In many parts of the world, ginger drinks are medicinal. They’re often brewed at home, simmered with lemon, and sweetened with honey. This remedy is trusted for coughs and colds and you can even order it in restaurants. Ginger ale and other ginger-based sodas are common as well. Ginger beer is slightly different, mostly used as a chaser or in cocktails.
It can be sipped ‘neat’ though if you enjoy that spicy flavor. And you can order hard ginger beer (with alcohol) or soft ginger beer (fizzy and sharp with no booze). It’s a warming drink and should be well-chilled though some like it warm. Let’s explore t0p global brands and identify the best ginger beer. Ideally, one you can find within the US, even if it’s on Amazon.
The Best Ginger Beer List
1. Fever-Tree
Fever-Tree is an Australian brand of ginger beer. You can order it on Amazon so it’s easily available. Once you do, those bottles in your fridge are a good example of just how small our world has become. How so? Well, the beer is brewed and bottled down under. But its organic ingredients are drawn from the Asian and African continent. And the beer sells worldwide.
This premium ginger beer is brewed with three species of ginger sourced in Ivory Coast, Nigeria, and Kochi (sometimes called Cochin) in India. Each ginger variety has targeted qualities that contributed to a tart, spicy, well-rounded brew. Its warmth fills your mouth, throat, and tummy. The nose is citrusy from the lemongrass elements in Côte d’Ivoire ginger.
2. Rachel’s Ginger Beer (RGB)
Lots of companies offer flavored ginger ale. But is it possible to get flavored ginger beer? Sure – just ask Rachel! Based in Seattle, this artisanal brewer offers more than a dozen fruity flavors. These range from spicy pineapple (as opposed to caramelized pineapple – which they also sell) to tarragon-cucumber. The brew is packaged in pretty see-through growlers.
These handled jugs show off the rich color and texture of Rachel’s ginger beer. Every variant is brewed with lemon and infused with the right mix of fruit and herbs (mango, peach, blood orange, passion, and more). They also sell growler brushes and no-rinse food-grade growler cleansers. For extra pizazz, you can buy their branded copper cocktail mugs.
3. Reed’s Zero Extra Ginger Beer
In Swahili-speaking parts of Africa, you can order a ginger-lemon drink at most modern restaurants. It appears as ‘dawa’ on the menu, meaning medicine. Jamaica has African roots as well, pun intended, but the beer they use is sourced in Peru’s Amazon. Reed’s has three variants – original, extra (200% ginger), and strong (300% ginger) – all with zero calories.
These beers don’t use added sugar. Instead, they’re naturally sweetened with honey and fruit juice. Their in-house blend of natural sweeteners also contains monk fruit, Erythritol, and stevia. Double-check what you’re buying though. The zero-sugar bottles are diet-friendly but the regular versions use cane sugar and pineapple concentrate so they do register calories.
4. Bette Jane’s Blood Orange
You wouldn’t expect a Bette-Jane in California, but she’s certainly at home among the surfers. This clear, handcrafted, natural beer is full of gingery goodness. The beer is named after the founder’s mum – Bette Jane Pearson – who passed away from breast cancer in 1985. So a percentage of sales are donated to breast cancer research in her honor.
This beer is all-natural, flavored with cane sugar, lemon, and two types of ginger. It carries a spicy kick, a slight vanilla nose, and has a slow-burn with a lingering warmth. Kirk Pearson started brewing it in 2013 for home use. He went public in 2014, using lemon concentrate instead of synthesized citric acid. This gives the beer a smoother palate.
5. Royalty Ginger Beer
Some of the best ginger beer is brewed in Jamaica and the UK. Luckily for us, a lot of those mixers are available on Amazon (or even Walmart). Royalty – as the name implies – is a British beer. And in the UK, it’s often sipped as a standalone soft drink. It’s on the sweeter side so if you prefer your cocktails tart, pick a dryer brand. This one is for the saccharine.
The beer has a strong ginger flavor though. And it’s well-carbonated. It’s a filling drink with 16.6g of carbs, all from added sugars. The beer carries 67 calories for every 100ml, so it’s roughly 200 calories per can (close to 50g sugar and nearly a gram of salt). The beer has won several UK awards and is brewed with concentrated ginger extract, making it safe to export.
6. Maine Root Ginger Brew
Good ginger beer leaves a tantalizing tingle on your lips and a satisfying sizzle in your throat. Maine Ginger Brew wins on both fronts, leaving a lovely after-burn on your palate. The beer is sweetened with pure sugarcane that’s certified as organic. They buy this sugar from fair trade farmers in Brazil. Founder Matt Seiler was inspired while flipping organic pizza.
His employer (Flatbread Portland) served everything organic except beer, so Matt developed a natural version of that as well. This sugarcane is evaporated for extra carbonation, making this ginger beer light, sweet, and fizzy. This 165-calorie beer is positioned as having zero allergens. It has ‘no nuts, no fish, no dairy, no gluten, no grains, no alcohol, and no BS.’
7. Q Mixer Ginger Beer
If you enjoy tangawizi tea (that’s Swahili for Ginger), you may appreciate undiluted ginger beer. Though you probably drink it warm, which is a whole other thing. But for most of us, ginger beer is a mixer, and Q goes well with rum, vodka, and whisky. Don’t let the pink packaging fool you (or is that magenta?) This beer packs quite a spicy punch, pun intended.
It has a harsh palate because it’s not designed for solo sipping. It’s brewed with extra spicy and extra fizz to bring out the buzz in your booze. Instead of high fructose corn syrup, Q is sweetened with organic agave. The beer also has chili peppers tossed in. They spice up the front of your palate with lime top notes. Cardamom and coriander boost that spicy finish.
