Tartly Ginger pear shrub: Purchased from quality but pricy SF-grocer Bi-Rite, this bottle of ginger pear shrub is from California Brand Tartly. On their site, they describe the origin of the company: “One late summer day in California, two health-conscious foodies got together for lunch.” Sorry, but can there be a more generic template to describe every artisanal/small-batch/environmentally-conscious food company based in California?! Back to the soda-it’s sweeter than other shrubs but has a satisfying ginger and app... (read more) 3.0/5.0
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The Juice Collective Homemade ginger soda: The Juice Collective is a shop in Berkeley that serves meals and drinks to go out of a narrow kitchen. I stopped by on a whim to check out their offerings and had to try their ginger soda given how much I love ginger drinks. The soda is thirst quenching and very well balanced, with an ideal level of sweetness (honey) and a bit of citrus (lemon). After taking a sip, the spicy ginger heat leaves an incredibly invigorating tingle in your throat for minutes. I don't think I've ever had a gin... (read more) 4.5/5.0
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The New Primal Ginger and honey turkey jerky: Purchased at the Park Slope Coop, this turkey jerky has a strangely sweet ginger flavor, more like a meat-flavored ginger chew candy than ginger-honey-flavored meat. Texture wise, it has a chewy consistency with a slightly glazed exterior. Ginger and honey could work well in other contexts, but the overall impact of this snack is off balance and too reminiscent of tea I might drink when recovering from a cold. 3.0/5.0
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Thomas Henry Ginger Beer: A German ginger beer made by Thomas Henry; meant as a mixer, but truly fantastic on its own. Ginger sodas are my favorite, and this is definitely in the top 5 that I've had in my life. The drink is well balanced and has a substantial but not overwhelming spicy flavor, but the real surprise is the lingering heat that lasts minutes after your last sip. I wish I knew of places to purchase other Thomas Henry drinks, a brand I had not seen prior to this bottle, but I ordered this drink at a re... (read more) 4.5/5.0
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Timber City Golden Peach Mint Ginger Beer: This beverage is made by a local brewery in Seattle and comes in a tall can that could potentially be mistaken for beer. The carbonated ginger soda has an excellent peach flavor stronger than most fruit soda, but with an unmistakable spicy ginger kick. Definitely one of the more memorable fruit ginger beers I've had. Purchased at Zylberschtein's. 4.0/5.0
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Tower Ginger Beer: Soda with poorly designed packaging tends to be very authentic - they're created by small distributors who don't have a marketing/branding team. Tower, a Boston-based soda company that's apparently been around since 1914, falls into this category. Upon further research, I found that Tower was actually founded in Somerville. The ginger beer soda is very strong, with a sharp spicy flavor, but the aftertaste was a bit strange and musty. Somehow, though, this adds to its authenticity. Purch... (read more) 3.0/5.0
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