On 05/03/2012 5:03 PM, Doug Freyburger wrote:

>> Ginger ale is generally very light straw colour, probably lightly
>> coloured with a small amount of caramel. Ginger beer is usually more of
>> a grey colour with tones of brown and or green. It has a bite too it. I
>> love the ginger beer, but most people around here steer clear of it.
>
> There are "ginger ale" sodas like Canada Dry where the amount of
> flavoring is small or like Vernors where the flavoring is strong but
> it's not obvious to me that it's from ginger.

I have not had Vernors in a long time, but from my memory of it, it was
a little stronger ginger flavour and a hell of a lot more sweetness.


> There are ginger sodas like the one from Trader Joe and the Jamaican one
> with the bird on the label where the ginger flavor is so strong I can
> almost taste the soil the ginger grew in. I have no idea if these
> products count as "ginger beer". I figure based on the clarity of the
> flavor they would be called "GINGER ale".


No Trader Vic's here, but there are a number of Caribbean style ginger
beers here for a about $1 or more for a very small bottle. When I was a
kid, it was quite common to see ginger beer for sale along with all the
other soft drinks, even in machine.... those old machines where you
wrings slicing the skin off your fingers while you pulled the neck
through the dispenser arm.