The best ginger beer is a spicy-sweet brew that gives us a taste of 1700s England, where the botanical beverage first emerged. I know that it’s far more filtered and packed with sugar than it would have been in ye olde times, but it’s still fun to pretend you’re glugging a schooner full of ginger beer, covered in dirt, hanging out with your mule, swapping gossip about the unrest you heard about in the Thirteen Colonies. (Disclaimer: I’m a food writer, not a historian, so I apologize directly to my high school history teacher for anything that was factually incorrect about that last sentence.) That’s all to say, ginger beer is great. But what is the best ginger beer?
To answer that worthy question, the Sporked team gathered up some of the top-selling and top-ranked ginger beers on the market to have a good, old-fashioned taste test. We were looking for ginger beers that stood out from their ginger ale kin. (Wondering what’s the difference between ginger beer and ginger ale? We can help.) They needed to have bite and spice, but also be enjoyable to drink or have the potential to be mixed with spirits for cocktails like Moscow Mules and Dark and Stormys. Amazingly, we were overwhelmed with quality GBs out there. Here are the 12 (yes, a full dozen!) best ginger beers we tasted.
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- Barritt’s Ginger Beer
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Bermuda’s own Barritt’s is a new addition to this list. After the first few sips, we all unanimously decided this is, for sure, the best ginger beer. It’s just so vibrant. It’s not simply sweet (though it is just the right amount of sweet). And it’s not just spicy (though it certainly has a bite). It tastes like real, actual ginger! And if you pour the pleasingly retro can into a glass, you’ll notice the brew is cloudy—you can see the ginger juice in the mix. It’s a treat to drink on its own but it’s also great for cocktails. Pair it with a dark rum or a spicy rye.
Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart
- Goslings Ginger Beer
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With its fine bubbles, good ginger spice (without being spicy), and extreme drinkability, this old-school classic is a standby for a reason. As Sporked writer Jordan Myrick said, “I could chug 30 to 40 of these.” Plus, not only is it good for chugging straight from the can, but it’s also the best ginger beer for Dark and Stormy purposes. Technically, it’s the only ginger beer you can legally use in a Dark and Stormy (or Dark N’ Stormy if you want to be official about it) since the company trademarked the drink’s name; make the cocktail with anything else and you have to call it a Rum and Ginger. But after making a product like this, they deserve to be as litigious as they are. It has just the right amount of sugar and bite to blend with rum and make a perfectly balanced cocktail.
Credit: Ryan Martin / Walmart
- Reed’s Extra Craft Ginger Beer
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I am a big fan of the full lineup of Reed’s ginger beers, but their “Extra” level brew is a particularly friendly, easy-drinking offering. It’s delightfully honeyed with lots of rich flavors and subtle burn on the finish, just enough to let you know there is real ginger in there. “It’s like if someone put ginger in a pot with some honey and let it get all toasty together,” Jordan said. And you can’t deny the appeal of the packaging. It’s the best ginger beer to sip while you kick back on island time.
Credit: Ryan Martin / Target
- Betty Buzz Ginger Beer
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If you’re looking for something to drink with dinner that isn’t alcoholic, isn’t super sweet, and isn’t water, then Betty Buzz is the best ginger beer for you. It’s very dry with extremely small bubbles and a nice touch of spice. It practically tastes like a mocktail on its own—and a sophisticated one at that. Though, it would also be good with some non-alcoholic whiskey mixed in to make an N/A Ginger Buck. It’s also only 70 calories a serving, which is a fraction of our number one pick’s calorie count—if that’s something you care about. The packaging also adds to the appeal. The petite, curvaceous bottle looks like something you’d get at a craft bar covered in blond wood where they grow their own garnishes.
Credit: Liv Averett / Reserve Bar
- Bundaberg Ginger Beer
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It might be the color of the label, but we all sensed some orange aromas in this ginger beer from Down Under. It’s full-bodied and rounded with a light ginger flavor. Try it in a Moscow Mule with muddled berries or as a stand-in for ginger ale in a Pimm’s Cup. Or just drink it on its own. It’s as refreshing and friendly as a Sydney native (or, at least, the Sydney natives I’ve seen on TV). Plus, it has a fun pull-tab-style cap. Bundaberg, Australian for the best (ginger) beer.
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- Fentimans Ginger Beer
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“I would buy this from a cooler in a gas station and drink this whole thing,” said Sporked contributor (and ginger beer newbie) Danny Palumbo. That’s a ringing endorsement from him. The ginger burn is there but just at the very end. Mostly you get brown sugar, floral and botanical notes, and unique aromatics. Sporked managing editor Gwynedd Stuart called it “unreal.” It’s an apothecary’s ginger beer, and the best ginger beer if you’re skittish around too much ginger but still want something that tastes like it came from the earth.
