Eventually Rackensperger moved to a better location and launched a new root beer.  Acceleration: the business soared as their new concoction flew off shelves and soon it became available nationally.  With the windfall Rackensperger bought up competitors and restaurants.

40 years after its inception Frostie was sold and it bounced around until the current owner, Detroit’s Intrastate Distributors, bought it in 2009.  Though it no longer enjoys the success of its heyday, Frostie root beer can be found easily across the nation.  Their ginger beer though is a little bit harder to find.

Their winter-themed label highlights this clear, 12oz, heritage-style bottle.  Interlocking triangles of alternating shades of green make up the background while the snow-capped, 50’s-style logo features up front.  Longtime mascot, the earmuffed elf, leans in just behind while a barrel — clear to let the liquid show through — sits just below.  It is retro through-and-through and nods to the origin of their famous root beer.

To carbonated water and cane sugar is added the ambiguous “natural flavor” and citric acid.  Sodium benzoate keeps it shelf-stable while quillaia extract piles on a little extra foam.  Tally them together and the sum is a whopping 200 calories for the bottle.

As can be seen through the glass, the liquid is light-colored and opaque with no trace of sediment.  Generous fizz generates when poured and in the glass it gives off the scent of ginger and substantial sweetness.  Those hints on the nose are dead-on as sweet hits right off the bat.  Ginger rushes in quickly, heat tagging along.  The abundant sweetness builds and builds as a touch of tart joins in for the climax.  There’s a burst of sugary sweetness before fading into the finish, accompanied by a subtle ginger.  Prickles jig upon the tongue, the residuals of a hefty heat.

While there’s nothing outlandish about it, Frostie does take a chance with its sweetness.  This is a sweet-forward ginger beer, likely too sweet for some, but the considerable heat attempts to balance it.  Both are above-average which imparts an intensity to the flavor.  This take on the formula can be called bold and interesting but the sweetness is ultimately a bit much.

Final Decision: Third Tier – Enjoyable

Purchased at: Beverages Direct | Also available online at: Antiqology, Soda4u, Specialty Sodas.

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All Bundaberg varieties arrive in a 12.7-ounce (375ml), squat, brown glass bottle with their elaborate, swooping logo arching over the top of the label.  This special edition carries a deep red field bordered in a pine green with a star adorning a narrowing stack of brewing barrels, the shape conjuring images of Christmas trees.  The effect of the capable design does double duty: celebrates the holiday season and holds true to the classic Bundaberg branding.

Inside there’s 170 calories which proportions to about 160 for a 12-ounce serving.  Carbonated water forms the foundation of the beverage but there’s yeast included as well so some fermenting occurred at some point.  Sweetness comes from cane sugar and the ginger flavor is thanks to ginger root.  Cinnamon and clove add to the taste as does the touch of citric acid.  A couple of preservatives are included, potassium sorbate and sodium benzoate.  Vitamin C plays antioxidant.

A thick fizz builds as the ginger beer pours with a color that’s just a shade darker than a typical ginger beer.  Sediment meanders throughout.  The nose is lively and bright with the smells of sweet ginger and spices.  Christmas immediately enters the mind. 

It’s quite sweet right from the start, preceding the burst of ginger and spices.  Hovering within is an excellent balance of aromatic cloves and the bite of cinnamon.  The ginger blends seamlessly, giving the faintest hint at heat but absent of prickles.  The sweetness is considerable but it too falls perfectly in balance and advances the seasonal taste.  The spices carry through the finish as does the sugary sweet.

The flavor profile seems reminiscent of mulled drinks, yuletide teas or baked apples and entirely captures the atmosphere of the season.  Pour a glass or mix a drink.  It begs to be drunk while under a blanket near the hearth, surrounded by the family who will feel such delight at the gifts you’ve delicately wrapped for them.  Bundaberg Spiced Ginger Beer doesn’t just suit the season, it elevates it.

Final Decision: First Tier – Exceptional

Purchased locally at World Market

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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

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The ingredient list does remain short with triple filtered carbonated water, evaporated cane sugar, natural flavors and citric acid.  The “natural flavors” element always feels a bit too nebulous, especially in a ginger beer.  The source of ginger flavor is pretty important when selecting one to your tastes but some things have to remain secret.  Something that’s not secret is the calorie count.  It’s 135 for the 12 ounces.

