The Ultimate Guide to Ginger Beer for Mocktails: A Taste Test Review
When crafting the perfect mocktail, every ingredient plays a crucial role. The mixers, in particular, can elevate a simple drink into a truly memorable experience. This is especially true for ginger beer, a versatile and vibrant mixer that can transform your non-alcoholic creations from good to absolutely exceptional.
Ginger beer, with its characteristic zing and refreshing fizz, has become a cornerstone in the world of both cocktails and mocktails. But with so many brands on the market, how do you choose the best one to truly level up your mocktail game? To answer this burning question, we embarked on a delicious quest: a comprehensive taste test of several popular ginger beer brands, meticulously evaluating each for its flavor, spice, sweetness, and overall suitability for mixing.
The results were exciting—a delightful spectrum of spicy, sweet, and perfectly fizzy options! If you’re eager to discover which ginger beer will make your next mocktail sing, read on for our in-depth review, including everything you need to know about this dynamic beverage and our top recommendations.
Our Ginger Beer Taste Test, At A Glance:
- Understanding Ginger Beer
- Ginger Beer Vs. Ginger Ale: What’s the Difference?
- Fever Tree Ginger Beer: The Gold Standard
- Q Mixers Ginger Beer: For the Spice Enthusiast
- Favorite Day Ginger Beer: The Crowd-Pleasing Value Pick
- Reed’s Extra Ginger Beer: Balanced & Authentic
- Bundaberg Ginger Beer: Sweet & Mild
- Betty Buzz Ginger Beer: A Mixer with a Different Vibe
- FAQ: The Best Ginger Beer for Mocktails
What Is Ginger Beer?
Ginger beer boasts a rich history, originating as a fermented beverage made from ginger, sugar, water, and a ‘ginger bug’ – a starter culture similar to what’s used for sourdough or kombucha. Traditionally, this brewing process produced a drink with a slight alcoholic content, often around 11%. However, the modern ginger beer widely available today is almost universally non-alcoholic, offering all the bold flavor without the buzz.
This invigorating drink is celebrated for its distinctive spicy kick, balanced by a pleasant sweetness and lively carbonation. It’s a key component in classic mixed drinks like the refreshing Moscow Mule and the robust Dark & Stormy. Beyond these iconic combinations, ginger beer serves as an excellent base for a myriad of mocktails, adding depth, warmth, and effervescence. Its potent ginger content is also often lauded for its ability to soothe an upset stomach, making it a functional as well as flavorful choice.
Ginger Beer VS. Ginger Ale: What’s the Difference?
A common point of confusion arises when comparing ginger beer and ginger ale. While both are ginger-flavored carbonated beverages, they are far from identical. Understanding their distinct characteristics is key to choosing the right mixer for your drink:
- Ginger Ale: This is essentially a ginger-flavored soda. It’s typically milder in ginger flavor, often made with ginger extracts rather than real ginger. Ginger ale tends to be sweeter and has a lighter, more consistent carbonation. It’s a refreshing drink on its own but might get lost in complex mocktail recipes due to its subtle profile.
- Ginger Beer: In contrast, ginger beer is renowned for its much stronger, spicier, and more pronounced ginger-forward flavor. It traditionally involved a brewing or fermentation process, giving it a more robust and sometimes cloudier appearance. While many modern ginger beers are still brewed for flavor, some may have added carbonation. The intensity of ginger beer makes it an ideal mixer, as its bold taste holds up well against other ingredients in a mocktail. It offers a more authentic and potent ginger experience.
Both beverages can be enjoyed neat, as mixers for cocktails and mocktails, and even for their purported digestive benefits. However, when crafting sophisticated non-alcoholic drinks, the superior depth and spice of ginger beer generally make it the preferred choice for a truly impactful flavor. To help you navigate the vast array of options, we’ve conducted a thorough taste test of popular brands to identify the best ginger beer for mocktails.
