Ginger Ale

by Vicki Reich, from the January 2000 Newsletter

With all the heavy eating and partying we've all just done, I thought ginger ale might be a nice thing to settle all of our stomachs. When I went to the cooler to get samples, I couldn't believe how many different ginger ales we carry. Reed's alone has three different kinds. We ended up sampling 8 different sodas.

The first on the list was Blue Sky's new Organic Ginger Gale. The tasters (a small party at Laura Long's house) thought it was very sweet and not too gingery. It had overtones of cloves and other spices. This would be a great one for kids.

Next on the list was Health Valley Ginger Ale. This was a rooty vanilla-tasting soda. Someone described it as thin, and it too was not very gingery. This would also be good for kids.

Natural Brew's Outrageous Ginger Ale lived up to its name. It was really gingery with a hint of pine. With that great heat that ginger has, it was really robust and not too sweet. All the tasters agreed this is a real ginger lover's ginger ale.

Santa Cruz Organic Ginger Ale was really refreshing. It would be perfect for a hot summer softball game. There was a good ginger flavor that was not too intense. Several tasters picked it as their favorite.

Next came Journey's Asian Spice Ginger Brew. This was a totally different beast than the other ginger ales. Lemony floral overtones prevailed. Someone thought it tasted like they added Kool-Aid to it, probably because Journey combines other herbs and blackberries with the ginger.

We tasted two of the three Reed's Ginger Brews. First was the Original, which had an apple-like taste and a good aftertaste of peppery ginger. The Extra was the favorite with a good smell, and a round taste. It was hot but smooth, not too sweet, and kind of like crystallized ginger. You could drink a lot of this stuff on a hot day.

Finally, we tasted Blue Sky Ginseng Ginger Ale. This sharp, crisp, and dry ginger ale reminder some of us of Canada Dry. There was only a vague hint of the ginseng, which in my book is a good thing. The sharp carbonation made it very refreshing.

After all the tasting was done, our stomachs were settled enough to have some of Bob's birthday pie. And after trying all the different versions of ginger ale, I realized why all of them sell: there's something for everyone in the cooler at the Co-op.

Copyright: Copyright on articles and recipes are jointly held by the Moscow Food Co-op and the respective authors, except were otherwise noted.

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