Orca itself is the brainchild of Mike Bourgeois and began its life with a water-and-juice drink that proved challenging to bottle because of the particles and pulp.  Kicked off three separate bottling lines, Orca determined the best route forward was to find one of their own.  They procured a beat-up Pepsi line that had been totaled in a flood and put in some hard work rebuilding it.  Now, Orca bottles its own specialty sodas along with many others like Moxie and Dad’s, over 100 in total.

Misty Wither’s gets shipped in clear 12-ounce long-neck bottles with transparent labels which show off the crystalline liquid beautifully.  Elegant line work swirls and curls around the elaborate navy-blue type of the logo.  It’s very pretty packaging.  While Misty Wither’s is supposed to be inspired by women of the 1920’s the design is squarely Victorian with its fancy ornamentation and swooping type.  Art Deco dominated the design of the 20’s and it’s a shame not to see it here.  That said, the overall effect is attractive and without reading the bit about the inspiration off the website, there would be no complaints.

Surprisingly, a serving of Misty Wither’s counts only 80 calories.  For the reason why look to the nutritional information.  While cane sugar accompanies the carbonated water, ginger extract and citric acid, stevia extract sits at the end of the list.  Stevia is sweeter than sugar and doesn’t metabolize so it’s worth zero calories.  Mixing it in means a calorie bargain without sacrificing the taste of the cane sugar.  One preservative, sodium benzoate, is present but shouldn’t be the least bit alarming.

As mentioned above, the liquid appears almost entirely clear with just the slightest haze.  The nose brings sweetness with a pop of ginger.  The sweetness comes on first but initially tastes drier than it smells.  The ginger arrives briskly, rich and earthy, while the sweetness continues to crescendo, at this point soft as a Smarties candy.  The ginger protracts for a substantial portion of the progression, hanging on through the finish and accompanied by a final, sharp sparkle of sweetness.  The heat is significant with prickles crackling throughout the mouth and upon the lips. 

The advance of the sweetness sets this ginger beer apart.  Development comes along gradually, gently ramping up instead of hitting at once and fading.  While it strikes as dry at the outset, it ultimately ends up being quite sweet.  It’s unusual without being odd.  The tone of the ginger tastes wonderful too and the above-average heat is more than welcome.  It’s a striking combination that makes for an excellent experience.

Final Decision: Second Tier – Alluring

Purchased at: Cooper Farms Country Store, a small market in Fairfield, Texas I stumbled into while driving from Dallas to Houston. They offer a very large selection of craft and specialty sodas, deftly arranged by color with a few on tap. | Available online at: Orca Beverage, Antiqology, and Soda Emporium

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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

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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

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B. Stiff & Sons Old Fashioned Soda Pop Company is the non-alcoholic arm of the Oskar Blues empire.  The brand name pays homage to a friend of founder Dale Katechis.  Brian Stiff was an avid biker who died suddenly, leaving behind a family including two children.  A fraction of the profit goes towards supporting them.

The original 2012 B. Stiff offering grew to be the fastest-selling craft root beer in Colorado and in 2016 it was joined by four more flavors, all with vintage appeal.  Among them came this ginger beer but also released were cream, orange cream and black cherry sodas.

The can is bewildering to behold.  Every inch of space has been crammed with something, from a portrait of a bird soaring over the Rockies to witty phrases like “Mary Ann and Ginger Beer” and “Try It, Mule Like It.”  There are starred ribbons, comedic capitalization and two prominent logos front and center.  “B. Stiff” appears in a circus font, “& Sons” in a grunge font and “Old Fashioned” is in script.  It’s insane.

There’s some sciencey-sounding words in the ingredient list for this 150-calorie soda like sodium benzoate and sucrose acetate isobutyrate but no point getting carried away.  They’re harmless.  The first preserves flavor while the second prevents separation.   The real attention-getter is ginger puree.  Not “natural flavors;” not even extract.  Puree!  With cane sugar providing the sweetness, expectations ride high.

In the glass the opaque liquid tends toward the white end of the ginger beer color spectrum and gives off only a mild scent of ginger.  The first performance is given by a dull sweetness which hands the stage to a very mild ginger with absolutely no prickling sensation.  Lime speaks, softly.  Just prior to the finish is an earthy, botanical blip, likely a product of the puree. 

The progression is a cloud.  Everything is soft with no hard edges.  Smooth throughout, no heat from the ginger, no tart from the citrus.  No excitement either.  It’s altogether pretty standard, feeling like a ginger beer developed in a focus group.  Absolutely inoffensive. 

Though the can is quite shouty, the taste is anything but.  The hype of ginger puree quiets after sampling, lacking the expected zing of fresh ginger.  But all is not lost here.  Disregard any expectations, judge it on its merits and here is found a gratifying experience. No, it won’t inspire backflips but it is pleasant, smooth and easy to drink and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Final Decision: Third Tier – Enjoyable

Purchased locally at: Spec’s

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The ginger beer sits stored in a silver can with royal blue trim.  The background is filled with wooden planks not unlike a backyard fence.  The hand-written logo floats above an illustration of a golden retriever, the most eye-catching feature of the can.  There’s a story there.