Fever Tree Ginger Beer: The Gold Standard
- SCORE: 9.5/10
- FLAVOR NOTES: Exceptionally fizzy, complex, subtly sweet with a warm, lingering spice.
- TOTAL SUGAR: 18 grams per 200 ml
- WHERE TO BUY: Amazon Fresh, Target, Kroger, Walmart
For many enthusiasts and professional mixologists alike, Fever Tree Ginger Beer sets the benchmark, and our taste test affirmed why. This brand prides itself on using a blend of three distinct varieties of ginger—from Cochin, India; the Ivory Coast; and Nigeria—each contributing a unique dimension to its complex flavor profile.
The resulting taste is wonderfully warm and spicy, exhibiting a depth and nuance that surpasses many competitors. It offers a full-bodied ginger experience that is bold without being overwhelming, perfectly complementing other ingredients in a mocktail rather than dominating them. We particularly appreciated its slightly less sweet profile compared to other brands, which allows for greater control when balancing flavors in your drinks. The persistent fizz also adds a delightful texture and effervescence, making it an outstanding choice.
Ultimately, the harmonious blend of diverse ginger notes and balanced sweetness makes Fever Tree our top pick for the best ginger beer for mocktails. It truly enhances and elevates any non-alcoholic creation.
More Flavors To Try: Fever Tree offers a Light version (diet) and a vibrant Blood Orange Ginger Beer for those looking to experiment.
Q Mixers Ginger Beer: For the Spice Enthusiast
- SCORE: 8/10
- FLAVOR NOTES: Unquestionably the strongest, spiciest, and most effervescent ginger beer we sampled. Naturally sweetened with agave.
- TOTAL SUGAR: 18 grams per 200 ml
- WHERE TO BUY: Amazon Fresh, Target, Walmart, Whole Foods
If you crave an intense, fiery kick in your ginger beer, Q Mixers Ginger Beer is your ultimate contender. This brand stood out immediately as the most potent, peppery, and fizziest of all the options we tasted. Crafted with ginger extract and a bold chili pepper extract, it delivers a noticeable, almost startling bite that even caused a few coughs before the first proper sip.
Beyond the initial heat, Q Mixers Ginger Beer reveals subtle, refreshing citrus notes derived from coriander, cardamom, lime, and orange. This complex layering of flavors helps to temper the spice, creating a surprisingly balanced experience for such a strong drink. Q Mixers explicitly positions its products as premium mixers, designed to enhance cocktails and mocktails rather than simply serving as standalone sodas. Its robust profile makes it a fantastic choice for a Moscow Mule mocktail, where its assertive ginger flavor can truly shine through. If you desire a mixer that brings significant punch and character to your non-alcoholic beverages, Q Ginger Beer is an excellent option.
Another notable aspect is its natural sweetness, utilizing organic agave instead of traditional sugar. This contributes to a cleaner finish, allowing the ginger and spice to remain center stage.
Other Flavors To Try: Q Mixers also produces a diet ginger beer and exciting flavored variations, including Hibiscus and Tropical. We particularly enjoyed the Tropical, which features mango, passionfruit, and pineapple, offering a delightful twist on the classic.
Favorite Day Ginger Beer: The Crowd-Pleasing Value Pick
- SCORE: 8/10
- FLAVOR NOTES: A well-balanced, sweet, and fizzy profile with a moderate, appealing ginger flavor – a true crowd favorite.
- TOTAL SUGAR: 25 grams per 200 ml
- WHERE TO BUY: Target (This is an exclusive Target store brand)
In our quest to find the best ginger beer for mocktails, we made sure to include a generic or store brand option, and Favorite Day Ginger Beer from Target proved to be a delightful surprise. Beyond its attractive branding and very affordable price point, this ginger beer quickly emerged as a genuine crowd-pleaser among our taste testers.