8. Bundaberg Ginger Beer
Royalty is on the sweeter side while Q’s has a spicy quality that works well in Moscow Mules. It blends beautifully with vodka. But if your drinks are more on the rummy side of life, try Bundaberg. It sounds German but it’s an Aussie ginger beer based on an old family recipe. It takes three days to brew this beer. And it has a rip-cap so remember to open upside-down.
Rip-caps are a variant of flip-tops, and the reason you should flip the bottle before serving is to maximize flavor. The beer is slightly cloudy with real ginger root, so turning it over mixes up the raw root and mingles its spice throughout the bottle. It’s made with Aussie ginger, Queensland sugarcane, yeast, and water. The brewer has a diet version with zero calories.
9. Mango Ginger Beer
Ginger and mangoes? It only sounds odd until you try it. Once you do, that sweet-and-spicy twist truly hits the spot. And it brings out the zest in saccharine cocktails. Plus, it sounds so New York. This Brooklyn brew comes in two other flavors – Lemon-Lime for tart mixers and Extra Spicy – which also happens to be sugar-free (stevia) and has 10 calories per bottle.
These ginger beers all work well in vodka cocktails because their sweet citrus notes shine through. While Brooklyn’s ginger ales and ginger beers are a translucent gray, their mango variant is a rich golden yellow. Every bottle has a shot of unfiltered ginger so all these drinks are hazy and need to be shaken before serving. Be careful not to waste all the fizz!
10. Old Jamaica Ginger Beer
Old Jamaica Ginger Beer – like Old Jamaica Chocolate – hails from the UK. You can order both on Amazon though, so no harm done. Old Jamaica has the largest ginger beer market share in the US. And it’s fairly popular over here as well. It comes in three variants – regular, light, and extra-fiery-zero-sugar. The light version is sugar-free, just like the extra-fiery.
All three beers are brewed with Jamaican ginger so all three are heavy on the spice. They may overpower the average palate so try a sample first. Or buy a single pack – though that makes no sense if you’re ordering from overseas. Each can of regular Old Jamaica has about 150 calories, 0.3g of protein, 0.03g of salt, 0.3g of saturated fat, and 40g carbs (added sugar).
11. Barritt’s Ginger Beer
Like most contemporary ginger beers. Barritts has a regular version and a zero-sugar version. Both work as cocktail mixers, but of course, the flavor varies. There are also canned and bottled versions. Yes, the packaging affects the fizziness so try both and see what you prefer. They’re partially cloudy thanks to the ginger content so shake well before serving this beer.
Both versions of this ginger beer are brewed with quillaia bark extracts. So Barritt’s has more carbonation than your typical ginger beer. It has real ginger as well as synthesized ginger extracts so the spice-levels are intense. And in case you’re wondering, Bermuda Stone is a type of regional limestone from … Bermuda … where this ginger beer is originally brewed.
12. Zevia Ginger Beer
Industry buzzwords can sometimes be confusing for regular drinkers. For example, within the ginger beer space, sugar-free and calorie-free don’t mean the same. Some zero-calorie drinks are sweetened with sugar alternatives like monk fruit, agave, or aspartame. Other beverages have no (added) sugar but they still have carbs and calories from other sources.
With Zevia – as the name implies – stevia is the primary sweetener. It’s strictly sold as a mixer so it’s not heavy enough to drink on its own. Zevia Ginger Beer. It’s an organic drink with no GMO, no artificial flavors (stevia is a plant), and no added sugars. This clear mixer retains the color and character of your cocktail. It’s vegan, kosher, and gluten-free.
13. Stoli Ginger Beer
These days, farm-to-fork operations aren’t just for restaurants. In the cocktail space, you can make sure your drinkers get it right by offering all the ingredients. Stolichnaya – for instance – makes a mean vodka and a meaner ginger beer. Together, you can mix the perfect Moscow Mule. And you don’t have to talk to Trump or Putin … just order your mixer on Drizzly.
You can find it at Walmart as well. And yes, the House of Stolichnaya offers branded copper mugs. The mixer is gluten-free and the regular version is sweetened with pure cane sugar. The ginger is an extract rather than raw root or synthetic flavors. If you blend your Stoli Vodka with Stoli Ginger beer, your cocktail will be lighter and crisper than mingling brands.
14. Goslings Stormy Ginger Beer
If you’re unsure of what ginger beer goes in which cocktail, here are two hints – the beer’s name and the serving suggestion. If their online profile features copper cups, it’s probably a donkey-leaning-drink. These beers are on the drier side to avoid overshadowing the vodka and lime base. Sweeter, spicier ginger beers are better at balancing with saccharine rum.
In this case, Stormy Ginger Beer is tailored to pair with Goslings Black Seal Rum for the sweetest storm in a teacup tumbler. It’s brewed in Bermuda and they’re not as fussy about their high fructose corn syrup … so it has that. It also has extracts from acacia gum and ester gum trees. The fizz comes from citric acid. And at 48g of sugar per can, your gym may flinch.
15. Top Hat Ginger Beer Syrup
What does Coachella mean to you? In this context, it’s the birthplace and Top Hat’s top seller. The ginger beer syrup won multiple awards at the festival and is a fan favorite. The syrup has two types of organic ginger, lime juice, evaporated cane sugar, lemon juice, exotic spices, vitamin C, Arabic/acacia gum tree extracts, and spiced in-house apple cider vinegar.
Plus it’s better than wasting a whole can or bottle that ends up going flat before you finish using it. Top Hat Ginger Syrup is a concentrate with a twist cap so you can serve what you need and keep the rest. And because it’s a 5x syrup, you get five times more ginger per fluid ounce. This brew is designed for (Moscow) Mule Mix so you can prep an entire keg at one go.
What’s your favorite ginger beer? Is it on our list? If not, tell us and we just might add it!
