# Dark ginger ale
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-ginger-ale/63244
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [April 25, 2001, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-ginger-ale/63244 "2001-04-25T04:46:27Z")
**Posts on this page:** 11
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)
#### Post date: [April 25, 2001, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-ginger-ale/63244/1 "2001-04-25T04:46:27Z")
I used to remember two different kinds of ginger ale growing up…Pale Dry (What we still got around today), and a darker variety.
What was the official designation of the darker brew?
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### Author:  [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)
#### Post date: [April 25, 2001, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-ginger-ale/63244/2 "2001-04-25T11:08:53Z")
I don’t know as how it has a generic appelation that’s used across different brand names.
Kist (which may or may not still exist) called theirs “Golden Ginger Ale”.
Buffalo Rock (which is definitely still around) just calls theirs “Ginger Ale”, although the can has some other descriptives that let you know it is dark and strong.
Jamaican (available in NYC) puts out “Ginger Beer” instead.
Maybe the absence of “pale”?
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### Author:  [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)
#### Post date: [April 25, 2001, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-ginger-ale/63244/3 "2001-04-25T13:45:01Z")
What I want to know is, where can you find GOOD ginger ale. Sweppes (sp?) tastes like carbonated sugar water.
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### Author:  [@Gravity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gravity)
#### Post date: [April 25, 2001, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-ginger-ale/63244/4 "2001-04-25T14:36:45Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by furryman \*
> \*\*What I want to know is, where can you find GOOD ginger ale. Sweppes (sp?) tastes like carbonated sugar water. \*\*
The local health food stores offer [Reed’s](http://www.reedsgingerbrew.com/) Ginger Brews. They are fantastic! Their website has a store locator, too. I was surprised at how many [hits](http://www.google.com/search?q=jamaican+ginger+ale) I got when doing a search on Jamaican ginger ale. My guess would be that the darker sort of ginger ale is now called _ **Jamaican Style** _, but that’s just a guess.
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### Author:  [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)
#### Post date: [April 25, 2001, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-ginger-ale/63244/5 "2001-04-25T15:33:35Z")
There’s ginger ale, with a little ginger and a little sugar. Then there’s ginger beer, with a **lot** more ginger, giving it a darker color, and more sugar. Personally I prefer the ginger beer. Used to have to go out of my way to find the good stuff, like Olde Tyme Jamaican, or Stewarts, or Sioux City. But **Gravity** is right, Reed’s is the best, and Reed’s extra strength ginger brew is the best of the best. It uses lime juice along with ginger, and sweetens with honey and pineapple juice, to give it a much better flavor, with fewer calories than other ginger beers. Gods, I sound like a commercial!
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### Author:  [@G.B.H.Hornswoggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G.B.H.Hornswoggler)
#### Post date: [April 25, 2001, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-ginger-ale/63244/6 "2001-04-25T16:21:00Z")
Anyone else notice that the relationship between **ginger** ale and beer is precisely the inverse of the relationship between **real** beer and ale? (i.e., darker/stronger vs. lighter/pale)
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### Author:  [@Bumbazine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbazine)
#### Post date: [April 25, 2001, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-ginger-ale/63244/7 "2001-04-25T22:57:26Z")
**Qadgop** is _almost_ correct, **Reeds** is excellent, but for a _smooth_ ginger taste with a spicey finish, **Vernor’s** is still the best. Other worthy candidates, IMHO, are **Stewart’s, Cock and Bull,** and a local (Pacific NW) contender called **Outrageous Brew. Schwepp’s** is definitely lower echelon.
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### Author:  [@Cue017](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cue017)
#### Post date: [April 26, 2001, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-ginger-ale/63244/8 "2001-04-26T04:25:27Z")
Vernon’s Ginger Ale has a distinct bite to it and a good ginger flavor. Ginger Beer has a helluva bite, almost too much for me 'cause it burns, but it is good.
If you want real good ginger ale, buy some fresh ginger root and, if you have a juicer, juice a small piece, about 1/2 inch of the root, add it to the bottle and carefully, lid on, tumble it a few times to agitate it. The let set, chill and drink. If no juicer, place a sliver of fresh ginger in a glass, lightly mash it with a spoon, add ice and regular ginger ale.
Good stuff, but you can add too much ginger and get your teeth cleaned by the resulting sizzle.
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### Author:  [@pesch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pesch)
#### Post date: [April 26, 2001, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-ginger-ale/63244/9 "2001-04-26T05:21:43Z")
Ahh, an opportunity to boost my favorite, Blenheim Ginger Ale. Primarily available in the Carolinas, this is an old brand that had been bought and revived years ago by the owner of “South of the Border,” an enormous ticky-tacky tourist trap (and proud of it buckaroo!) on the NC/SC border.
This is the real stuff. None of it is dark ginger ale, but it’s spicy stuff. The extra hot stuff will make you sweat blood and pop your ears.
They can be reached at 1-800-270-9344.
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### Author:  [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)
#### Post date: [April 26, 2001, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-ginger-ale/63244/10 "2001-04-26T06:19:37Z")
I’ll go third on **Vernor’s** here. I just drank off a can with some Philippine soup. Another name to look for is Boyland Bottling Company. I’ve begun to peruse their offerings with nothing but good results. Their ginger ale was of good character, the more so because they use refined sugar instead of that insipid corn sweetener.
However, **Vernor’s** remains a standout from the crowd. I believe that they have a strong vanilla note in the brew. It’s almost like a ginger ale and cream soda blend. I find it distinctly refreshing.
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### Author:  [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)
#### Post date: [April 26, 2001, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-ginger-ale/63244/11 "2001-04-26T17:56:34Z")
Vernor’s is certainly halfway decent, but nothing compares to [Buffalo Rock](http://www.buffalorock.com/products/ginger_ale.htm) except maybe Kist Golden Ginger Ale, which I haven’t seen in decades.