Old Jamaica Rhubarb & Ginger Ale (Asda) By @SpectreUK

I generally have a diet Old Jamaica beer every evening to settle my stomach after dinner. I do love diet Jamaica Ginger Beer. It's got quite a kick to it. Ginger Ale generally doesn't have much of a kick as it's ginger flavoured carbonated water, rather than fermented ginger beer. However I have tried Old Jamaica Ginger Ale, and I can say that it's the most fiery ginger ale I've tried to date. So Old Jamaica are doing something right there.

I do love rhubarb. I used to go it in the garden and have rhubarb juice made for me by Cinabar. It was super sweet and tasty. This Old Jamaica Rhubarb & Ginger Ale is very pink in colour. It's 20 calories per 100ml, with 4.9g of sugar, which I'll frustratingly have to factor into my calorie counting.

There was a spicy sweet rhubarb aroma on opening the bottle and quite a fizz. On taste this Old Jamaica Rhubarb & Ginger Ale has an almost saccharin sweet taste of rhubarb, and with a warming ginger spice at the back of flavour. This super sweet rhubarb flavour was almost a little too sweet for me. I liked it, but it wasn't worth the 'hidden' calories that a diet drink can alleviate.

Luscombe Hot Ginger Beer (Shugborough Hall) By @SpectreUK

I had a few days free before I started my new job this week. We had a couple of days out here and there. One of the places we went to was Shugborough Hall. Late afternoon we stopped wandering around the house and grounds for a short time for a quite drink and a piece of gooey flapjack. I tried this Luscombe Hot Ginger Beer to wash my flapjack down with.

This Luscombe Hot Ginger Beer had quite a ginger buzz on opening the bottle. It also had quite a bit of ginger sediment in the bottle. My initial reaction on trying it was; "Yep that is hot. Woooo. That is very hot. That is nose tingly hot. It burns in the back of my throat." Peruvian root ginger with Sicillian lemon has an oddly pleasant bitter and sweet citrus and yet fiery ginger spicy hot flavour.

There is a taste of lemon at the back of the flavour just trying to poke through the firewall of ginger spice. So to start with its hot ginger, then it turns into a little lemon with hot ginger, and the lemon is bitter with a touch of sweetness into the aftertaste. This Luscombe Hot Ginger Beer is a spicy hot bitter drink. There was even ginger sediment at the bottom of the glass. Having said that, I rather enjoyed drinking it and it also perfectly complemented my flapjack.

My new job as a project manager started today. After some unfortunate wrangling with an unhappy laptop, I am now able to work at home for the duration. It's just a three month contract, but I'll be working on the vaccinations. I worked on the vaccinations late last year and early this year helping to set up seven vaccination centres, including a hospital and two max vaccination centres converting them from leisure centres. I'm not sure what I'll be doing here, but I'm hoping it will be helping the people of the local community to protect themselves, their loved ones, and also get back to some sort of normality. It's a little like fighting a war against contagion on an ever changing battlefield. It was last time anyway, and I'm happy to stand with those who have been working so hard to continue the fight.

Fever Tree Spiced Orange Ginger Ale (Ocado) By @SpectreUK

I have a ginger beer before bedtime every night. It helps to settle my stomach after a good meal. I always have a sugar free ginger beer. Counting calories is a bummer, but when I'm exercising like mad and trying to eat pretty and drink much what I like, but keep my weight down, extra calories on something I'm not used to here and there are just a waste to me. I'd rather have a beer or a chocolate bar. 

Here is a flavoured ginger ale from Fever Tree with added sugar. I may have mentioned in the past that there is a difference between ginger beer and ginger ale. Whereas ginger beer is brewed and fermented and usually has a strong ginger bite to it, ginger ale is carbonated water flavoured with ginger. This Fever Tree Spiced Orange Ginger Ale is not only flavoured with ginger, but it is also flavoured with sweet clementines and spicy cinnamon.

So my first concern is the carbonated water. I just don't like it. It doesn't taste of anything. It makes me burp and it's not even lemonade. I do like lemonade. Well, who doesn't? I like a good ginger beer with a good bite to it. I know Cinabar was looking for alternatives at the time because of a shortage of ginger beer in the shops, I just wish ginger ale hadn't become a part of those alternatives. I do like clementines, so that's a plus, but I really don't like cinnamon. I just reckon the cinnamon is going to take over the whole drink. I'm just going to end up burping cinnamon throughout my bedtime here. I can see it coming off... So as you can see, this Fever Tree Spiced Orange Ginger Ale has quite a bit going against it.

