Williams Brothers recently saw me mention this post about Frank’s Ginger Ale and dropped me a line, offering to send me some of their new Ginger Beer, which was part of a test batch they had brewed and were looking for feedback on.
I was so excited when the beer arrived I cracked one open straight away, this was maybe a little bit of a mistake as it hadn’t given the beer time to settle so it wasn’t at it’s best, it was maybe a little too cold and was a little bit hazy and lacking a bit of fizz, however it was still very very tasty and it soon disappeared from the glass.
I didn’t really make any notes about the beer other than it had a brilliant ginger kick at the end, so I am drinking the second bottle they sent me as I write this, It’s had time to settle and It’s not as chilled as the first one.
It poured a lovely golden colour with a pretty decent bubbly white head, much more so than the first bottle I had opened, I rekcon the ammount of fizz is just about right,but if it is designed to be chilled then it could maybe do with a touch more.
The aromas were mainly of ginger and spice but there was a little hint of citrus in there, possibly grapefruit.
The taste was fantastic, not too sweet, really well balanced, predominantly ginger with a hint of citrus coming through, the finish reminded me a lot of that Old Jamaica Ginger Ale you get in cans, just much less sweet, which leaves it tingling your tongue and your throat as it slides down with some ease. There is barely a hint of any alcohol in this, which is no bad thing.
I really hope this makes it into production and into the supermarkets, I could see this being a big hit as it’s best alcoholic ginger ale I’ve tried, closely followed by Roosters Ginger Ale I had in York. I could also see this working with a hint of chilli being added to give it that little extra dimension.
They also sent me a few other bottles from their range, which I am working my way through so keep your eyes peeled for the reviews on those coming very soon. In the meantime follow them on twitter here or visit their shiny new website here.
This sounds great. I love ginger in a beer. The best one I’ve had so far was made by a fellow home brewer in Ireland. I wonder would this beat it 😀
That sounds yum – I wish they’d send me some :o)
A dead easy was to make your own is just to boil up some dextrose, add some ginger extract (real if you like) and some neutral/fruity yeast.
That makes a nice clear, sweet and easy ginger beer. Drop a chilli in the bottle for extra WHA HEY!
[…] 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 […]
I am pleased to say this had gone into production. I purchased a bottle from Beers of europe today 26/06/2010 and I can tell you it is realy rather good.
I’ve tried some of the production stuff too and its fab, Ill ammend the review as soon as i get time.
I was fancying some Crabbies Ginger Beer, when I saw this next to it on Tesco’s shelf. I took a gamble on it and I really like it 🙂 (dare I say more than Crabbies?)
I agree with your comparison to Old Jamaica (NA) Ginger
Anyway back to drinking 🙂
Glad you enjoyed it!!