The Ginger People: We May Have a Winner

We may have found the perfect ginger ale. Yes, dear readers: we have found the ginger beer against which all others wilst be judged.

My lovely compatriot and I spent a week in Vermont where we swam, played tennis, biked, picked vegetables, and both literally and metaphorically ran around with our arms outstretched saying “wheeeee!” Upon our return home however, our cupboards were appropriately barren, and so I trekked out in the Sunday morning Brooklyn drizzle to the fancy grocery store for some breakfast fixings.

Of course, I couldn’t help but notice an untested type of ginger ale in the fancy grocery store’s glorious drinks case: Ginger Beer made by The Ginger People. The logo features a piece of ginger root anthropomorphized into a laughing nimrod wearing a purple turban and riding a galloping tiger. This is but a glimpse of the extraordinary wonders in store.

The first sense impression for both of us was the gorgeous aroma. It caused us both to exclaim out loud. It’s fresh and almost floral with powerful notes of unadulterated GINGER.

Gingeryness: Very strong. A perfect balance of the two competing ginger ale flavor profiles: the hot spicy ginger and the sweet gentle ginger. This ginger beer has both.

Fruitiness: Fruity and floral without patronizing you.

Bubbliness and dryness were both strong. Not super dry, but has that good palette cleansing mouthfeel.

Little bits: Yes, some little bits! Nothing big enough to get stuck between your teeth.

X-Factor: YES. Both your nose and your tongue will say “wow!”

Price: $1.79 at the Fancy Grocery Store.

Overall: 9.5 out of 10.

“I leave the possibility open that something better exists, but this is the best I’ve had.”

GuS: Low Sugar Soda is About as Appetizing as You Expect

Dear readers of LovesGingerAle, I have a confession to make. I have a weakness for fancy grocery stores. Some women love shoes, others love jewelry. I love fresh organic kale and artisanal olive oil. And of course, free samples of fancy cheese.

On my way home from a job interview and while the lovely compatriot cooked us dinner at home, I stopped by our local fancy grocery store to get some essentials : coffee, toilet paper, and Red Bull.

The fancy grocery store is small and packed tightly with goods, and the toilet paper was on a very high shelf. I am quite short. “C’mon my little munchkin!” the compatriot will sometimes say to hurry me along.

With no store personnel in sight and my blood sugar running low, I dashed over to the kitchen supply section, picked up a sturdy spatula, and used it to tip a four-pack down into my waiting arms.

That dramatic moment passed, I stepped into line and I could not help but notice an array of Gus Grown Up sodas. I bought one ginger ale and one bitter lemon* (the lovely compatriot’s favorite).

The label says “not too sweet,” and they’re not fooling. This is a minimally sweet ginger ale. No fruit, that I could taste. No bits whatsoever. No real bite either.

We appreciated the earthy, “hot” ginger taste, as opposed to the sweet pickled ginger flavor favored by Bruce Cost. “The flavor profile is good, it just tastes watered down.” I felt like I was drinking a medium-strong ginger ale mixed with an equal part club soda. The bitter lemon was the same: a good flavor in there, if you can get past all the water that stands between it and your taste buds.

Price: $1.69. Not too bad a price, fancy grocery store!

Overall: 6.5 out of 10

It could be good, but as is tastes diluted. Does being an adult mean that your sensory experience must be  adulterated? Are grown-ups too old to handle real flavor? LovesGingerAle says no!

*To clarify, the lovely compatriot adds that he doesn’t love bitter lemon generally, but rather, “the real, strong Schweppes. Not this weak American crap.”