On opening the 500ml bottle, which incidentally has 18 calories per 100ml, so it's like drinking a small chocolate bar but without the fun, there was a spicy cinnamon and orange smell with a slight hint of ginger. The angry bubbles from the carbonated water assaulted my nostrils at that point and I had to pull away.

The drink itself definitely has bite, it just wasn't of ginger. The cinnamon took over everything. This Fever Tree Spiced Orange Ginger Ale was definitely the most fiery ginger ale I've ever drunk. However the fire came from the cinnamon. The clementines tried their best to calm the cinnamon down, but the cinnamon was just having none of it. The cinnamon burnt through whatever ginger was present and pretty much burnt through the bottom of my pint glass. I could feel the cinnamon setting aflame to my throat as it went down.

Oddly moreish in a deranged masochistic way, I did drink the whole pint. I won't go as far as to say that I liked this Fever Tree Spiced Orange Ginger Ale. Oh no... Cinabar might go and buy me another. I would say that it was the fiercest ginger ale I've ever drank, even if there wasn't much ginger. I would say that it was the tastiest ginger ale I've ever drunk, because the clementines were rather nice mixed in with the battling spices. I would say that I had a rather spicy burping contest afterwards against no one in particular. I would say that if I was bought another one of these Fever Tree Spiced Orange Ginger Ales, just... just as an alternative mind, I would drink that one down too. I just wouldn't say that I liked that one either, or any others that came after that!

Old Jamaica Ginger Beer Extra Fiery (Morrisons) By @SpectreUK

I presume Cinabar bought me this Old Jamaica Ginger Beer Extra Fiery drink to amuse herself. I do love Old Jamaica Ginger Beer and have a glass of the zero sugar version every night to settle tummy after dinner. However Cinabar knows that "Extra Fiery" will more than likely make me sneeze whilst I'm trying to drink it. I do like alcoholic ginger beers too, but rarely see them on store lists or in the pubs, when they were open of course.

This Old Jamaica Ginger Beer Extra Fiery also has Zero Sugar, so no guilt here or extra hidden calories to burn off from the crazy amount of exercise I've done so far today. I overslept badly this morning. I'm usually pretty good and start my three or more hours of rehabilitation exercise per day for my knee and shoulder around 5am. I woke up around 7:30am and panicked half of my exercise before a morning's work. I have this afternoon off to finish my weights and mat exercises, and a further two weeks off to relax and unwind.

On opening the can of this Old Jamaica Ginger Beer Extra Fiery Zero Sugar I gave the bubbling excitable contents a tentative sniff and immediately regretted it. The fiery ginger overload caught my nose hairs as well as some of the bubbles and I had to catch myself from the initial sneeze. On pouring this Old Jamaica Ginger Beer Extra Fiery looks much like the regular zero sugar version, so this could be a good trick if you want to catch someone out. On taste all the fires of hell pounced on me all at once. Phew... it's really nice and flavoursome, but small sips are necessary from here on in or at least a box of tissues handy... title of your sex tape!

Hawkes True Roots Alcoholic Ginger Beer (The Bell Pub) By @SpectreUK

So we decided to go for a pub meal to celebrate Cinabar's birthday last Sunday. We recently found out just before Christmas that The Bell at Belbroughton is a lovely place to eat out at. The quality of the food is excellent, the price is not too high, the staff are very friendly and helpful, and the service is fairly quick. At a pub I usually ask what draft ale or stout they have to go with whatever meal I'm having, such as my ribeye steak at the Bell. However I was looking through the drinks menu before the waitress came over and I saw this Hawkes True Roots Alcoholic Ginger Beer. I figured it would help with my digestion. Besides, I do like a good alcoholic ginger beer…

This Hawkes True Roots Alcoholic Ginger Beer was brewed from natural ginger and mandarins. Gluten free, and 4% volume, it was described on the skull-faced bottle as 'bold and spicy'. It was served to me over ice with a slice of lime in a half pint glass, so I could keep topping it up from the 500ml bottle at my leisure. This ginger beer smelt pretty fruity of mandarin and a little citrus from the added lime, with a bite of ginger at the end of the aroma. On taste it was smooth and slightly sweet from the mandarin to start with, a touch of citrus from the lime bobbing around with the ice, and then a warming spicy ginger bite to finish into the aftertaste. I found this Hawkes True Roots Alcoholic Ginger Beer very tasty, as well as fruity and spicy. It washed down my steak meal very well indeed, and of course... it was good for my digestion!