John grew up with a family dog like a lot of kids did.  His was a beloved pet lovingly named Bailey.  Bailey performed classic tricks, like fetching the newspaper, and loved boat rides to places where she could search for fish slipping by.  Bailey was cute as a button and in her picture sports a fetching red bandana.  Not many ginger beers have a mascot, and Bailey suits the job well.

Kure’s is comprised of only four ingredients with no arcane preservatives.  Carbonated water makes up the foundation with cane sugar, ginger juice and citric acid.  Ginger juice always feels good to see on a label.  This combination is good for 100 calories in the 12-ounce can.

On the nose floats the welcome scent of ginger, smelling freshly cut.  The cloudy white liquid holds plenty of sediment, that real ginger drifting through.  The inception tastes slightly sweet until a rush of fresh ginger storms through, accentuated with citrus.  A touch of heat tickles more than prickles.  Ginger persists after the swallow, then is joined by a jolt of tartness before a finish of sweetness, lazily lingering for a few seconds.  Heat builds as the can is consumed but never reaches a distracting intensity.

Kure’s began with home brewing and even now, canned, tastes like it was just created in the next room.  The ginger is a superstar, coming through brilliantly and the citrus emboldens the effect.  It’s not trying to do anything fancy, just deliver a great tasting traditional ginger beer.  It succeeds wildly.

Final Decision: First Tier – Exceptional

Purchased at: Mayfair Liquors in Denver, CO. Also available throughout Colorado and northern Illinois. | Cases available online at kuresgingerbeer.com

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John Henry Bryant was brewing beer in the Eastern Townships of Quebec at the Silver Springs Brewery back in 1896 when he grew tired of the sheer volume of competition in the area.  What he needed was a unique product, a niche that he could exploit to meet with the kind of success he dreamed of.  Irish by heritage, Bryant settled on a Belfast-style ginger ale which his wife suggested he call Bull’s Head as an homage to his characteristic stubbornness.  Bottles sold briskly for decades as people of the region loved the crisp drink.

The rights to the unique ginger ale changed hands a few times beginning about 40-50 years ago but settled with the 2009 purchase by Charles and Dominic Pearson and their partner Charles Martel.  Their vision of the company went beyond ginger ale and a number of new flavors joined the lineup such as a root beer, a cola and a blood orange soda.  In 2012, they concocted this, the Ginger Beer, which they insist is delicious in a Shandy Gaff — a traditionally after-golf mixture of blond lager and ginger beer.

The bottle casts a squat silhouette with its short neck and stocky proportions.  The logo and the founding year of 1896 rise from the dark brown glass.  The label is clearly inspired by the design of that era with its strong type and etched art.  The effect holds vintage appeal and would look right at home in a Victorian bar.

In the ingredients the water gets a special recognition.  This is not ordinary carbonated water; this is carbonated Appalachian Mountains spring water.  Following that opening act are cane sugar, natural flavor and citric acid with the ginger flavor coming from extract.  The sum total is 11.5 ounces for 108 calories.  That’d be about 113 for 12 ounces, just for comparison’s sake.

There’s spiciness to the ginger smell that tingles the nose a bit.  The ginger beer holds a dark color, near to a cola despite the lack of caramel coloring, and no sediment.

A light sweetness comes in first followed by the taste of a strongly earthy ginger.  There’s a burst of sweetness and heat late in the development with prickles on the tongue and roof of the mouth.  The heat measures above average but doesn’t overpower. A fading sweetness graces the finish. 

Hewing close to traditional flavors and ingredients, this ginger beer boasts toe-shoe balance and expertly tuned spiciness.  Canadian ginger beers being difficult to locate in the States, the nation’s first impression is certainly impressive. Bull’s Head is stubbornly good.

Final Decision: Second Tier – Alluring

Purchased at: Rocket Fizz in Highlands Ranch, CO | Check website for local and online availability.

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Goslings began as the venture of James Gosling, an Englishman from Kent who in 1806 came up short on his journey to America and found himself in Bermuda.  In time he and his brother began developing rum there which, through necessity, they poured into champagne bottles.  They sealed those bottles with black wax.  The locals, taken with the spirit, began referring to it as “black seal rum.”  Today bottles of Goslings rum feature a black seal on the label as does their Stormy Ginger Beer.

The Dark ‘n Stormy cocktail is a favorite for those appreciating the taste of ginger beer and originates with Goslings, who created it to feature their rum.  They trademarked the drink and introduced their take on ginger beer to accompany the rum.  So, to this day, a proper Dark ‘n Stormy is an all-Goslings concoction.

I’ve recently returned from an Alaska cruise aboard the Disney Wonder.  For those dreaming of a Dark ‘n Stormy or a Moscow Mule, the bars aboard carry Goslings, meaning it’s available to ginger beer enthusiasts looking for a fix even if it doesn’t appear on the menu.

Looking back at the can, there’s 190 calories within.  Carbonated water kicks off the ingredient list as usual with the much rarer high fructose corn syrup following.  Next is the hilarious “natural ginger beer flavor” which is an oroboros of an ingredient as you clearly need the ginger beer’s flavor to create the “natural ginger beer flavor” ingredient but how can you create the ginger beer in the first place if you don’t yet have the “natural ginger beer flavor?”  Citric acid, gum acacia and ester gum round out the list.

