10 best ginger beers for an alcohol-free Christmas and New Year's Eve
The origins of ginger beer can be traced back to the colonial spice trade, when the drink was made from a meeting of spices from the East and sugar cane from the Caribbean. As a naturally fermented product, ginger beer contained up to 11 per cent alcohol in the nineteenth century, before being reduced to two per cent by the 1855 excise tax laws.
The modern (and considerably easier) method of producing ginger beer occurs by squeezing ginger and accompanying flavours into a soft drink base. This more sanitised incarnation of the ginger beverage is often referred to as ginger ale, which is characterised by being less spicy and more carbonated than its ballsier brother. However, the demarcation lines between the two have been blurred by time, and most ginger based beverages are referred to by the catch-all title of ginger beer.
When assembling the list below, we focussed our attentions on alcohol-free ginger beers and ales. For those who prefer their ginger brews steeped in alcohol, as history dictates, look out for Crabbie’s Alcoholic Ginger Beer, a four per cent ABV beverage which cloaks its strength in a swirl of sweetness and spice. For a ginger beer with an emphasis on alcohol, try Badger’s Blandford Fly, a 5.2 per cent ABV golden ale with a tickling of ginger.
If you like your drinks fizzy and fiery, there’s lashings to choose from. We root out some of the best on the shelves.
Breckland Orchard Ginger Beer with chilli: £19.20 for 12 x 275ml, BigBarn.co.uk
Family owned Breckland Orchard produce a plethora of pleasant pops, all of which have been inspired by traditional British flavours. Amongst their ranks, you’ll find cream sodas, elderflowers and cloudy lemonades. Their ginger beer is a piquant, subtly nuanced number with an added peppery punch delivered by a sparky nip of chilli. This is ginger beer made as god intended.
Cawston Press Ginger Beer: £0.76 for 330ml, Super Food Market
Cawston’s cloudy ginger offering is mixed with apple juice which has a mellowing effect on the ginger. There’s still a spicy burn to be enjoyed, but the apple-y addition keeps it in check with a clean, sharp acidity which enhances this drink’s lip-smacking long, dry finish.
Gingerella Ginger Ale: £1.60 for 330ml, The Whisky Exchange
Flexing its ethical credentials, this ginger drink from the Karma Cola collection is organic, Fairtrade and GMO free and comes clad in groovy, hipster friendly packaging. It’s light and clean tasting, with a refreshing lemon tang and heat from the Sri Lankan ginger is bolstered by a dash of capsicum. A drink for those who like their ginger served sweet, wet and fizzy.
Belvoir Organic Ginger Beer: £2.24 for 750ml, Ocado
Belvoir's beer is a cloudy, low carbonated treat, with citrus and herbal notes layered with warming ginger spices. It’s the most lemon-forward of all the drinks we tested and makes for an elegant and refreshing summertime drink when chilled and served over ice. Belvoir have winter covered too – their tasty Spiced Ginger Punch comes packing seasonal spices of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.
Schweppes Golden Ginger Ale: £2.20 for 200ml, Urban Drinks
Schweppes ginger ale is not designed for chugging neat – it’s a mixer, whose purpose is to bless cocktails with a soft, gingery kiss. The carbonation on this frisky number is cranked up to the max and carries with it a sweetness and subtle mellow spice that compliments, but doesn’t overpower. Add it to a glass of scotch for a fine fireside sipper on a cold winter's eve.
Dalston’s Ginger Beer: £15.99 for 24 x 330ml, Epicurium
This feisty can of fizz dishes out an initial hit of citrus and slight bitterness from the lime, followed by a long, slow swagger of flaming ginger spices. For those wishing to ramp up its potency, drop two shots of dark rum into a glass of Dalston’s and you’ve got yourself a quick ‘n’ dirty Dark ‘n’ Stormy’ cocktail.
Luscombe Hot Ginger Beer: £30.89 for 24 x 270ml, The Drink Shop
The clue is in the name of Luscombe’s fearsome ginger offering. An initial fervent fizz quickly dissipates to reveal a tantalising twang of orange peel and lemon citrus before the fun really starts. The ginger hit is extra spicy and long lasting, dishing out piping hot punishment to your palate. The smooth, dry finish leaves you thirsty for more.
Franklin & Sons Ginger Beer: £2.69 for 750ml, Ocado
Born from a Victorian sweet shop family business in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, Franklin & Sons brew their ginger with malted barley for five days. Just before the sugar turns to alcohol, the process is halted (some might say prematurely) and the drink is bottled. It’s brewing origins are evident from the brown bread whiff you get when popping the cap, and the barley flavours are quite prominent but complement the ginger beautifully. A zip of lemon adds to its complex mashup of spices and citrus and it tastes sweet and old fashioned – but in a good way.
Fever Tree Ginger Beer: £23.98 for 24 x 200ml, Amazon
Not content with knocking out fine tonic waters, Fever Tree’s foray in to the ginger beer market is a well-balanced beverage that carries a fragrant aroma and warming spices on a wave of soft carbonation. It works wonders as a mixer - try using a can in a Moscow Mule: 2oz vodka, 2oz lime juice) - but can also hold its own as a thirst quenching glugger.
Old Jamaica Ginger Beer: £0.40 for 330ml, Sainsbury’s
Old Jamaica is the ubiquitous ginger inhabitant of the supermarket shelves. It’s an unabashedly sweet pop with a long, spicy finish, packed to the hilt with fizz that’ll rattle your tonsils. Old Jamaica also comes in light and extra fiery incarnations, but good old regular is our pick of the bunch.
The Verdict: Ginger beer
If you’ve got drinks to mix, reach for the Fever Tree, but for a stand-alone treat, charge your glass with a Breckland Orchard and bathe in its warm ginger glow.