Supermalt Ginger Beer (@DegustaboxUK) By @SpectreUK

Supermalt Ginger Beer

It's amazing how much time I have on my hands whilst I'm laid up after an operation on my knee… I recently found out a fascinating fact that ginger beer and ginger ale are two separate things. I always thought the 'ale' and 'beer' where ginger is concerned were interchangeable. I've talked to a few people since and they thought the same thing. Apparently ginger ale is carbonated water flavoured with ginger, whereas ginger beer is fermented and that's why it generally has a much more fiery taste than its counterpart. So you can imagine my surprise when this Ginger Beer, presented by Supermalt in Denmark, stated on the back of the label that this is "330ml carbonated soft drink with taste of ginger" Is the entirety of Google wrong or is the description on the back of the bottle wrong? Hmm… only one way to find out…

On opening the bottle the ginger smell from the off-transparent slightly yellowish beverage wasn't hugely nose tingling like I'd expect from an actual ginger beer. There was plenty of fizz on pouring though. There followed the mild sweet taste of ginger 'ale', rather than the fermented 'beer' variety. It's a pity in a way that I did the experiment and found out the difference between the two, but we live and learn, and it should be a good thing to expand our knowledge on all things. Perhaps Supermalt need to do some searching on Google too, before they produce anything else that's not what it seems? One thing I did notice from this drink was that the ginger was a pretty much overshadowed by the sheer amount of sugar. 16g of sugar per 100ml of liquid is quite a lot, especially as it was mostly all I could taste, asides a heavy touch of caramel syrup to add even more sweetness… wouldn't want any of that fiery ginger flavour to worry anyone now, would we?

Ginger Fever! Fever Tree Premium Ginger Ale and Premium Ginger Beer (Sainsbury's) By @SpectreUK

It's times like these that I realise that I can be pretty ignorant. I do love ginger ale, and the nose hair ticklier (yes, I know that's not a word) the better. However, I actually presumed that the terms ginger ale and ginger beer were interchangeable. A little bit like beer and ale. Although ale and lager are different due to their types of yeast and their fermentation process, which is 'top' for ale and 'bottom' for lager. Ginger ale and ginger beer to me were the same. I guess I've never given it much thought, just popped the can open and drunk it. I have had alcoholic ginger beer in the past though. I've even blogged about a few. The clue is in the title… Ginger beer is fermented (brewed like beer!), whereas ginger ale is not, it's ginger flavoured carbonated water. Who'd have (good ole Urban Dictionary) 'thunk' it? These two bottles from Fever Tree made me think again.

Now to the drinks themselves… The Premium Ginger Ale is a slightly coppery colour. The blurb on the back of the label states that there is natural ginger in this ginger ale and also botanical flavours for a traditional ginger ale taste. I'm used to mass produced ginger ale, big on fizz and even bigger on nose hair tickling flavour. On opening the 500ml glass bottle this Premium Ginger Ale was definitely big on fizz. There was a mild smell of ginger and it didn't make me sneeze like my regular favourite brand if I suddenly masochistically sniff it. On taste this Premium Ginger Ale is very easy to drink. The botanicals they mention taste a little like those within a traditional cola, and the natural ginger is a little understated. It did tickle my nose slightly, but not to sneezing stage… not that the label promised it would provide super ginger heat like some other drinks do. If you prefer a more subtle ginger ale than this is definitely for you.

The Premium Ginger Beer is a cloudy white in colour. The label states that this drink has a blend of ginger roots, and again with the botanical flavours. There was a decent fizz on opening the bottle, only this time I could smell a heady blend of ginger root. It almost made me sneeze. I had a feeling I was going to like this drink. On taste this is a completely different drink to the Premium Ginger Ale. All subtlety is out of the window. There is oodles of ginger root in this drink. It jumps out of the drink as you take a swig and slaps you around the face screaming "ginger". I must admit I got a pretty runny nose from drinking this Premium Ginger Beer. They could definitely put 'fiery' in front of the ginger beer on the label. Not too sweet in flavour, the botanicals take a back seat in this drink, and the ginger root is very much full throttle. As you've probably guessed, this was my favourite of the two. Premium Ginger Beer for the win!

