Reed's Extra Ginger Brew

I'm  a big believer in the healing properties of ginger.  Not only does it soothe nausea, prevent motion sickness better than Dramamine, it is an anti-inflamatory that can help rheumatoid arthritis and menstrual cramps.  It is also yummy.

After several days of Paschal celebrations my belly was definitely in need of some soothing, and I picked up some Reed's Extra Ginger Brew.  Because if some ginger is good, extra ginger is better.

To start with, I like my ginger beers quite spicy.  This ginger isn't terribly strong, it is there but it won't leave your mouth burning.  It is sweeter rather than bite-y.  There is also a strong fruity aftertaste, probably from the pineapple juice as again, it is sweet rather than sour.  Nice amount of carbonation.

This is not my favorite ginger beer, but good in a pinch.

From the label:



Reed’s Extra Ginger Brew is the same recipe as Original Ginger Brew, but has 26 grams of fresh ginger root for a stronger bite.

Ingredients: Sparkling Filtered Water (Sweetened by a blend of raw cane sugar, pineapple juice from concentrate and honey), Fresh Ginger Root, Lemon and Lime Juices from concentrate and spices. Non Alcoholic. Free of Preservatives, Caffeine, Gluten & GMO’s.

Thums Up

On a slightly chilly April afternoon we decided to check out the one-year anniversary party of a gluten-free brewery called Burning Brothers.  Don't let the gluten-free part scare you, this is beer the glutenous and the gluten-free can enjoy. But you can't have the Orange-Blossom Honey- that stuff's mine.  And better yet,  they are dog-friendly (PSA- don't give your dog beer.)

Of course, drinking on an empty stomach is a recipe for disaster whether or not it has gluten or not, and, being the well-prepared sorts of folk they are, a food-truck set up shop right outside, filled with tasty Indian offerings (also gluten-free).

I noticed they had Thum's Up, an Indian soda I have heard of but never had the chance to try.  Nowadays, Thum's Up is distributed by Hindustan Coca-Cola, but it was originally introduced and produced in India when Coca Cola pulled out of the market.  When Coca-Cola returned to India, they bought out Thum's Up thinking to discontinue it in favor of Coke.  But Thum's Up is far, far more popular than they realized, and decided if you can't beat 'em, profit off of 'em, and thusly Coca-Cola produces it.  Fortunately, they didn't Americanize it, so Thum's Up is still made with real cane sugar.  And alot of sugar it is!

Taste wise, it is definitely a Cola, but with a little hint of something cinnamon. Sweet, but considering the amount of sugar it isn't overpowering.  I recommend it!

Ingredients:  Carbonated Water, Sugar, Acidity Regulators (330, 331), Preservative (211). Contains Added Flavours (Natural Flavouring Substances). Contains no Fruit.

Lakefront Brewery Golden Maple Root Beer

If you're ever in Milwaukee, a really fun city, you have to take the Lakefront Brewery Tour.  It is about as "Milwaukee" you can get without a real German pedigree.  They give you tons of samples on the tour, you get to see some great Brewers memorabilia, and you even get to sing the Laverne and Shirley theme song.  Make sure you go on a Friday and stay for the real Milwaukee Fish Fry (accept no imitations that will serve you French Fries- this is the real deal with potato pancakes, rye bread, and live polka music.)

It was on this tour I was first given Lakefront's Golden Maple Root Beer.  At the time I wasn't much of a beer drinker, and was delighted to get something I would actually enjoy!  Since I was such an enthusiast, they generously gave me several bottles.

Alas, my first sampling was not good.  Slightly flat, there was almost no root beer flavor at all.  You couldn't really taste much of anything other than a hint of vanilla.

Fast forward several years, I was at a beer festival and had hit my limit for that day.  Lo and behold, the lovely folks at the Lakefront booth had a whole cooler full of Golden Maple Root Beer!  Desperate times called for desperate measures.  With shaky hands, I opened my bottle, prepared for the worst...and it was good!

The first time I had the root beer must have been a fluke bad batch.  To test it again, I had another bottle completely sober, and it was still good!    Nicely carbonated, good rich mouthfeel, it has a hint of rootbeer/wintergreen more dominated by vanilla and the sweet tanginess of the maple.

Ingredients:carbonated water, pure cane sugar, pure Wisconsin maple syrup, caramel color, natural root beer flavor, gum acacia, preservatives – sodium benzoate, potassium sulfate

Goose Island Spicy Ginger

This fall we, like the good Midwesterners we pretend we are, spent a brisk Friday afternoon visiting a few orchards.   One of my favorites is in Jordan, as they have a lovely orchard that you can ride horses through.  But alas, they no longer offer horseback rides. But at least we scored on some caramel apples, at least until the indigestion set in.

Like a mirage out of the desert, lo and behold, we came across Minnesota's Largest Candy Store.  Don't let the name fool you, it isn't just candy.  They have over 150 types of root beer in their coolers, and other tasty sodas, too.  Clearly, I have found my people.

