Alcoholic | Non-Alcoholic | Canada | Jamaican | Australian
Typically, beer contains grain, but real ginger beer does not. Hence, the name Ginger “beer“ is a bit of a contradiction. Amusingly, ginger wine would be a confusing title because it tastes like beer. In this article, we will consider top ginger beer brands.
When you think about Ginger beer, the more popular Moscow Mule, or a unique whiskey and ginger cocktail often come to mind. However, ginger beer has become a regular standalone drink or mixer at parties and other functions because of its unique flavor.
In this article, the best ginger beers on the market will be reviewed.
Top Alcoholic Ginger Beer Brands
#1. Ginger Libation
The Brand: Ginger Libation is a popular effervescent ginger beer that Artisan Beverage Cooperative has made since 2010. It is spicy, gluten-free, and made from local organic ingredients.
Need to know: Ginger beer was first commercially brewed in Europe in the mid-18th century using Jamaican ginger and natural fermentation. This brew had as much as 11% alcohol by volume. It was exported to the United States from England before breweries started in the US. Due to prohibition, its production was stopped, and it was replaced with ginger ale and soft drinks. The ginger beer had been out of production until now.
Ginger Libation is a Caribbean-style ginger beer with a pleasant, sweet, and distinctive ginger flavor. It is produced from organic materials comprising Costa Rican lemon, pineapple juice, lime juice, with lots of fresh ground ginger. It is refreshing, with 9% abv, and is a toast for tropical cocktails.
It comes in two unique bottles:
- Local Libation: This is made once a year and a seasonal favorite that uses locally sourced cranberries and ginger, and freshly-pressed apple cider. It has tastes slightly less sweet than the original ginger beer but with a strong ginger punch.
- Blueberry Libation: This ginger beverage has a beautiful blueberry color. It is made from freshly-pressed blueberries with a subtle essence of lime.
#2. Crabbie Ginger Beer
The Brand: The fine-tasting, gluten-free Crabbie Ginger Beer traces its root back to 1801. It is a smooth and refreshing ginger-flavored beer with a dry finish. Crabbie’s Ginger Beer comes in 500ml bottles and is 4% abv.
Need to know: John Crabbie leveraged the access provided by the local port in Leith, Edinburgh, to ingredients from many countries. He purchased exotic spices and the finest ginger and began a business whose legacy continues till today. Crabbie’s Ginger Beer comes in three delightful styles, namely:
- Crabbie’s Rhubarb: It combines the rhubarb with Crabbie‘s steeped-up ginger recipe and delivers a delicious rhubarb and ginger flavor. It is best served over ice and garnished with a lime wedge.
- Crabbie’s Scottish Raspberry: It is a perfect drink for the hot summer months, made with Scottish raspberries, and combines Crabbie’s fiery bite of ginger to give you perfect flavours.
- Crabbie’s Strawberry and Lime: It fuses Crabbie’s steeped-up ginger recipe with strawberry and lime flavours to create a refreshingly fruity finish. It is best served over ice and garnished with a lime and strawberry wedge.
#3. Fever-Tree Ginger Beer
The Brand: Fever-Tree Ginger Beer is an excellent ginger beer that combines a blend of three gingers from Cochin, Ivory Coast, and Nigeria. It is made with carbonated spring water, ginger root, natural ginger flavours, and antioxidants. It has a sweet taste, carries a fragrant aroma, and leaves the distinct lingering ginger zing on the palate. It is perfect in its simplicity, refreshing, and makes the throat ask for more. It is also widely distributed.
Need to know: Charles Rolls and Tim Warrillow discovered the ginger from IvoryCoast after visiting farms in the country. They found that it gave off a distinct lemongrass aroma due to the extracted oils as soon as farmers harvest it. The ginger from Nigeria strengthens the ginger flavor by complementing the zingy notes of the ginger sourced from Cochin in southwest India. Fever-Tree Ginger Beer is perfect as a standalone or in a Moscow Mule. To savour the full range of Fever-Tree Ginger
#4. Q Mixers Ginger Beer
The Brand: Q Mixers Ginger Beer is a specially-crafted spicy, highly carbonated ginger beer. It is not too sweet, and it is made with organic agave, lots of authentic ginger, carbonated water, chili pepper, and coriander.
Need to know: It can be used as a mixer or a mixer only. It goes well with vodka in a spectacular Moscow mule and with rum and whiskey with a lime wedge.
#5. Reed’s Craft Ginger Beer
The Brand: Reed’s Craft Ginger Beer is a popular ginger beer that is marketed with the zest of its ginger taste. It is made from various ingredients, including sparkling water, presses organic ginger root, pineapple juice concentrate, honey, cane sugar, lemon and lime juices from concentrate, and spices.