The Ginger Grizzly Alcoholic Ginger Beer (Lidl) By @SpectreUK

Likening an alcoholic ginger beer to an angry grizzly bear makes me wonder just how hot the spice will be in The Ginger Grizzly, by Hatherwood Craft Beer Company. Too late now I guess, as I've already started the blog! I've tried a few alcoholic ginger beers in the past and throughout their varying spicy strengths I've never drank a bad one. Having said that, there is always chance of a first! After all, grizzly bears aren't known for being warm and cuddly creatures, hence the name. They have been known to tear people apart with their claws, which makes me wonder if this ginger beer by the same name has its own sharp claws. Well there's only one way to find out…

… it does say on the back of the label "pour over ice and garnish with lemon for the perfect serve", which didn't sound very terrifying. So I began to relax a little whilst opening the 4% volume ginger beer's bottle. There was already an unsubtle citrus lemon aroma mixed in with the ginger spice. In fact it was quite strong and stopped the ginger smell dead in its tracks from tickling my nose hairs like some other ginger beers have in the past. Smells to me like the Ginger Grizzly is all out of puff.

Although I must say that the sheer fizz on pouring this drink sounded like the low growling of a distant bear amongst some dark wooded trees. Maybe the bear had stopped for a back scratch on a tree trunk? More like from the taste of this drink that the bear had been waiting to pounce all along from the shadows. There is certainly a mouth burning hotness to this ginger beer. The citrus lemon smell lulled me into the bear's waiting claws as my tastebuds were buffeted by instant waves of spicy burning ginger. The lemon zest certainly takes a back burner showing its fairer hand into the aftertaste, but when the Ginger Grizzy bear has got a hold of you, it's hard to shake his fiery temper!

Traditional Cloudy Ginger Beer (Waitrose) [By @SpectreUK]

I’ve tried a few ginger beers by John Crabbie & Company, from Edinburgh, Scotland, but none with the difference of having no alcohol in it. The smart label on the 700ml bottle described the adventurer John Crabbie as being the ‘Ginger Master’ since 1801, which sounded a little like an ancient orange haired Kung Fu expert. The label states that this non-alcoholic ginger beer was made by combining fruit and ginger in a secret recipe to make a cloudy traditional ginger beer. It recommends using ice, as well as a slice of lime or lemon.
I decided to drink this straight and from a good stint in Cinabar’s super cold fridge, as so not to faff around with little blocks of the cold stuff. There was a strong smell of ginger on opening the bottle, which was expected of course. On first taste the bubbles and spicy smell of ginger overpowered my nose hairs and I had to stifle a sneeze. This is definitely not a ginger beer for wussies. In my mind it’s a spicy hot flavoursome ginger beer that packs a mean Highland punch, and doesn’t need any additional flavours such as lime, lemon and added ice would probably run away screaming. Any additional alcohol would be burnt off in a whizz! Once my nose hairs had calmed down and let me take a sip it felt like my entire mouth filled with spicy hot ginger beer, I could feel it clearing my nose and burning down my throat all the way into my waiting worried belly. Of course ginger is very good for the tummy too. This is a refreshing kickass ginger beer and no mistake! Wallop, here comes another dram!

Traditional Alcoholic Cloudy Ginger Beer (Waitrose) [By @SpectreUK]

This Traditional Cloudy Alcoholic Ginger Beer was brewed and bottled for Waitrose. It was made from dried Chinese Ginger Root and a serving suggestion on the 330ml bottle stated that this ginger beer goes well with a slice of lemon. I had no lemon to hand and was not too fussed about trying it over ice as the weather seems to go from cold windy rain, to sleet, to snow, to thunder, to hail, a slice of hot sun and then back to freezing rain again at the moment. Yes, winter is still here, but a crazy pseudo-winter throwing everything at us. A spell for this 3.8% volume ginger beer in Cinabar’s super cold fridge was enough for me to drink it, and to be refreshed whilst the central heating pumped and gurgled away in the background. There was a pleasing fizz on opening the bottle followed by a nose hair tickling smell of ginger. The lightly carbonated cloudy ginger beer had an initial fiery burn that just kept giving throughout each mouthful. Who needs central heating or ice? This drink was enough to keep me warm for a while with its fierce ginger taste and slight alcoholic buzz at the end of the flavour. All I need now is another bottle to warm me up before bed tonight!

By Spectre

Gingerella Ginger Ale (Ocado @KarmaColaUK) [By @SpectreUK]

Gingerella Ginger Ale

Don’t tell Cinabar, but there’s something about redheads! Here we have a bottle of Gingerella. A name I’m going to find it difficult not to call all redheads from now on. Produced by Karma Cola in Herefordshire, this ginger ale was made with Fairtrade ginger from Sri Lanka, a dash of lemon, a touch of Fairtrade vanilla, a few spoonful’s of Fairtrade sugar and the promise of a fiery smack on first cheeky taste. On opening I was at first surprised not to have my nose hairs scolded by ginger. There was some lemon in the aroma, as well as vanilla mixed in with the ginger. On pouring the fizzy bubbly concoction the ginger shone through in the smell and I cheerfully felt my nose hairs curl. In fact I sneezed after my first tentative sip… twice. The fiery ginger hit my tastebuds first and the jumping dancing bubbles popped straight up my nose. The drink didn’t taste overly sweet to me, which didn’t distract from the natural flavours. The lemon and vanilla mixed well together were waiting patiently behind the passionate ginger spice as the flavours all moved into the aftertaste. All in all a very refreshing fiery fizzy ginger ale packing a passionate punch from Gingerella. I can just imagine the cat suit and whiskers!

