I’m not entirely sure where I got Naylor’s Ginger Beer from but I found it in the beer cupboard when I was looking for something a little different, so decided to crack it open.
Naylor’s Ginger Beer is part of their Brewers Choice range, this is a range of seasonal and one off beers that the guys over at Naylor’s experiment with in order to try and encapsulate the flavours of that season using various malt, wheat and hop combinations.
The Ginger Beer comes in at 4.5% ABV which is the same as Frank’s Ginger Ale but stronger than the Williams Brothers Ginger Ale (which is my current favourite.)
It pours a hazy, gingery orange colour with a medium thick off white head, The aromas sticky and sweet, there’s a decent whack of ginger, a little bit of malt and some caramel sweetness there for good measure.
Flavour wise Naylor’s Ginger is quite sweet and malty, The ginger is definitely there, but it isn’t as prominent as in the Williams Brothers Ginger Ale, there are hints of sweet fruit and toffee. The finish is refreshing and surprisingly dry for a beer that is quite sweet.
It’s a decent attempt at a ginger beer but it is a bit like a traditional bitter that has had a bit of ginger added to the recipe, instead of a beer that has been specifically brewed to be a ginger beer. It’s a tasty enough beer but It’s not something I could drink more than a couple of bottles of because of the sweetness.
I love ginger beers especially ones that have bags of ginger flavour to them, some people preffer them sweet and less firey – if that’s you then you will probably love this beer.
It does however go quite well with a nice spicy chilli con carne that cuts through the sweetness, plus the chilli and ginger is one of my favourite flavour combinations.
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Hmmm, I prefer something fiery that gives a whacks at the back of the throat, this one sounds a wee bit mild for my taste, so perhaps I’ll give it a miss.
I too have found one of these in the back of my beer cupboard, and not sure where it came from! Think I may have picked it up at a beer festival as a random purchase then forgotten it was there (ginger beers normally don’t last long in my posession!).
Have decided to hold on to it and the remaining Williams Ginger I’ve got, until I’ve also acquired some bottled Enville Ginger and Marble Ginger and can have a private taste-off all to myself while sitting on a sunny patch of grass somewhere reliving those Enid Blyton moments of youth 😉
Have you tried Crabbie’s Alcoholic Ginger Beer? I’m not affiliated in any way, but completely by chance I was able to sample some (well a bottle!) at the weekend and I wondered how that compared with these.
I enjoyed it, but like @kaz’s comment, I do prefer a strong ginger kick from my ginger products. From the description I’m thinking Crabbie’s might be on a par with with this one – so I’ll have to seek out some of the Williams Brothers one!
There really only is one ginger beer – Marble Ginger 6. Everything else either tastes like washing up liquid, pop or isn’t living. I honestly don’t understand why nobody else can make a decent ginger brew, given the amount of brewers that give it a shot.