Need to know: Reed’s Craft Ginger Beer includes five flavours:
- Premium Ginger Beer: It is made with 100% honey, pineapple sweeteners and doesn’t contain cane sugar.
- Reed’s Original: It is packed with fresh ginger root and has the least spice level
- Reed’s Extra: It has double the fresh ginger root of Original
- Reed’s Strongest: It has the highest spice level, and it has triple the fresh ginger root of Original.
- Reed’s Zero Sugar Extra: It is refreshingly smooth, naturally sweetened with a proprietary sweetener, and has no GMO ingredients. It has double the fresh ginger root of Original. It is sugar-free, with zero calories.
Top Non-Alcoholic Ginger Beer Brands
#1. Breckland Orchard Ginger Beer
The Brand: Breckland Orchard Ginger Beer is a non-alcoholic carbonated drink ginger beer made with ginger, chili extracts, and natural citrus concentrates. It tastes great and can be used as a mixer for cocktails. It has its roots in the UK from British spring water.
Need to know: Breckland Orchard is family-owned and takes its inspiration from traditional British flavours.There are no artificial colours, flavour, or sweeteners. It is available in 275ml bottles and can be recycled.
#2. Cawston Press Ginger Beer
The Brand: Cawston Press Ginger Beer is a non-alcoholic tribute to fizzy ginger beer classics, and it is made with pressed apples, ginger extracts, and sparkling water. This combination has a mellowing effect on the ginger. It is perfect for a sizzlingly hot day in 330ml cans.
Need to know: Cawston Press Ginger Beer has no sugar, preservatives, artificial colours, or sweeteners. The cans, plastic cups, straws, and cartons are made from recyclable materials.
#3. Bedford Ginger Beer
The Brand: Bedford Ginger Beer is a non-alcoholic bubbly Pacific Northwest drink made with care from high-quality ingredients. It is brewed from natural ginger and pure cane sugar to give the best flavour.
Need to know: The Diet Ginger Beer is an addition to Bedford’s “craft“ sodas lineup. It is the diet/non-sugar version of Bedford’s Giner beer
#4. Cooper’s Ginger Beer
The Brand: Cooper’s Ginger Beer is a spicy, flavoured ginger beer with a fiery bite. That will quench the deepest thirst. It is made with malt extracts, ginger flavours, and sweeteners.
Need to know: It can be made alcoholic by priming with sugar.
#5. Royalty Ginger Beer
The Brand: Royalty Ginger Beer is a great tasting non-alcoholic sugar-free, halal-certified ginger beer. It is healthy and medicinal, and affordable.
Need to know: It can be taken as a standalone drink or mixer.
Top Canada Ginger Beer Brands
#1. Canada Dry Premium Ginger Beer
The Brand: Canada Dry Premium Ginger Beer is a refreshing, crisp-tasting ginger beer made with real ginger, natural flavours, and cane sugar.
Need to know: Each bottle is packed with 100 calories
#2. Jones Soda Ginger Beer
The Brand: Jones Soda Ginger Beer is made with carbonated water, natural ginger extract and has no artificial color or flavours.
Need to know: It is a unique kind of ginger beer known for its bold flavours, colors, and ever-changing labels. Each pack contains six bottles of Jones Soda Ginger Beer.
#3. Goslings Stormy Ginger Beer
The Brand: Goslings Stormy Ginger Beer is a non-alcoholic ginger beer that has a citrus and spicy zing with flavours of lime peel, meringue, turmeric, and crystallized ginger.
Need to know: It is specially created for use in Dark ‘n Stormy cocktails. It can also be used as a mixer for any Mule drink. It is available in 355ml cans. The brand also has a diet variant with zero-calories, zero-carbs that still packs a gingery zip.
Top Jamaican Ginger Beer Brands
#1. Old Jamaica Ginger Beer
Brand: Old Jamaica Ginger Beer offers a unique blend of exotic ginger and spicy refreshment that releases a wave of flavours in every sip. It is made with authentic Jamaican root ginger.
Need to know: The brand has a range of ginger beer, namely:
- Regular: It is refreshing and crisp and offers you the gentle warmth of authentic root ginger
- Light: In addition to being refreshing, crisp, with the same hit of Jamaican root ginger, Old Jamaica Ginger Beer Light has no sugar
- Extra Fiery: It has the same punch as Regular but has no calories
It is available in 330 ml cans.
#2. Goya Jamaican Style Ginger Beer
The Brand: Goya Jamaican Style Ginger Beer is a non-alcoholic ginger beer with a spicy punch. It is made with carbonated water, ginger extract, oil of ginger, caramel color, citric acid, and a touch of sweetness inspired by Caribbean flavours.