Information on the bottle;

330ml bottle has 149 calories, no fat, 34.7g of sugar and 0.3g of salt. Ingredients included; carbonated water, organic sugar, organic lemon juice from concentrate, ginger, vanilla, and natural flavours from clove extract, and capsicum extract.

Pimento Gingembre Ginger Beer (@Pimentodrink)[By @spectreUK]

Produced in Paris, this Pimento Gingembre or Ginger Beer (for those that can't find their old Tricolore book from school) was very kindly sent to us to try. It proudly states on the bottle that it is alcohol free and that it is a "very hot drink". After a long stint in the fridge I popped open the bottle and could instantly smell the fiery strength of the ginger. This excitable mid-brown drink bubbled fizzily into my waiting beer glass. I noticed there was a slight mistiness to the drink. I breathed in the fiery ginger again which tickled my nose hairs as I took my first swig. This drink instantly reminded me that I should drink ginger beer more often. So flavoursome and boy what a kick! I'd have to agree with the label, as this Pimento Gingembre is one of the hottest ginger beers I've ever tasted. The kick hit me straight away with every mouthful. Then the ginger boils into the aftertaste to linger for an age in my mouth smouldering. It's definitely a pick-me-drink, perfectly refreshing after an hour or two at the gym or to wake a lazy backside off the settee to do something useful... Like try and put out a fire!

Information on the label;
250ml bottle at 75 calories, and per 100ml has 0g of fat, 0g of salt and 7.1g of sugar. Ingredients included; carbonated water, citric acid, natural flavours, sweetener acesulfame K, sucralose, and colour: E150d.

By Spectre

Alcoholic Ginger Beer (Sainsbury's) [By @SpectreUK]

It's exam and revision time at university. I've done most of my coursework over the Christmas period, just the one left to be handed in in a couple of weeks. I must confess I'm craving the great outdoors at the moment. There was a tropical island image on the front label of this Sainsbury's 'Taste the Difference' Alcoholic Ginger Beer. It had a distinctive ginger and light hint of citrus smell on pouring. Produced by the Freeminer Brewery there was a serving suggestion to serve this ginger beer chilled over ice with a slice of refreshing lemon. However I prefer my ginger beer lightly chilled from the fridge so the ginger spices can warm my cockles! Golden amber in colour and lightly carbonated, but with the added fieriness from the natural ginger made my nose hairs stand on end. There was an immediate rich fiery ginger taste followed by a light zest of citrus. Lipsmacking spices oozed lovingly around my mouth tantalising my tastebuds as I savoured every drop. The spices warmed me up in this cold damp winter and the citrus did refresh me, but then again I was principally after the warmth, which I received in spades!

Information on the bottle;
500ml bottle at 4% volume.

By Spectre

Septimus Spyder Ginger Beer (@SpyderBrew @brown_and_green) [By @SpectreUK]

I often keep a bottle or can of ginger beer in for when I have a dicky tummy. This is generally when I've eaten something that I've had a disagreement with and my tummy has lost the argument. Septimus Spyder's Medieval Brewhouse traditionally fermented this Special Reserve Ginger Beer. So the bottle states that the Spyder's small beers are brewed using "gruit", which is a mixture of herbs and spices used for brewing from the rock-banging-together days of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Mercia.

This Ginger Beer had a lightly carbonated white cloudy look on pouring into my glass beer mug. There was a sharpened ginger smell from the mirky white liquid with a hint of lime and lemon at the end of the odour. This was a warming spicy ginger beer on taste, not at all like the fiery nose hair catching ginger beers I've tasted in the past. The light fizziness complemented the subtleties of the spicy undertones which seemed to be playfully skipping behind the ginger, whilst the mild lime and lemon flavour took the tastebuds on a pleasant journey into the aftertaste. This was a refreshing ride on soft bubbles, not a white knuckle fight for your life on water rapids. Perfect for my dicky tummy after a little bit of upset.

