Sunday 6 March 2011

New Ginger Drinks And Queen Exhibition

The spread of ginger-based products continues apace with the news last week of major launches both in the UK and the USA. In the UK, Stone's, the renowned ginger wine maker, announced that it was entering the alcoholic ginger beer market with its Stone's Ginger Joe, named after the company founder, Joseph Stone. Crabbie's, which has taken the UK market by storm over the last few years, has launched two new variants of its famous John Crabbie's Ginger Beer. One is John Crabbie’s Diet Ginger Beer which has 1 calorie per 100ml serving. The other is John Crabbie’s Twist of Orange Cloudy Ginger Beer. In the USA, Coca-Cola has announced that it intends to market Seagram’s Ginger Ale across the whole country. With demand for ginger beverages on the rise, Coca-Cola has decided to use its extensive distribution system to significantly increase availability of the popular ginger ale.

Ginger beers are not just the preserve of large companies and SMEs. Artisan businesses are starting up and grabbing a share, albeit very small, of the market. Recently I read an interesting article about Rachel's Ginger Beer in The Seattle Times. Rachel's Ginger Beer is a very small outfit with the dream of establishing a retail presence. When I read the article I was reminded of a small ginger beer maker in the UK which is at a later stage of development than Rachel's. Grandma's Weapons Grade Ginger Beer, an alcoholic beverage made by Wheal Maiden Brewery, started life in a kitchen and now supplies casks to a small but growing number of pubs. Actually, I tried it at the Hole In The Wall pub in Portsmouth. A lovely pint!

Last week saw the opening of the Stormtroopers in Stilettos exhibition in London to mark the 40th anniversary of the rock band, Queen. The only reason I mention this is because at the pre-opening press night the bar was serving a range of cocktails named after Queen songs. One that took my eye was A Night At The Opera, made from vodka, ginger beer and lime. If you are interested, the exhibition is being held at the Old Truman Brewery in east London and runs until the 12th March.

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