time but never in a primary role. Peach dominates the finish but lemon nevertheless persists. The barest hint of prickle pitter-pats upon the lips but otherwise heat remains gentle.

There’s five members to this merry band: heat, sweet, ginger, peach, lemon and each plays a slightly more significant part than the last. Lemon and peach are the stars of this show, the ginger tying them together. They do tussle a bit, elbowing to stay in the spotlight but this isn’t a bad thing. It makes for an evolving progression, a scenic trip through the varied components of this unique ginger beer. And hey, it’s summer. There’s no better time to take a trip.

Final Decision: Second Tier – Alluring

Purchased at Texan Market in Austin, Texas | Check the SoCo website for other locations around the Austin, Denton and Dallas/Ft. Worth areas.

Back to: All Reviews

Belvoir Fruit Farms Organic Ginger Beer | A Review

brett — Wed, 13 May 2020 11:00:19 +0000

The English countryside holds many quaint and beautiful locales including the lush and green Vale of Belvoir tucked into the center of the nation. There lies Belvoir Castle, set atop a rounded hill with its turrets reaching into the sky. Lord John Manners saw over the broad fields of their farms and dismayed at how much unpicked and overripe fruit went sadly to waste. His wife Mary routinely put a tiny amount of it to use, pressing the fruit and infusing the elderflower. Lord John felt it an opportunity and expanded her hobby into a full-fledged business. Belvoir Fruit Farms was established in 1981 and its first 88 cases showed up quickly at the local farm shops.

John’s son Peverel now oversees the venture which has grown into an international phenomenon. Belvoir features creative beverages, including John and Mary’s original Elderflower Cordial, all made with the Vale’s own spring water.

Their ginger beer can be found in curvy little 8.4 ounce (250ml) bottles and larger 750ml varieties like this one. The clear glass holds the silhouette of a wine bottle or maybe a spirit with an embossed logo swooping across the shoulder. Orange is the branded color for the ginger beer with the label and seal both printed in it. About the label, it’s uneven at the top and bottom, looking carefully torn and is adorned with the elegant script typically employed by Belvoir. Seeing this on a shelf offers an impression of an upscale product but laced with warmth, personality and friendliness.

Belvoir was born amidst a growing concern regarding artificial ingredients so they carry that with them even today. The label declares it to be free of preservatives, gluten, GMOs and assures readers it’s vegan. Carbonated spring water kicks off the list. Organic cane sugar provides sweetness, organic lemon juice provides tartness and organic fresh root ginger infusion provides ginger flavor. Ginger extracts are also used. Citric acid is present as is capsicum extract. An 8.5 ounce serving carries 110 calories, equating to 155 for 12.

The bottle must be tumbled before pouring as a layer of sediment rests at the bottom. Afterward the color is tinted by ginger juice with the barest hint of an orange hue. A significant amount of light comes through, rendering it translucent. The nose is of a soft ginger, accompanied by a bit of lemon. Carbonation is virtually nonexistent.

Sweet notes arrive at the outset, joined shortly by the duo of an earthy ginger and sharply tart lemons. The heat comes on, not the prickles of ginger but the jab of capsaicin. Ginger falls away, leaving lemon to close the curtain.

The earthy ginger never stands in the spotlight, instead mingling as an ensemble. It’s the soul of the progression with the lemon brightening the experience and at times taking over. The heat weaves through without dominating but rapid fire sips will ignite the mouth a bit. It’s an unusual take on a ginger beer but not necessarily a bad one. Ginger beer enthusiasts might find it lacking however. It could use more ginger and certainly more carbonation but as-is it’s satisfying and refreshing in its own right.

Final Decision: Third Tier – Enjoyable

Purchased locally at: World Market. | Available online at: BritSuperstore, World Market

Back to: All Reviews

SoCo Ginger Beer Extra Ginger | A Review

brett — Wed, 08 Jan 2020 11:00:15 +0000

A number of unique items call Austin, Texas home as the city enthusiastically supports local wares of all kinds, giving life to a colorful scene of music, restaurants, clothing, artwork, beers, spirits and much more. Enter SoCo Ginger Beer, an artisan take on the drink with a wide-ranging vision of what it can be.

While it’s not the only ginger beer in town, it’s carved its own niche as extremely fresh, exotically flavored and primarily a standalone drink. (That said, mixing is certainly encouraged as an array of tempting drink recipes await at the website.) Locations carrying single-serving bottles span from grocery stores to convenience shops but if you want a growler, visit a local farmer’s market. It really doesn’t even have to be too local anymore. Vendors can be found in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area now too.

SoCo, named for the lively South Congress district near downtown Austin, brews a dizzying variety of flavors into their ginger beers, most being seasonal offerings depending on what fruits or vegetables are judged freshest at the time. Offerings include, but are not limited to, watermelon, jalapeno-lime, cranberry, blackberry, prickly pear and beet-carrot. None contain preservatives and in fact the ginger beer needs to stay refrigerated at all times.

The bottle’s unique shape hints at the drink’s freshness.

The packaging is extremely attractive. The 16-ounce glass holds a milk-bottle shape, giving an impression of a freshness lurking within. The pink artwork contrasts nicely with the color of the drink and includes the stylish logo, skillful typesetting and a line illustration of a lemon half with ginger root. A seal bridges over the aluminum cap, another nod to its freshness.

The liquid inside (with 70 calories in each of the eight-ounce servings — that’s 105 per 12oz) contains only a few ingredients: sparkling water, lemon, ginger, organic cane juice and lime. It’s the kind of list that raises no questions and inspires confidence in the purchase. It’s near clear when undisturbed with a robust dusting of sediment resting at the bottom. Rotating it to mix it back up results in an opaque ginger color, very tempting. Twist off the top and smell deeply of a strong ginger scent with a bright hint of tartness.

There’s a ton of sediment in SoCo’s Extra Ginger.

Tasting, the initial rush of sweetness so common in ginger beers doesn’t come. The rush is instead of lemon, joined momentarily by refreshing ginger. The two sharply peak, hand-in-hand, before fading away, leaving a citrusy finish. Heat sneaks in during the flavor evolution and lingers afterward, a little on the tongue but the keenest prickles dance on the lips.

The heavy lemon flavor separates SoCo from the pack, nearly that of a lemonade. The ginger is buoyant though and the two marry well, creating a frisky ginger beer perfect for a warm Texas day.

Final Decision: Second Tier – Alluring

Purchased at Texan Market in Austin, Texas | Check the SoCo website for other locations around the Austin, Denton and Dallas/Ft. Worth areas.

Back to: All Reviews