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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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.

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. 

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.

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Stone jars were used to hold his new drink which he stamped with a picture of his dog Fearless.  He loaded them all up in a horse-and-cart and delivered them door to door.  Popularity quickly came and the business expanded to include several breweries in northern England.  To this day Fentimans remains in the family and though the product line greatly expanded, the ginger beer is still the cornerstone.

Tonics of the late 19^th century inspired the packaging design with its abundance of text, numerous descriptors and vintage silhouette.  A label featuring Fearless encircles the elongated neck of the 9.3oz (275ml) bottle and highlights the inaugural year of the business.  It’s entrancing, drawing in shoppers for a longer look and underscoring the uniqueness of the beverage.  There’s absolutely nothing else on the shelf like it.

Inside that bottle dwells a fascinating list of ingredients for this 130 calorie drink (translating to 168 for 12 ounces).  Into carbonated water go fermented ginger root extracts with cane sugar and glucose syrup as sweeteners.  There’s speedwell, juniper and yarrow extracts for the botanical burst.  Pear juice concentrate gives a depth of flavor and cream of tartar adds tang.  Citric acid is present as well.

Prominent fizz builds when pouring Fentimans.  The sparse sediment drifting in the cloudy, gold-tinted liquid isn’t all ginger.  Some bits hold a darker color, traces of the botanical emphasis on this ginger beer.  The nose is heavy in ginger, with an overture of botanicals and sweetness.  It’s that sweetness which touches the tongue first with ginger trailing close behind.  Alongside come the herbal tones.  The pine taste of the juniper comes through as does a tarragon-like flavor of the yarrow.  Breaths of lemon highlight the climax which also carries notes of pear.  There’s a bit of heat, prickles quietly playing on the tongue.  Botanicals then join the pear and whisper through the mildly sweet finish.

The flavor tells a story.  Pieces are introduced that entwine during the progression, building in intensity before settling into a satisfying denouement.  The herbs, the pear; Fentimans offers up an experience like no other ginger beer.  It’s complex and precise, infinitely creative and must be tried to be understood.

Final Decision: Second Tier – Alluring

Purchased locally at: World Market. Also available at British Isles | Available online at: Antiqology, British Food Shop, British Isles, BritSuperstore (a variety of options), Soda4U, Soda Emporium (singles & 4-packs), Soda Pop Stop.

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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

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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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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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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 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.

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.

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Since locals look for local fare, where there’s a niche there’s an opportunity.  Pennyback, founded in 2018, looked at a lack of locally made mixers in a town full of locally made liquors and ventured to pack tonic and soda into that lack.  Mixing up a Moscow Mule?  Why not pair Pennyback ginger beer with your Tito’s vodka for fun Austin flair?

The clear glass 9.3 ounce bottle (275ml) is ensconced in an elegant label, cut away at 45 degrees and tracing the Pennyback crest, giving the impression that the liquid itself is part of the branding. A pair of unique details implying an artisanal product with careful oversight: there’s a field for the batch number (mine was 001) and a stamp over the stock number in a table low on the label (mine was 08).

This stunning packaging ports a near-clear liquid with just a tinge of ginger color, built on a foundation of carbonated artesian water.  While there’s no sediment, natural ginger root extract delivers flavor here along with agave and cinchona bark (a source of quinine).  Sweetening comes by way of the agave syrup and pure cane sugar.  100 calories dwell within.  For comparison concerns, 129 calories occupy 12 ounces of this ginger beer, extremely efficient indeed.

A quiet sweetness touches the tip of the tongue before the ginger sings its song.  A pleasant, peppery prickle dances about the mouth and tickles the back of the throat as the sides of the tongue detect notes of agave.  There’s a gentle salt surprise on the finish of this dry ginger beer that tacks a sophisticated coda onto Pennyback’s eloquent verse. 

If there’s an issue, it’s that Pennyback is a bit reserved, dampened a bit.  The flavor is fantastic, but it lacks a climactic intensity as the sensations play out in the mouth.

An experienced ginger beer drinker seeking something new and challenging will appreciate the care and skill taken to make Pennyback.  Anyone looking to mix a drink that escapes a rut should look here too.  It presses the bounds of convention, cruising to the horizon but never traveling so far as to become unrecognizable.  This is an engaging experience and one I anticipate experiencing again.

Final Decision: Second Tier – Alluring

Purchased at: Twin Liquors in the Austin area | Also available there at: Total Wine  |  Online availability at:  Maybe Amazon

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See, Top Hat ginger beer was forged in the fires of festivals across America.  With thousands of people in attendance, storing and chilling enough to quench the masses becomes unwieldy at the very least.  But serving it bar-style (syrup mixed with carbonated water, same as a soda fountain) eases the difficulty of such a task and offers a fresher product to boot.

So this is a company that was never a bottler.  It rose to prominence serving ginger beer from a gun.  Craft syrup is their product so craft syrup is what you take home.  Mixing it with bubbly water and taking that first sip will make anyone a believer.

Buying craft concentrate means buying a lot of it at once.  While extra-large sizes for bar use are available, this personal-use Top Hat occupies a 32-ounce plastic bottle meant to mix 1:5 with sparkling water; that’s 32 six-ounce servings or 16 12-ounce.  One container of Top Hat and anyone is set for quite a while.

The plastic bottle is a dash of disappointment but no carbonation means no concerns of it going flat so it suits the application just fine.  The label design has a vintage vibe with its slightly unsaturated color printed upon textured paper.  Charming retrofuturistic flying machines and all the sprockets you can handle fill what is a busy background, requiring the logo and grungy, Victorian type to be wreathed in an outer glow in order to be clearly defined.  While not spectacular design, it is friendly and accessible.

56 calories make up a six-ounce serving; that’s only 112 for 12 ounces, quite economical for a ginger beer as full-flavored as this one.  Barring only one essential and unconcerning preservative, the ingredients are natural and enticing. Included: lemon, apple cider vinegar and natural ginger with sugar cane playing sweetener.

Mixed up, the drink is delightfully cloudy with lazily floating sediment throughout.  Carbonation gives the power to choose.  With Ozarka sparkling water it remained a bit flat but came alive with club soda.  The extra carbonation also amplified the heat level, a nice surprise.

The taste of apple cider floats across the tongue, a preamble to the ginger’s spicy appearance.  The notable burn wanders through the mouth and tickles the nose.  The sweetness falls in balance.  Traces of lemon are detectable and continue through to the finish.  The prickles linger for a couple beats, floating in the mouth and caressing the lips.

Top Hat ginger beer is daring, and perfect for sipping in a comfy porch chair on a delightful day.  All lingering syrupy concerns wash away with the unique and refreshing taste.  Who cares if the vessel isn’t included?  A palette of intriguing flavors await, regardless of the delivery system.

Final Decision: Second Tier – Alluring

Received as a gift. | Online availability at: Amazon

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