Spiced Apple Ginger Brew
Micro brewed spiced apple ginger soda
cost: under $2
Not too long ago, during a trip to a new Bulk Barn in our
area, we found the Reed's brand of "ginger brew" pop. This is a brand of micro-brewed natural sodas and traditional
Jamaican brews. The old style sodas -
the type you can make in your own kitchen (which we do intend to try out!)
taste quite different from the large scale pops.
We tried only one flavour the first time out and enjoyed it
enough to head back and get two more to try.
The first taste test was of the Spiced Apple flavour. The label boasts that it is made with 60%
juice, which is actually higher than a lot of drinks "made with real fruit
juice!" on the market.
In appearance, it has a deeper colour than a typical ginger
ale. We could smell both the apple and
the ginger; it reminded my younger daughter of apple pie and Spindle found it
reminded her of the spiced apple cider we sometimes make.
We all found it quite sweet, but not in an overpowering,
cloying way. All the promised flavours
could be recognised. It was very
refreshing and delicious. The label and
company website boast about its ingredients, methods and care, and this is a
drink that lives up to that promise. So
much so that we were really looking forward to trying new flavours.
Our next taste tests were for the Cherry and Raspberry
flavours.
Cherry is, I find, a difficult flavour to market, mostly
because of its strong association with cough syrup. It's hard to find a cherry flavoured drink
that's doesn't make me think of cold medication.
Unlike the spiced apple, the cherry drink didn't really
smell like the flavour it was supposed to be.
In fact, it didn't smell much of anything, reminding me somewhat of
those flavoured waters. Spindle found it
reminded her of something she couldn't quite put her finger on, but she found
it rather tinny and gross. In flavour, she found the ginger flavour more dominant than the cherry; something I didn't notice quite as much.
It was a take it or leave it sort of thing for her, while I quite enjoyed it. Based on how faint the smell was, I was
expecting far less flavour and was pleased to be wrong on that. We both definitely noticed that it tasted
like "cherry juice" rather than "cherry flavoured
beverage."
The raspberry also had a distinct lack of scent to it and,
like the cherry, the lack of scent belied the much more intense flavour. We both liked it a lot. Though Spindle still found the ginger flavour
predominant, the raspberry flavour was nicely intense.
Of the three, the spiced apple was the overall favourite,
with the raspberry running second place. Definitely a drink we will be picking up again.
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