My poor abused stomach immediately found Goose Island's WBC Spicy Ginger.  Having previously fallen in love with Goose Island's Orange Cream, I grabbed it with two hands and didn't look back.

Ingredients:  Triple filtered carbonated water, sugar, natural flavor, citric acid, sodum benzoate as a preservative and caramel color.

This is a quite sweet soda, the cane sugar gives it an almost sticky mouth feel.  The ginger is definitely present.  It isn't the strongest bite, but it is there.  I wouldn't quite call it "spicy,"since I didn't get that lovely tingling mouth after drinking it.  It did, however, settle my stomach, and some days that's all you can ask.

It is tasty enough, and definitely a step up from Canada Dry.  If you aren't used to the truly bitey ginger beers out there this would be a great beverage to start with.

And visit Minnesota's Largest Candy Store, which also seems to go by the name of Jim's Apple Farm.  Worth the drive.

Ely Soda Works

It is truly a rare treat to find a microbrew soda, and Ely Sodas are so local I can't find ANY information on them, beyond this ad from the local Ely gazette, the Ely Echo.

The bottle in my possession doesn't give me any clues, either.  There is no contact information, no phone number, no website.  It is a mystery, indeed.

We tried two varieties, the Minnesota Bear Blueberry Soda and the Minnesota Voyageur ButterScotch Root Beer.

I wasn't able to save the bottle of the blueberry soda (we had smuggled our own pop in and carrying out the empties was inconvenient.)  So I don't have an ingredient list for you.  I can tell you that it was moderately carbonated, not too sweet, and the blueberry flavor reminded me of what I thought was Frankenberry, but my cereal-loving husband corrected me was actually Booberry.  It was pretty much lukewarm by this point, so the carbonation may be a bit more bitey when cold.

I do still have the bottle of the butterscotch root beer.   Ingredients are: Carbonated water, sugar and/or corn sweetener, caramel color, natural & artificial flavors, sodium benzoate (as a preservative)  

The ingredient list didn't fill me with a lot of confidence, but I forged on ahead.  Again, this wasn't as cold as I would have preferred, but I don't think it hurt the flavor.  Nice carbonation, good mouthfeel- not too syrupy, not too thin.  But the flavor!  Have you ever read Harry Potter.  No? Liars.  Of course you've read Harry Potter.  Remember butterbeer?  I'm pretty sure this is exactly what they were talking about.  The strongest notes are the butterscotch.  The root beer is far more subtle, just enough to keep the butterscotch from being too cloying- just a tiny bit of the sassafras.  My favorite of the two.

Definitely worth a trip up to the Boundary Waters.  Between Ely Soda Works and Dorothy Molter Root Beer, Ely might just be on its way to becoming the soda pop mecca of the Great Lakes.

AJ Stephan's Wild Strawberry

AJ Stephan's calls their wild strawberry soda an "elixer."  While this draws up pictures of men with curly mustaches selling patent cures, what you get instead is an old-fashioned soda like your grandma used to make. 

Or didn't make.  My grandma spent more time studying political science than making cookies, but surely, someone's grandma made soda at home.  And it probably tasted like this.

The wonderful thing about AJ Stephan's Wild Strawberry is it isn't too sweet, even though the second ingredient is sugar.  (real sugar, not that HFCS garbage).

The taste is somewhere between a summery wine and strawberry jam, with a nice amount of carbonation.  A good choice for a lazy Sunday afternoon in a hammock.  Wear gingham.

INGREDIENTS: Made with Pure Carbonated New England Water, Cane Sugar, Flavoring, Color & Sodium Benzoate.

Abita Root Beer

 When I came across Abita Root Beer I knew I had to try it.  My husband is familiar with Abita's beer, which is name checked alot in television any time you have a show set in Louisiana (True Blood, I'm looking at you).

Now, Abita has a fairly normal list of ingredients, right up until you hit yucca root.  What is yucca root?

From their website:  Abita Root Beer is made with a hot mix process using spring water, herbs, vanilla and yucca (which creates foam). Unlike most soft drink manufacturers, Abita sweetens its root beer with pure Louisiana cane sugar. The resulting taste is reminiscent of soft drinks made in the 1940s and 1950s, before bottlers turned to corn sugar and fructose. Some soft drink makers add caffeine to their product, but Abita is naturally caffeine-free.

So, there's that.  The rest of the ingredients are:   Carbonated water, cane sugar, caramel color, root beer flavor, phosphoric acid

It comes in a squat little brown bottle which is very nice to hold in your hand.  Nicely carbonated, with a good, yet clean mouthfeel.  Not too sweet.  Fairly standard "root beer" flavor- none of the notes stand out particularly, just a nice root beer flavor.  I would recommend this if you like your rootbeer to be very balanced flavor without being sugary.