Information on the bottle;
330ml waxed bottle with just over 0.5% volume. Brewed by Septimus Spyder Drinks in Lichfield. Ingredients included; lightly carbonated water, sugar, roots; ginger, and dandelion; lemon juice, lime juice, cream of tartar, antioxidant; vitamin C; preservatives; sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate. Gluten free and vegan friendly.

By Spectre

Ginger Grouse - Alcoholic Ginger beer with Whisky [by @NLi10]

My boss is a fan of this and gave me one of his bottles - notable because on the front it says that it is 40% abv due to a missing ".". On the back the correct value lurks with a note that says why this is a little more interesting than a normal alcoholic ginger beer.  It contains famous grouse whisky!  I've never tried this particular brand of whisky, but I'm sure I've had it at some point. 

My partner spotted it in the supermarket and picked one up for herself too - this one had the full stop in the right place on the front which was reassuring.  While we don't tend to drink at home and midweek this was a nice pleasant change (although cat Ollie doesn't approve).

I think that this is a little more 'beer' like than some ginger beers like Crabbies, and the ginger is certainly less aggressive - which I approve of.  It wasn't too strong in any direction and was very nice while watching TV after dinner on one of our last hot summer days.  I'd be more than happy to order this in a pub or to take round to a party.  It's interesting enough to be worth people trying but not odd enough to put them off.

I think a blend of familiar brands in new situations works well for alcohol.  We are all already so used to cocktails that premixed variations using quality options seems a good way to get people to branch out from having the same thing every time.

Cheers!

Foster's Radler - Lime and Ginger [By @SpectreUK]

Fosters very kindly sent me their summer beer, and a couple of bottles to make sure I could sample plenty of it whilst I wrote. After a good long stint in the fridge I poured the first bottle of this cloudy beer out into a tall glass. There was a strong smell of lime to this lightly fizzy beer and I could tell from the slight green tint to the colour that this beer would have quite a lime zing to it. I was correct and along with the zesty lime zing came a refreshing fiery ginger kick that lead the beer and lime flavours cheerfully into the aftertaste. This beer was a little like having a refreshing lime cheesecake on a hot summer's day with a ginger biscuit base. First came the fizz and almost creamy texture from the flavours in the beer and that pleasing twang of lime, and then came the ginger foundation to finish off the delight of flavours. I've drank lime added to beer before. I've drank ginger beer before. Why I haven't seen both lime and ginger beer before seems beyond my comprehension now. At least Foster's have come up with this delicious summery beer called Radler. It's perfect on a hot summer's day lightly chilled from the fridge.

Information on the bottle:
Fosters was established in 1888. Brewed in Edinburgh by Heinekin UK Ltd. 300ml bottle at 2% volume. Lager with fruit juices from concentrate and lime and ginger flavouring.

By Spectre

Ginger Fight! (Tesco) [Various Ginger Beers By @SpectreUk]

No it's not a couple of Redheads in a jelly wrestling competition. This is a few Jamaican style ginger beers sparring against each other. I can't help thinking I've lost a few readers there, but that's understandable considering jelly could be considered as a snack, and this is primarily a snack blog! However, I digress... So many drinks companies out there profess to have the perfect recipe for non-alcoholic Jamaican ginger beer that I just had to try a few against each other.

Abbott's KA Traditional Jamaican Style Ginger Beer

The can told me, well it didn't talk as such, but the label stated that Kenneth Abbott had been a young adventurer and had travelled to the Caribbean to find recipes for soft drinks. Made in Glasgow this sparkling Traditional Jamaican Style Ginger Beer had been one of them. There was certainly a healthy fizz on opening the can and a strong biting smell of ginger. The bubbles and fiery ginger odour tickled my nose hairs right up until my lips touched the opening of the can. I took a good swig and almost coughed as the sweet flames of ginger root bit at the back of my throat and made my nose twitch to the point of sneezing. This is by far the strongest ginger beer I've tasted, even without the addition of alcohol. The sweetness isn't saccharin, but natural lip smacking sugary goodness. The almost vicious ginger bite lingered right through to the aftertaste with the added sweetness, leaving a glorious sweet ginger flavour in the mouth that just kept popping at me when I licked my teeth. Even once poured into a glass this fizzy lemonade coloured drink made my nose itch on final lips approach, the sides of my mouth burn, and the back of my throat want to run home and cry for my Mummy! If this ginger beer was a Redhead it would be a buxom Scotish maiden with a caber to toss in each hand and woe betide anyone who dared to wrestle with her!

