ginger beer [General]

2015 Jul 28
Does anyone have a lead on where I can source this Pickett's Ginger Beer syrup locally? I can get a couple of bottles from BYOB in Toronto for $60 with shipping and taxes. I was hoping for a bit less.

I know I've complained about every single brand of ginger beer before, so this is probably old news for most of you. I even tried to make a Jamaican recipe last winter, but it wasn't the same. It made some interesting ice cubes for adding to other, less flavourful ginger beers, though.

Nobody makes it as spicy/gingery as I'd like. Not anymore. Grace brand used to be perfect. It would take the roof of your head clean off. Just the way I like it. Then, they modified the recipe to make it more public-friendly, less-Rizaky. Even the President's Choice ginger beer (only available in the 2 liter bomb) used to be pretty good. Then, they caved as well. Not unexpectedly. Now, I am bereft of decent spicy ginger beer.

This stuff is a syrup and is mixed 5:1, so it goes pretty far. They also claim that it is 'hot n spicy', which gives me hope.

2015 Aug 4
Different brand but stoli currently has a samples of their ginger beer attached to vodka bottles at LCBO. Local restos like Whalebone might have good suggestions too for ginger beer? Although takes longer, would fresh ginger juice be an option?

2015 Aug 4
Wow $60 ?

2015 Aug 5
Yeah, I know.

[math]
$30 each
5:1 makes 6 bottles that size.
Therefore, they'd be $5 each and I can see paying that much.

I haven't ordered yet, so if anyone else wants to add on to this order, just let me know. I'll give it another week or so. That may cut the shipping down a bit.

2015 Aug 5
I wonder if Prestige has it. They make essences so people can add vodka and make various spirits, and people highly recommend it.

2015 Aug 5
I wonder if Prestige has it. They make essences so people can add vodka and make various spirits, and people highly recommend it.

Found this on amazon:

www.amazon.com

2015 Aug 7
OMG, that's like the tiny bottles of root beer extract I used to get at the Co-op when I was a kid! Thanks.

... except that they don't ship to Canada. As expected. There are workarounds. I may give this a try.

2015 Aug 9
Ginger people make very high quality products.

Also Vitacost is quite cheap and improved their shipping.
I had not bought anything from Vitacost for 2 years as their shipping sucked,but now it seems improved and I will be buying more there.

2015 Aug 9
It looks like they might have the Ginger People ginger beer at the Barrhaven Farm Boy. I'll try that out today. That's a brand I haven't tried yet, and if anyone's gonna do it right ... it'll be those ginger people.

EDIT: Farm Boy doesn't seem to carry that brand, though the Ginger People lists them as a vendor. They have lots of other GP products. Oh, well.

I picked up a bottle of the Fever Tree brand, and it is about half-way to where I want it. It has the spiciness, but it doesn't last.

2015 Aug 12
For anyone interested, Ginger People is available at Wholesome Market in the market. it's the spiciest I've found round here. Fever Tree is weaker for sure, plus, much more expensive.

2015 Aug 13
Ginger people is expensive here, but on Vitacost it is cheap and shipping to canada for any order is $10- my last order weighed around 25lbs...

I do not have a car,so most of the time shopping online is better for me.

Can you use candied ginger to make the soda? like if you were to boil that maybe?
I have a couple pounds organic candied ginger and it is quite spicy.
-only ingredients is organic ginger,organic sugar.

It comes in sort of cubes, very easy to chop up,not dry and soap tasting like the farm boy candied ginger (that one is awful).

2015 Aug 14
I just ordered a load of stuff from Amazon.com through ShipLlama's e-forwarding service. This is going to be an experience, and I'll let you know the results.

2015 Aug 14
Yes, please let us know about your ShipLlama experience. This could save me the trips to Ogdensburg.

From my experience, Amazon.COM has waaay more stuff than Amazon.CA and the price can be cheaper ... sometimes substantially cheaper.

Quick example :

Henkel 8" knife is 30% more on Amazon.ca than Amazon.com. And shipping on Amazon.ca is $7.20 ... free on Amazon.com. This shipping cost makes the price difference over 35%.

www.amazon.com

www.amazon.ca


2015 Aug 14
I buy a lot of stuff for my business from the US and have it shipped here. I only do this when I can get free shipping, and I'll tell you right now that you should expect to take the American price and just add 30% on top for currency conversion, duties, and border fees. Minimum. It is slightly higher as the dollar continues to slip. I'm expecting that it will be higher with ShipLlama because I still have to deal with shipping once they get it across the border. Still, I'm pretty sure I'm willing to pay a premium for items that I can't otherwise even get.

2015 Sep 10
Hey Rizak, I'd love it if you would try the Ginger beer at Share. House made, and it may be gingery enough for you..

2015 Sep 11
Thanks. I'll do that.

I got a bottle of Pickett's, and it is pretty good. It has a hint of a bite, but it goes away after that first hint. So, yes it is hot and spicy. I still want more.

I got 3 little bottles of ginger beer concentrate and once I round up a couple of 2 litre pop bottles I'll be trying this method out. It's one where you add yeast and sugar to the concentrate, fill up with water and let it ferment.

Looking at the picture, I was reminded that I found out that Kraken is now making their own ginger beer, but it is only available in a few states. AAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!

2015 Sep 12
Most of the items on amazon.com do not ship to Canada.

Also amazon.com is in US dollars and amazon.ca is in Canadian dollars.

The exchange rate is different to,US stuff is around 30% higher.
So, it is great that people always say "stuff in the US is so much cheaper than here", not even thinking of those things.

Whole foods probably has a lot of ginger beers and fermented drinks from the US for sale.

If your "ginger soda" is really not strong enough, you can always try getting some fresh ginger at the store and make your own quite cheaply.
Fresh ginger is extremely cheap to buy.

Maybe make a soda with fresh ginger, hot peppers and some sugar or something.

I can not drink a lot of carbonation,so at the moment a flat ginger drink would be best for me.

You can always make your own ginger syrup and keep that in the fridge.
If I can not find a drink flavor I want and am trying to avoid some ingredients,it is easier to just make your own things.

I can't seem to find and really good strawberry ice cream,only sorbet.
So, obviously I ended up making some.

I also wanted some chocolate covered pretzels and could not find any that were what I wanted. Ended up making my own and they were good.
Only "problem" was I did not make enough and ate most of them....hahah.

I wanted to try carob coated pretzels, and also some butterscotch coated pretzels.

When you make your own things,you might have something that works and then something that does not.
Just try again and eventually you will have something you like.

2015 Sep 12
I had a 50/50 ginger beer / sorrel drink at Flavours of the Caribbean that had a lot of kick to it. I'm sure the straight up ginger beer would be pretty spicy. The roti is good too, however as others have mentioned the spice levels are inconsistent. My neighbour and I ordered the same dish at the same spice level and hers was mild enough to share with her three year old, but mine had me reaching for the paper towels to keep the sweat off my forehead, so your experience with the ginger beer zing may vary too!

2017 May 28
I decided to give Grace another try, and they are back to the recipe I remember! I don't know if I just got a bad batch the last time, but this is going to be my choice from now on.

BTW, the ginger beer syrup for fermenting your own was kind of a bust. It was weak, sugary, and not very bubbly. I still have a couple of bottles if anyone wants them. Not everyone wants it hot like I do.

2017 Jun 24
Rizak, where is the best place to buy Grace ginger beer? Thanks.

2017 Jun 25
Pretty well any Loblaws has it in their international foods section.

2017 Jun 25
They also sell it at Real Canadian Superstore. I think T&T also carries it. These are both Loblaws brands.

2017 Jun 28
Thanks!