Ginger Ale vs. Ginger Beer: What's the Difference? | America's Test Kitchen (2024)

FAQs

Ginger Ale vs. Ginger Beer: What's the Difference? | America's Test Kitchen? ›

While ginger ale is milder in flavor, ginger beer has a stronger and more pronounced ginger taste. Though not all ginger beer has alcohol, some can have up to 11% alcohol according to America's Test Kitchen.

While these two drinks were once identical, ginger ale is typically sweeter, non-alcoholic, and made using artificial carbonation. Ginger beer tends to be spicier and is carbonated via fermentation. As a result, it may contain alcohol, though sometimes in amounts as low as 0.5% ABV.

So yes, classic Moscow Mule ingredients are as simple as: Vodka. Ginger beer. Fresh lime juice (no one was trying to market lime juice to Americans—it just makes the drink delicious).

While the two beverages share a ginger-fueled flavor note, they are distinctively different and should not be treated interchangeably. Doing so can run the risk of downgrading a drink from great to average or, even worse, creating an unbalanced mixed beverage.

Ginger beer sometimes contains even higher levels of ginger than ginger ale, which means it may be even more helpful at alleviating nausea than ginger ale, Trinh said. But just like ginger ale, ginger beer can vary depending on the brand and specific product.

“Canada Dry Ginger Ale has always been made using real ginger extract to provide its ginger flavour,” she said.

Reed's Original Ginger Beer

This world-famous, Jamaican-inspired recipe is crafted with REAL fresh ginger root, natural fruit juices, honey and spices. Perfect straight-up or mixed.

What is the Best Ginger Beer for a Kentucky Mule? We did a blind taste test of many brands of ginger beer. Most taste similar and are very sweet and more zesty or spicy than regular ginger ale. The brand that stood out to us as the most delicious was Fever-Tree with the most effervescent and unique flavor.

Ginger beer and ginger ale do not differ greatly in terms of nutritional values. Ginger ale is the lighter option, with 125.1 calories and 32.3 grams of sugar per can (12 fl oz). Ginger beer is a bit heavier but nevertheless very close to ginger ale, with 140 calories and 35 grams of sugar per can or bottle (12 fl oz).

It is expensive to do it, and ginger juice makes such a big component that to make it it's our highest cost per production beer that we make.

Can you drink ginger beer straight? ›

Packed with flavor, it's good enough to be enjoyed on its own, or mixed to make a variety of different co*cktails. But let's set one thing straight – the key ingredient to a great Moscow Mule is a good ginger beer, not ginger ale!

Ginger beer is a drink originating from England, where sugar, ginger, water, and sometimes lemon were fermented and brewed with a starter culture called the ginger beer plant, resulting in a brew with about 11 percent alcohol. This also explains how the word “beer” is part of the name.

Ginger may offer benefits for heart health, headaches, and nausea, as well as antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Thus, varieties of ginger ale that contain more ginger may be better for your health.

Choose ginger beer, which is more likely to use fresh ginger in the brewing process and is, thus, better suited to relieve nausea or an upset stomach.

Ginger root, a plant indigenous to southern China, contains hundreds of compounds that provide several important benefits to those who ingest it. Drinking ginger beer can help reduce inflammation, promote digestion, relieve nausea, and even help in the prevention of cancer.

Ginger beer and ginger ale do not differ greatly in terms of nutritional values. Ginger ale is the lighter option, with 125.1 calories and 32.3 grams of sugar per can (12 fl oz). Ginger beer is a bit heavier but nevertheless very close to ginger ale, with 140 calories and 35 grams of sugar per can or bottle (12 fl oz).

Naturally sourced ingredients. No artificial sweeteners or colors. Crafted by brewing our signature blend of three gingers from the Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Cochin, India.

In the case of artificially flavored ginger ale, the beverage has no more health benefits than any other soda, which, of course, are zero. But in the case of ginger ale flavored by real ginger root, the beverage has marginally more health benefits than other soft drinks.