Goslings produces notable fizz when poured and possesses a cloudy appearance, practically opaque.  The aroma is of ginger swathed in sweetness.

A nova of sweet appears first, preceding a burst of ginger that seems to grow more natural tasting as it develops.  A touch of heat moves through the mouth, leaving prickles at the back of the throat, just a kiss lingering on the tongue and roof.  The traditional formula means there’s not a lot to distract from the ginger flavor which hangs on longer than expected.  While that first blush of sweetness carries weight, subsequent sips grow lighter, bringing it beautifully in balance. 

The black seal may be a play on words but it’s also a seal of quality.  This is a strong entry, both impactful and drinkable and thankfully easy to find.

Final Decision: Second Tier – Alluring

Purchased at: The Disney Wonder cruise ship | Widely available but you could always order it from Target.

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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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White Rock is perhaps best known for their cocktail mixers like tonic water and club soda so it stands to reason that ginger beer would eventually be on offer, especially now that Moscow Mules and Dark n’ Stormies have made a comeback.  So, in 2016 that prophecy came true as the first ginger beers rolled off the line, into stores everywhere and eventually into my stomach.

The container is a green-tinted, one-liter plastic bottle of the type you might find holding a Sprite.  Unless you’re sharing it, the large bottle might be too much to finish in one night and the quality suffers by the second or third day. Squat ten-ounce glass bottles, of the sort their club soda might be in, appeared at the store after writing this. They’re preferable.

The label design is dominated by an enormous White Rock logo floating over a mocha field adorned with symbols and wording evocative of fun and good times.  A yellow band wraps the bottom of the label and features the words GINGER BEER in an attractive slab-serif typeface.  It looks corporate and focus-grouped. The design won’t impress many graphic designers (what does?) but it’s better than a lot of other ginger beer labels and that’s something.

While reviewing Sioux City Ginger Beer I noticed it was distributed by White Rock so I immediately wondered if perhaps they were the same drink in different bottles.  Both have calorie counts of 190; both have practically the same ingredient list, just the wording is a bit different: purified carbonated water in Sioux City versus triple-filtered carbonated water in White Rock.

So, during my Sioux City tasting I popped open a bottle of White Rock as a comparison.  Same ginger flavor, same level of sweetness, same level of heat, same exact thing. 

That means you can read the Sioux City review as a review of White Rock too.  In short, White Rock is a balanced, workmanlike ginger beer that takes no chances but presents few flaws.

I feel like this double bottling is a bit of a savvy move.  It expands their audience considerably.  Instead of having to choose which market to focus on, craft soda or mixer, they can drop the product into two different bottles and reach both.

Plus, Sioux City isn’t a bad ginger beer yet it’s impossible to find in my area.  White Rock, however, is in grocery stores and liquor stores all over town, giving access to a drink I wouldn’t have otherwise.

So buy Sioux City or buy White Rock.  Either way you’re getting a quality product that’s a competent craft soda and a capable mixer.  The choice is up to you.

Final Decision: Third Tier – Enjoyable

Purchased locally at: HEB  |  Also available locally at: Spec’s

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Cowboys kicking their way through those twin swinging doors were most surely watching their calorie counts so they’d be interested to know this one carries 190 of them.  It’s mostly purified carbonated water and now, hopping on the trend of abandoning high fructose corn syrup, pure cane sugar.  Further down the list lie food starch modified (a thickener), ester gum and brominated soybean oil (which together keep the liquid from separating).  Ginger is presumably included under “natural flavor.”

The 12-ounce, darkly brown-tinted, heritage-style glass bottle is slightly heavy and features “SIOUX CITY” in raised lettering, a wonderful touch.  While older bottles from the company were intricately designed and delightfully antique-appearing, this modern one is adorned by a clear label with on-brand design inspired by the Old West.  An eagle, no doubt about to grasp a tasty beverage, features prominently and is done in negative space.  There’s only three colors here, giving a bit of a muted appearance, but it works for what it is.

Carbonation is light for a soda but typical for a ginger beer.  Pouring the liquid into a glass reveals no sediment.  In the mouth, sweetness appears just before the ginger rises to meet you, draping over the sides of the tongue and moving to the back of the throat, leaving gentle prickles behind.  It’s pleasantly sweet without being sugary and balances well with the mild heat. 

Sioux City deserves a repeat buy but it doesn’t deserve to be called special.  It takes no chances, breaks no new ground. There are no surprises, no unusual ingredients. The mission here is to create a classic and pure ginger beer and, operating strictly within that mold, it’s a success. Therefore, it’s a great starter ginger beer, perfect as an introduction to the drink, establishing a baseline with plenty of room above and below to explore.

Interestingly, buying this again doesn’t have to mean buying Sioux City brand ginger beer.  This tidbit is something I’ll get into in a later installment.

Final Decision: Third Tier – Enjoyable

Purchased at: Beverages Direct (in 6-packs and 12-packs) |  Also available at: Soda4u, Soda Emporium

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