Favorite Day Ginger Beer offers a flavor profile reminiscent of a robust ginger ale, but with the intensity dialed up to meet ginger beer expectations. It’s wonderfully fizzy and pleasantly sweet, delivering ample ginger flavor without being too aggressive or too subtle. Its balanced nature and abundant carbonation made it a hit with our panel. It performs exceptionally well whether enjoyed on its own or seamlessly mixed into a variety of drinks. This brand is a fantastic option for those seeking quality and great taste without breaking the bank.
Other Flavors To Try: Favorite Day also offers a zero-calorie diet ginger beer, providing a lighter option. For a visually stunning and uniquely flavored mocktail, their Hibiscus Ginger Beer, with its striking red hue, is an excellent choice.
Reed’s Extra Ginger Beer: Balanced & Authentic
- SCORE: 9/10
- FLAVOR NOTES: Sweet, wonderfully fizzy, and exceptionally balanced with delightful citrus and pineapple undertones, offering a comforting warmth.
- TOTAL SUGAR: 18.6 grams per 200 ml
- WHERE TO BUY: Amazon Fresh, Kroger, Sprouts, Target, Walmart
Reed’s Extra Ginger Beer secured its spot as our second-favorite overall, impressing us with its unique and comforting flavor profile. Reed’s Extra Ginger Beer delivers a beautifully fizzy and sweet experience, coupled with a soft, almost gingerbread-like ginger warmth. It manages to be both refreshing and warming simultaneously, making it an incredibly versatile mixer that harmonizes splendidly with other flavors, particularly in a Moscow Mule mocktail.
Reed’s specializes in crafting Jamaican-style ginger beer using real ginger, shying away from extracts. Their recipe includes a thoughtful blend of honey, pineapple, lemon and lime juices, and a selection of spices, all contributing to its distinctive taste. Despite the “Extra” label, which might suggest the spiciest flavor, we were pleasantly surprised to find it landed somewhere in the middle of our intensity scale. This is because Reed’s offers a range of ginger beers: Original (mild), Extra (medium), and Strongest. The “Extra” truly hits a sweet spot, offering substantial ginger presence without overwhelming the palate.
This brand is perfect for those who appreciate a full-flavored ginger beer with layers of natural fruit and spice, making it an excellent foundation for diverse mocktail creations.
More Flavors To Try: Reed’s extensive lineup also includes a premium ginger beer sweetened purely with honey and pineapple, as well as a zero-calorie diet ginger beer, providing plenty of choices for every preference.
Bundaberg Ginger Beer: Sweet & Mild
- SCORE: 7/10
- FLAVOR NOTES: Notably sweet, with a milder ginger flavor that almost resembles root beer.
- TOTAL SUGAR: 21.3 grams per 200 ml
- WHERE TO BUY: Amazon Fresh, Walmart, Kroger
Bundaberg Ginger Beer, hailing from Australia, offers a distinctly sweet experience, with a flavor profile that some of our tasters likened to root beer rather than a traditional ginger beer. This brand stands out as the only one in our test that still incorporates yeast in its brewing process, a nod to the original, old-fashioned methods of making ginger beer.
For those seeking a pronounced ginger kick, Bundaberg might fall short. We found its ginger flavor to be quite subtle, and its overall sweetness quite high. This sweetness could potentially be overpowering when combined with other sugary components in a mocktail, such as juices or syrups, potentially unbalancing the drink. Additionally, the presence of preservatives like potassium sorbate and sodium benzoate was a consideration for us.
However, Bundaberg could be an excellent choice for individuals who prefer their ginger beer on the sweeter side or who are new to ginger beer and desire a less intense ginger experience. It’s particularly popular with those who enjoy milder carbonated beverages (my daughter, for instance, thoroughly enjoyed this one).
Other Flavors To Try: Bundaberg also provides a diet version, sweetened with a blend of cane sugar and aspartame, for those looking to reduce their sugar or carbohydrate intake.