Information on the 330ml can;
Per 330ml serving there was 206 calories, with 51.5g of sugar and a trace of fat. Ingredients included; carbonated water, sugar, flavourings containing ginger root extract, citric acid, and preservative E202.

Extra Fiery Old Jamaica Ginger Beer

This Extra Fiery Old Jamaica Ginger Beer was produced by Cott Beverages in Kegworth, near Derby. The can stated that this ginger beer contained extra fiery Jamaican root ginger. After my beating from the Abbott's caber tossing ginger nut, I was a bit confused at just how more fiery a ginger beer could be. Perhaps I was just about to find out or was I to be disappointed? Breaking open the can I at once noticed that the odour of ginger was less than the crazy Abbott's. No nose tingling effect on approach to this drink. This is where I made my first mistake. This ginger beer goaded me in on a wave of fizzy ignorance. I took a haughty big swig and was entrapped in a fiery ginger fizzy haze for a few moments before gulping the burning liquid down. My nose was tingling quite heavily at this point. So much so that I sneezed. I then laughed at my foolish over confidence and then sneezed again. This ginger beer didn't have the sweetness mixed with the spice of the Abbott's. It had a full on ginger burn that simultaneously tickled the inside of my mouth with the fizz and set fire to the inside of my mouth with the spice, leaving a tantalising spicy ginger aftertaste. This ginger beer isn't like a crazy caber tossing Redhead. It's more like a ginger secret agent enticing you in with her ponytailed beauty only to kick you repeatedly with the poison tipped dagger on the end of her black thigh length boots!

Information on the 330ml can;
Per 100ml this ginger beer has 63 calories with 15.7g of sugar and traces of fat, so not much different health wise than the Abbott's. Ingredients included; carbonated water, sugar, citric acid, stabilisers containing Gum Arabic and Quillaia extract, preservative sodium benzoate, and flavourings of ginger root extract.

Light Old Jamaican Ginger Beer

In the olden days when I was a lad most drinks and snacks that professed to be sugarless tasted a bit weird and more often than not way too over poweringly saccharin for my tastes. Light snacks and drinks have come a long way since then, but I still drink full sugar Ben Shaw's Shandy, as any sugar free shandys I've tried on the market still taste odd to me. Having said that and after the cutthroat Redhead secret agent review above for Cott Beverages full sugar ginger beer, I was certainly intrigued by their claims of "Same Fiery Taste" on the bottle. Indeed on opening the bottle there was a good fizz and a healthy whiff of ginger to entice my taste buds. On taste this ginger beer certainly had fire, but it didn't make me sneeze this time. This ginger beer had a sweet saccharin taste, not unpleasant or overpowering, but dissimilar to the pure sugar flavour of the brutish Abbott's ginger beer and without the super bashing of ginger to go with it. Instead the ginger mixed with the sucralose to form a fiery sweet blend that didn't make me sneeze, didn't burn my mouth out, but did make me want to drink more and more with its initial fiery ginger kick followed by its saccharin sweetness. This ginger beer didn't have the same ginger fear factor as the two full sugar varieties, but certainly was very tasty and was an excellent healthy alternative for those who like to save their teeth and limit the size of their bellies. This ginger beer reminded me of a coaxing pig tailed cheerleader with a switchblade behind her back. One quick stab of the blade and if you survive the sweetness prevails!

Information on the 500ml bottle;
Per 100ml this ginger beer has 0.5 calories with no sugar and no fat, so if you want a healthy alternative ginger beer this is probably your best bet. Ingredients included; carbonated water, sweetener sucralose, citric acid, stabiliser Quillaia extract, preservative sodium benzoate, and flavourings of ginger root extract.

By Spectre

Bundaberg Diet Ginger Beer [By @SpectreUK]

