There was good news this week for ginger lovers in New Zealand courtesy of the Otago Daily Times - Monteith’s seasonal Summer Ale is back on the shelves. This bright, gold beer is made with four different malts, a single hop variety, honey and, of course, ginger. My interest in this beer was overshadowed somewhat by the reminder that I live in the UK, a glorious Indian summer has just ended, and winter looms on the horizon.
The Ford Motor Company has just revealed the colours for its forthcoming range of new cars and they include Ginger Ale. This colour will be seen on the new Ford Escape when it is unveiled at the 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show next month. The Ford blog said that Ginger Ale was selected for its energy and refreshing qualities and went on to describe it as "a classic gold neutral with slight green undertones, it’s found naturally in rocks, minerals and sandy beaches as well as jewellery, gems and textiles". This blog post is a fascinating insight into the work involved in selecting a colour for a particular model. I didn't realise it but Ginger Ale was selected as the Colour of the Year for 2008 by ICI Paints. ICI's Colour Futures Team said at the time that Ginger Ale was the colour of life-sustaining sunshine and described it as "having the ability to convey a mood of warmth, sociability and welcome".
A Jamaican business executive last week issued a call to arms and demanded that his country re-establish itself as a producer of top quality agricultural produce. Dr Keith Amiel, corporate affairs manager at Caribbean Broilers Group, told The Gleaner that Jamaica needs to go back to basics and invest in a new generation of farmers. We all know that the Jamaican ginger industry virtually disappeared in the 1990s through a combination of disease, poor farming and bad management. Dr Amiel highlighted two products which were known worldwide for their use of Jamaican ginger. He mentioned Canada Dry Ginger Ale and Stone's Ginger Wine which originally had the word Jamaica on their labels but have now had it removed because Jamaica could not supply enough. I think that it is fair to say that Jamaican ginger will not appear in these products again but it doesn't mean that new products couldn't be developed. I'm convinced that Jamaican ginger is its own unique selling point.
Never a week goes by without an announcement or item of news from that remarkable ginger drinks company, Crabbie's. One week it will be news of another sponsorship deal, the next week it will be the launch of the latest in the series of witty TV advertising campaigns with George and Camilla. Last week the market was presented with a new member of the Crabbie's family - Crabbie's Spiced Orange. This is a blend of the existing Crabbie's Alcoholic Ginger Beer, orange and spices. Apparently, Halewood International, who make Crabbie's, used consumer research which said that orange has the most popular flavour profile. I'd like to suggest that there would be a market for a Spiced Lemon and/or Lime equivalent as well. The ginger and lime combination already works successfully in their nut mix.
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