The brown, long-neck bottle features a lovely bright yellow label which looks fun and retro.  There’s an etching of deer, framed in a way that’s almost reminiscent of art nouveau but looks 19^th century.  Distressed banners on either side of the logo proclaim “all natural” and “small batch.”  Rocky Mountain Soda says their central goal is quality through fine ingredients and these proclamations are a testament to that ambition.

The scent emanating from this near-clear, sediment-free, slightly cloudy liquid is of a sweet ginger with a hint of spiciness. Tasting, a taut balloon of sweetness gives the first impression, coming on quickly.  Then the ginger swiftly swings into play, curiously offering more heat than the amount of ginger flavor would imply.  The dense but restrained prickles feel like a carpet of heat, clinging to the soft palate and touching the tongue and back of the lips.  Acute sweetness takes over for the finish, with a character not unlike a cherry soda, lingering but fading until just the heat remains.

Sweetness makes up the overriding trait of Golden Ginger Beer, but isn’t overpowering enough to ruin the experience.  Sugary ginger beers often overwhelm the drinker, drowning the sought-after characteristics.  This one avoids that pitfall so fans of the sweeter selection of ginger beers should prioritize Rocky Mountain.  It does sweet right.

Final Decision: Second Tier – Alluring

Purchased at Rocket Fizz in Highlands Ranch, CO | Available online at: Rocky Mountain Soda in 12-packs, Antiqology has singles, Beverages Direct also has 12-packs.

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On their current roster of products sits their 225-calorie Jamaican Ginger Beer, rooted in triple-filtered carbonated water and sweetened with high fructose corn syrup.  Natural and artificial flavors come together to provide taste, including Jamaican ginger extract.  Brominated vegetable oil swims within as an agent keeping the liquid from separating.  More promising-sounding ingredient lists exist yet this ginger beer is not to be discounted.

The label hugging this 12-ounce, heritage-style bottle lacks appealing design.  It’s dull in color, suffers gaping leading between “JAMAICAN” and “GINGER BEER,” and the mascot lacks charisma.  It looks budget, unable to inspire confidence in the quality of the product inside.

On the tongue the ginger hits almost immediately, feeling as a vapor, floating on the carbonation to brush up against every part of the mouth.  A deep sweetness drifts down the tongue as spices tickle the tip.  Gentle prickles linger there and at the back of the mouth.  They hang on through the finish.

Deep layers of flavor don’t exist here.  Neither is there a drawn out progression to it but complexity isn’t synonymous with good. The modest heat plays well with the generous sweetness.  Both mesh with a selection of background flavors and plenty of ginger to form a traditional Jamaican ginger beer that’s anything but standard.  Never mind the label.  Never mind the ingredients.  This brew far exceeds expectations.

Final Decision: First Tier – Exceptional

Purchased locally at: HEB

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With the relatively recent rediscovery of the Moscow Mule and resulting resurgence of its signature mixer, a window of opportunity opened and the company leapt through it, releasing Stoli Ginger Beer in 2014.  They unleashed a huge PR push across America and social media, encouraging fans to put down their current favorites and pick up a Stoli Mule.  More than 300 bar events were held, handing out samples of the cocktail in branded copper mugs to nearly twenty thousand people.

Look for Stoli in a slim 12-ounce can, mostly can-colored with a wide, red slash striking across it.  Copper accents a centered, white diamond where most of the type is located.  Four of these come wrapped in cardboard printed with similar design language.  Overall, it’s a success.  Wander down the mixers aisle of the grocery store and this stands out from the competition, looking both unique and upscale.

Some pretty standard ingredients lurk within: carbonated water, cane sugar, natural flavors, a couple preservatives. Calories total 70 for a six-ounce serving, so a perfectly reasonable 140 for the whole thing.

From the can, transparent liquid pours into the glass, crowned with a layer of fizz.  Presaged by the nose, cane sugar first lays down a thick foundation of sweetness.  The moderate ginger follows quickly, riding on bubbles with a touch of salt, building in flavor intensity but not heat.  It peaks without prickling then diminuendos, leaving sugar and citrus to handle the finish, which tastes almost like a candy.  It goes down easy, very drinkable.