Bundaberg Brewed Drinks are an Australian family owned business. This 340ml bottle of cloudy ginger beer had 1.2g of sugar per 100ml. It’s ingredients included; carbonated water, ginger root, cane sugar, citric acid, malic acid, preservatives; E202, E211, and sweeteners; E951, E950, E955, ascorbic acid, and stabilisers; E412 and E415. I don’t know about your feelings but possibly escaping from the natural ingredients to be replaced with a bunch of E-Numbers didn’t sit so well with me. There also was not much more than 0.5% alcohol in this ginger beer, which I noticed would be good for anyone who wanted the taste of ginger beer who might be on a diet and also either had to drive that night or was a recovering alcoholic who wanted to live life on the edge! There was a strong bitey ginger beer smell on opening the bottle that quite frankly made the hairs stand up in my nose. I poured the cloudy lemonade coloured ginger beer out in a glass and could smell the pungent ginger from a few feet away. The drink was making my mouth water and my senses wish that I was sat on a roller coaster, rather than just about to drink something that might burn my beer tastebuds away. I took a sip and the carbonated water tickled my tongue, followed closely by the taste of ginger, but this was slightly muted. Maybe I’d built this drink up too much in my head? Maybe the promise of strong ginger from the smell had turned me into a slight gibbering wreck? I wasn’t sure, so I took a good gulp. There was more of a bite in that second intake, but I must admit that I was missing the continuous fizz and fiery ginger bite that I’d experienced in so many of the alcoholic ginger beers that I’ve tried over the past year or so. For a non-alcoholic ginger beer that whatever reason you may not wish to partake in the old fuzzy headed feeling, this diet non-alcoholic ginger beer is for you. It’s got fizz, which admittedly doesn’t last long in your mouth, and a minor ginger bite that was lost a little in the sweeteners that plagued the aftertaste. It’s definitely a ginger beer beverage, but I’ll stick to the boozy varieties for now...

By Spectre

Alcoholic Ginger Beer - Ginger Grouse (Sainsburys) [By @SpectreUK]

When I first saw this bottle in the supermarket I couldn't work out why they had called it Ginger Grouse. I did go out with a ginger “bird” when I was about sixteen years old, and she was a pretty fiery character, but I still can't see what that would have to do with it. I then read the label on the bottle and found that this ginger beer was brewed in Scotland and contained the Famous Grouse Whisky. The label recommended pouring this ginger beer over ice and adding a wedge of fresh lime and “good company”, but I couldn't be bothered with the first two and so I decided to drink it straight. There was a strong smell of ginger on pouring the beer into my beer mug. There was also a hint of whiskey lurking behind the ginger, like a spirited after-smell. The ginger beer had a kind of ginger colour, not as dark as beer, and not cloudy like some ginger beers can be. On tasting there was a big bite of ginger as an initial taste which also followed into the aftertaste, merging with an extra alcoholic hit from the Famous Grouse Whisky. I thought this was a lovely innovative drink as I haven't seen whisky mixed with ginger beer before. I certainly didn't feel that it needed an additional wedge of lime as there was already enough citrus in the overall flavour. I was also glad not to have added any ice as when I was drinking this ginger beer it was a dark cold night outside and pouring with rain. The warming effects from the whisky and spice from the ginger tickled my throat and warmed my cockles. I do hope I can find more of this Ginger Grouse to enjoy over the cold winter nights that are slowly closing in on us. Brrr... Cheers to Ginger Grouse!

Information on the label;
Served in a 500ml bottle, at 4% Volume, and brewed by Matthew Gloag And Son Ltd., in Perth, Scotland. Ingredients Included; carbonated water, sugar, spirit based alcohol (70%), blended Scotch Whisky (30%), natural flavourings, citric acid, caramel, and preservatives sodium benzoate, and potassium sorbate.

By Spectre

Wychwood Brewery: Ginger Beard (Tesco) [By @SpectreUK]

When I saw this bottle of ginger beer in the supermarket I was immediately drawn to the image of the ginger bearded dwarf on the front of the bottle. I’m quite The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings fan, and have dabbled for many years in Warhammer. Therefore images of a Dwarf, Goblin or otherwise will always pull me in. I was expecting a cloudy lemonade colour as that is what ginger beer often looks like, but I hadn’t read the label before I poured out the ginger beer into a clear glass and exclaimed; “Oh, it’s beer coloured” to Cinabar who was sat close by fiddling with her laptop, as often she is. I then took a sip and exclaimed; “Oh, it tastes like beer, but with some ginger in it”. This made Cinabar giggle a little before becoming mesmerised again by whatever she was looking at on the screen. I then read the label of this 4.2% volume ginger beer which said; “Fiery alcoholic ginger beer. A traditionally crafted beer infused with fiery root ginger to deliver a refreshing spicy finish, with a bit of bite”. After the surprise of pouring out the ginger beer from its 500ml bottle with its amber colour, there was an initial beer taste of barley and hops followed by a noticeable bite from the ginger, although I didn’t find this in anyway fiery like some of the other ginger beers I’ve tasted in the past, which can curl the hairs in one’s nose on first sniff from across the other side of the room. The ginger flavour travelled through to the aftertaste with a definite yet muted spice by the overall beer flavour. The combination of the beer and ginger made for a really pleasant drink, however I wouldn’t say it was fiery like an angry bearded Troll slaying Dwarf, but I would certainly have it again.

By Spectre