Credit: Ryan Martin / Amazon
- Q Mixers Ginger Beer
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This is a sophisticated ginger beer. It’s much drier than the others on offer with a long lasting spice and lots of small, fine bubbles. This is the Champagne of the ginger beer world. “It feels grown up to be drinking this,” said Sporked contributor Naajia Shukri. If you’re averse to sugar, this could be the best ginger beer you’ve ever had. But you should also pick up a few cans if you’re a big Whiskey Ginger fan. It will play the perfect supporting role to any whiskey you choose, allowing the spirit to shine while still adding a fizz factor and complementary ginger flavor. Personally, though, I’d go with an Irish whiskey like a classic Jameson or, if you want to get fancy, a fruity-floral Japanese whisky like a Hibiki. But, heck, even if you only have the moonshine your cousin makes, using this ginger beer will result in a pretty decent drink.
Credit: Ryan Martin / Amazon
- Cutwater Ginger Beer
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Cutwater makes spirits, really good canned cocktails, as well as a line of mixers. You can straight-up stock your bar with Cutwater products, and you would be very happy with the outcome. Their ginger beer is made with cane sugar (points!) and has lots of nose-tickling carbonation. The sweetness shows up upon first sip but then it finishes dry—it’s balanced and can handle a sweeter bourbon or rum. Cutwater set out to make the best ginger beer to mix with their spirits and they did a dang good job.
Credit: Liv Averett / Reserve Bar
- Saranac Ginger Beer
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When I was pregnant, this was one of my go-to drinks to pull out when everyone else was drinking beer. But it’s more than just the best ginger beer to hold and pretend you’re drinking real beer. It’s a good, easy-going ginger beer that’s a step above ginger ale in real ginger flavor and spice. It’s not powerful enough to mix with a spirit to make a cocktail, but on its own the tingly bubbles and zippy sweetness are enough to keep you coming back sip after sip.
Credit: Liv Averett / Amazon
- Summit Ginger Beer
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Aldi’s seasonal ginger brew is extremely spiced and herbal. “It tastes like it was brewed in a garden,” said Jordan. With its perfumed aroma and carbonated sting, it’s not for everyone. “It has a lot of bite,” said Danny. “It’s fighting back. It slaps you in the face.” But sometimes that’s what I want out of a ginger beer—I want a slow sipper, something I have to approach with caution. Summit is the best ginger beer for that specific scenario. Plus, mixed with gin it becomes a beautifully botanical cocktail. Garnish it with an edible flower. You have a bunch of those just lying around, right?
Credit: Ryan Martin / Aldi
- Owen’s Craft Mixers Ginger Beer + Lime
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On its own, this ginger beer is a bit too limey. But that makes it the best ginger beer for Moscow Mule making. And, to be fair to Owen’s, it’s not sold as a stand-alone sipper. It’s sold as a mixer. The carbonation level is high, the gingery burn is present, and it’s not too sweet, but the citrusy backbone makes this the clear winner for best Moscow Mule mixer. Of course, if you find yourself adding a squeeze of lime to ginger beer normally, you also might like to gulp this bottle down on its own.
Credit: Ryan Martin / Walmart
- Fever-Tree Refreshingly Light Ginger Beer
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This isn’t the best ginger beer on the list. I guess that should be obvious, since it’s coming in last. But it’s certainly the best light ginger beer I’ve tried. It’s an all around pleaser—not too gingery (as Danny said, “Some people don’t want to sneeze immediately”), not too sweet, and beautifully bubbly. And, for a ginger beer that boasts 53% fewer calories than Fever Tree’s regular offering, it still packs a good amount of flavor.
Credit: Ryan Martin / Amazon
Best of the Best
Best for a Dark and Stormy
Best for Sipping on Its Own
Best to Pair with Food
Best for Fruity Cocktails
Best Mild
Best for Whiskey Gingers
Best Everyday Mixer
Best Soda Style
Best Herbaceous
Best for a Moscow Mule
Best Light
Other ginger beers we tried: Maine Root Ginger Brew, Regatta, Kroger, Stolichnaya, Zevia, Trader Joe’s
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Not sure they ever tasted some of these. Way wrong rankings
All Ginger Beer is Good 👍
We’re Maine Root and Brooklyn Crafted not included? I prefer those to any of the above listed.
Also, more off the beaten path, and expensive, Rachel’s Ginger Beer is excellent.
Try Goya. Nice and spicy great for a Mule imo
This site is far too liberal to try the greatest ginger beer ever made.
Cock n bull is my favorite ginger beer you should maybe try it I think it’s great very spicy and great for mules I think it claims to be the original for moscow mules
Second vote for Cock and Bull. My favorite for sure
So glad to see Fever Tree on here. It tastes so ginger-y and not fake at all. I love it! It’s less like a soda and more like a seltzer
Have you tried Cock and Bull? That is my top ginger beer, then Goslings, then oddly, Great Value. I do like a spicy ginger beer, though. Bundaberg is really good, but yes, it has an odd flavor that you have to get used to.
This was so helpful!! Thank you. Can’t wait to try the Summit–I love the spiciness of ginger and it’s what I’ve been missing in a lot of the ginger beers I’ve tried.