Aspects that some could consider flaws in their drink, like too generous carbonation or sweetness, could also be considered assets in a mixer, reaching perfect levels once mildly diluted. So while the list of complaints remains short, it doesn’t do much to set itself apart either, running dangerously close to forgettable. Nevertheless, the formula here is well-conceived. It tastes good alone but better as a mixer, definitely worthy of the Stoli name.

Final Decision: Third Tier – Enjoyable

Purchased at: HEB | Wide availability

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Plans emerged about 45 years later to revive everything that made the original so great, including that magical root beer.  Bottling it became a priority but using new machinery didn’t seem to fit the mission.  A nationwide search turned out successful when a vintage 1940’s bottling line was located in a Wisconsin barn.  That bottling line was installed into the new restaurant and now, while they munch on burgers or pizza, patrons can watch Fitz’s assortment of classic sodas poured into bottles and served up cold.

The label is mostly gray and black with a halo of green ringing the logo.  Most other Fitz’s varieties come in brightly hued wrapping but the Pi Ginger Beer, a later addition, appeared after most of those saturated colors were taken.  Perhaps that’s why the palette runs so dark.  Even so, they complement the vintage design and even lend to the classic feel.

A long-neck bottle was chosen, dark brown and very appropriate.  There’s a reasonable 140-calorie price for this ginger beer.  Flavored naturally, it uses filtered carbonated water and pure cane sugar.  There’s the omnipresent sodium benzoate working preservative duty and some caramel color was used.  The final result is a clear, golden liquid with no sediment and little carbonation. Not much scent either.

Sweetness starts off the show as planned.  The ginger appears but never fully materializes, light and mild, virtually no heat.  A hint of syrup passes through.  Sugary describes the finish.

The taste here is not that of a ginger beer, but of a ginger ale, plus it demonstrates the syrupy characteristic found in a brown soft drink.  Considering there’s minimal ginger and no kick, it’s hard to make a case for ginger beer fans to prioritize sampling this.  A stop at Fitz’s while in St. Louis is still on the to-do list, but the best idea is to probably stick to something they’re renowned for: the root beer.

Final Decision: Fifth Tier – Skippable

Purchased at: Beverages Direct | Online availability at: Fitz’s, Antiqology

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Barritts (no apostrophe) Bermuda Stone Ginger Beer is a carbonated-water-based offering which features a few puzzling ingredients like the natural extract of quillaia bark and neutral cloud, which probably refused to take a side in WWII.  The label goes on to say it’s flavored with natural and artificial ginger but you’ll find no sediment to tump.  Sugar is the sweetener of choice here and a touch of caramel coloring made the cut as well.

You can have it in a bottle of assorted sizes, or even a can if you’re tubing the river.  Mine was a 12oz glass bottle, clear as day so you can see the near-white color of the drink—an enjoyable detail.  The background color of the label is evocative of the copper mug you’d find your Moscow Mule served in.  The design is not overly done, featuring what I presume is an ancient logo, but the typeface for GINGER BEER is ghastly.

Barritts will cost you a pretty stout 200 calories.  Though if that’s too much a diet version is available—which we’ll get into in a later post.

When tasting, a rich sweetness overlays the ginger flavor which lacks the depth given by fresh root.  Taking place almost entirely on the mid-tongue, the flavor is simple, hitting all at once, and a bit one-note.  Carbonation level is on the milder side of moderate, enough to bubble up your drink a bit when using it as a mixer.  You’ll find little if any heat here, making it easy to drink but lacking the punch of a stronger variety.

If your preference is for extra sweet ginger beers with no heat, this is one for you.  My desires don’t follow that path as I’m a fan of spiciness and found it a bit too sugary.  It’s worth trying for sure and there’s certainly a fan base for it.  Personally I’d call it average but would be comfortable recommending it to the right kind of person.  Any drink that’s been around as long as this one certainly has something going for it.

Final Decision: Third Tier – Enjoyable

Purchased locally at: Spec’s  |  Also available locally at: Total Wine | Online availability at: Antiqology, Beverages Direct (in 6-pack bottles, 12-pack bottles and 12-pack cans), Soda Emporium (in singles, 4-packs and a case), Soda Pop Stop

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