Betty Buzz Ginger Beer: A Mixer with a Different Vibe
- SCORE: 6/10
- FLAVOR NOTES: Sweet, subtly effervescent, with a more dominant lemon-lime flavor and minimal ginger presence.
- TOTAL SUGAR: 11.3 grams per 200 ml
- WHERE TO BUY: Betty Buzz, Kroger, Sprouts, Whole Foods
We were genuinely excited to sample Betty Buzz Ginger Beer, a brand created by Blake Lively with a clear focus on high-quality, lower-calorie mixers specifically designed for non-alcoholic drinks and mocktails. The commitment to real ingredients (actual juice, natural flavors) and exquisite branding set high expectations.
However, upon tasting, it became clear that Betty Buzz Ginger Beer wouldn’t win our specific “best ginger beer” category. While it functions perfectly well as a general mixer or a standalone soda—and we certainly appreciate its ingredient list and potential for various mocktails—its ginger flavor was notably subdued. It leaned more towards a sweet lemon-lime soda, lacking the characteristic ginger punch and robust fizz we expect from a ginger beer. For those seeking a truly ginger-forward beverage, this option might not deliver the desired intensity.
It’s important to note that while this particular offering didn’t excel as a ginger beer in our test, its quality ingredients and purpose-driven design still make it a viable option for other mocktail recipes where a strong ginger presence isn’t the primary goal. It could serve as a lighter, brighter carbonated base.
Other Varieties To Try: Despite the ginger beer not being our top pick, we remain enthusiastic about exploring other mixers in the Betty Buzz line. The agave-sweetened Sparkling Grapefruit and Meyer Lemon Club Soda sound particularly appealing and promising for diverse mocktail creations.
FAQ: The Best Ginger Beer for Mocktails
What Ginger Beer Brands Use Real Ginger? Many premium ginger beers proudly feature real ginger in their ingredients list. From our taste test, four of the six brands we tried explicitly used actual, real ginger or ginger juice:
- Bundaberg – Lists Ginger Root as a key ingredient.
- Fever Tree – Highlights a blend of 3 varieties of ginger (ginger root, natural ginger flavors).
- Reed’s – Features Pressed Organic Ginger Root prominently.
- Betty Buzz – Made with Real Ginger Juice.
Brands like Q Mixers also incorporate ginger extract for their intense flavor profile.
Which Ginger Beer Is The Best For a Moscow Mule Or Moscow Mule Mocktail? The ideal ginger beer for a Moscow Mule or its non-alcoholic counterpart often comes down to personal preference regarding spice and sweetness. However, based on our comprehensive taste test, Fever Tree Ginger Beer stands out as our top recommendation. Its complex, nuanced ginger flavor and balanced sweetness perfectly complement the lime, creating a wonderfully refreshing and authentic Moscow Mule experience. If you prefer your Moscow Mule with an extra fiery kick, Q Mixers Ginger Beer is an excellent choice, delivering an intense spice that truly awakens the palate.
Which Ginger Beer Is The Sweetest? Among the brands we sampled, Bundaberg Ginger Beer was perceived as the sweetest to our taste buds, offering a milder ginger profile that leans heavily into sugary notes. While subjective, it contained 21.3 grams of sugar per 200 ml, though Favorite Day Ginger Beer actually had a slightly higher sugar content at 25 grams per 200 ml, demonstrating that perceived sweetness can differ from exact sugar measurements.
Which Ginger Beer Is The Spiciest? Without a doubt, Q Mixers Ginger Beer took the crown for the spiciest option in our taste test. Its robust combination of strong ginger and chili pepper extracts, coupled with its high carbonation, creates an undeniable and exhilaratingly spicy sensation that truly sets it apart.
WE ♥
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More Mocktail Recipes To Try:
- Moscow Mule Mocktail
- Sweet Sunrise Mocktail (Virgin Sunrise)
- Easy Non-Alcoholic Sangria
- Classic Shirley Temple Drink
- Mint Limeade (Virgin Mojitos)