Need to know: It is pretty different from milder ginger beers and creates a refreshingly distinctive spicy kick on the palate. You get even more of its sweetness when it is mixed with other ingredients. You can mix with your favorite vodka, whiskey, or run to create memorable cocktails like the Moscow mule or dark and stormy. Goya Jamaican Style Ginger Beer is packaged in 355ml bottles, with 12 pieces per pack.
#3. The Great Jamaican Ginger Beer
The Brand: The Great Jamaican Ginger Beer is a naturally flavoured Jamaican-style ginger beer. It is made with ginger root extracts. It is a favorite for cocktails, and its unique “kick“makes it stand out among Ginger Beers.
Need to know: You can try it with beer to create a delicious taste, rum for the perfect kick, or vodka for a Moscow mule.
#4. Royal Jamaican Ginger Beer
The Brand: Royal Jamaican Ginger Beer is an alcoholic brewed made with locally grown Jamaican ginger, Cascade hops, lemongrass, Jamaican sugar cane, Royal Jamaican new crop rum, and citrus notes. It is crisp and refreshing and leaves a full-bodied ginger taste with a great punch to it.
Need to know: It is perfect for anyone who loves ginger beer without the typical sugar overload. Royal Jamaican Ginger Beer is available in 355ml bottles, with 4.4% abv.
Top Australian Ginger Beer Brands
#1. Little Dragon
The Brand: Little Dragon Ginger Beer is the perfect drink if you want to quench your thirst with a refreshing Aussie alcoholic ginger beer. It is gluten-free and with natural ginger.
Need to know: It perfectly creates a fiery zing and sweetness that will quench your thirst. Little Dragon can be a standalone or a perfect backup for your cocktails.
#2. Matilda Bay Rusty Yak
The Brand: Matilda Bay Rusty Yak is an alcoholic ginger beer with a distinctive aroma and fiery ginger zing. It is made with ginger spice, citrus extracts, and sugar. Its balance of sweetness, citrus zest, and ginger heat creates spiciness that lingers. Rusty Yak Ginger Beer is available in 330ml cans and is brewed to 3.5% abv.
Need to know: It is best served over ice with a lime wedge.
#3. Fat Pixie Ginger Beer
The Brand: Fat Pixie Ginger Beer is a refreshing gluten-free, naturally brewed dry ginger beer. It gives a distinctly crisp kick. Fat Pixie Ginger Beer is available in 375ml cans and is brewed to 8% abv.
Need to know: It is best served from the can, poured over ice with a lime wedge.
#4. Matso’s Ginger Beer
The Brand: Matso’s Ginger Beer is one of Australia’s favorite alcoholic brews. It is gluten-free and naturally sweetened with Australian cane sugar. It gives a kick of 3.5% abv.
Need to know: It is best served over ice and goes well with pork belly. The Matso’s Ginger Beer brand also has a lower sugar alcoholic ginger beer. It still packs the ginger punch of its original ginger beer but more lightly and refreshingly. It is naturally sweetened, vegan-friendly, low gluten, at 4% abv, it is more than Matso’s original Ginger Beer.
#5. Stones Premium Ginger Beer
The Brand: Stones Premium Ginger Beer is an alcoholic ginger beer, and its production began in 2001. It is a refreshing, sweet, and punchy ginger beer that quickly quenches thirst.
Need to know: It is available in 330ml bottles, with 4.8% abv.
Resources
- https://gingerlibation.com/what-is-ginger-libation/
- https://vinoshipper.com/shop/artisan_beverage_cooperative/ginger_libation_9,694?list=
- https://www.crabbiesgingerbeer.com/en/
- https://littledragon.com.au/products/little-dragon-ginger-beer
- https://www.danmurphys.com.au/product/DM_829546/matilda-bay-rusty-yak-ginger-beer-cans-330ml
- https://matsos.com.au/products/ginger-beer
- https://matsos.com.au/products/lower-sugar-ginger-beer
- https://stonesoriginal.com.au/our-products/stone-s-premium-ginger-beer/
- https://qmixers.com/our-mixers/ginger-beer/
- https://drinkreeds.com/products/
- https://sunmark.co.uk/product/non-alcoholic-deit-ginger-beer/
- http://bedfordssodas.com/Ginger.html
- https://canadadry.ca/product/premium-ginger-beer/
- https://goslingsrum.thirstie.com/products/goslings-stormy-ginger-beer
- https://oldjamaicagingerbeer.com/
- https://www.webstaurantstore.com/goya-12-fl-oz-jamaican-style-ginger-beer-case/103GOYA4002.html
- https://www.heb.com/product-detail/goya-jamaican-style-ginger-beer/129102
- https://fever-tree.com/en_US/products/ginger-beer
- https://www.brecklandorchard.co.uk/products.php