Ginger Beer
Ginger beer is a sweetened, carbonated ginger drink, cloudier and hotter than ginger ale, and almost every bottle on a UK shelf is a soft drink with no alcohol or a trace under 0.5%. It began in 18th-century England as a fermented brew; most bottles now are carbonated rather than fermented, and the few brewed ones can contain barley. It is the long part of a Moscow Mule, a Dark 'n' Stormy and our own Storm & Spice.
Quick Facts
Refrigerate and use within a day or two of opening; cloudy sediment is normal in brewed styles.
None of the 14 listed allergens. Most ginger beers declare none, but some brewed ones use malted barley and contain gluten (Franklin & Sons Brewed Ginger Beer declares it): check the bottle.
About Ginger Beer
Flavour Profile
Primary Flavours
Tasting Notes
Hot and spicy with a deep ginger burn, balanced by sweetness and a little citrus; noticeably fierier than ginger ale.
Most ginger beer is carbonated, not brewed
Ginger beer started as a ferment. Ginger, sugar and water were set going with a ginger beer plant, which is not a plant but a jelly-like culture of a yeast and a bacterium, and the drink came out cloudy, sharp and somewhat alcoholic. Brewed ginger beer is usually traced to 18th-century Yorkshire. Most bottles today skip the ferment: carbonated water, sugar, ginger and an acid, filled under pressure.
A few are still brewed, with a non-alcoholic ferment that keeps them under 0.5% ABV. Franklin & Sons Brewed Ginger Beer ferments ginger extract with malted barley extract, which means gluten, and the maker says so on the label. Fever-Tree's ginger beer is described as brewed, but its ingredients list ginger root and no ferment or cereal.
It carries more heat and more haze than ginger ale
Ginger beer and ginger ale are different products rather than two strengths of one. The beer carries more ginger and more burn; the ale is clear and lighter. Sweetness is a matter of brand, as the bottles we checked show.
Ginger beer against ginger ale, per 100ml (producers' UK sites, 11 October 2026)
Fever-Tree Premium Ginger Beer
- Look
- Cloudy
- Ginger on the label
- Ginger root and natural ginger flavouring
- Sugar
- 7.9g
- Gluten
- None listed
- Alcohol
- None
Franklin & Sons Brewed Ginger Beer
- Look
- Cloudy
- Ginger on the label
- Ginger extract in a non-alcoholic ferment with malted barley
- Sugar
- 11g
- Gluten
- Contains gluten
- Alcohol
- None
Fever-Tree Premium Ginger Ale
- Look
- Clear
- Ginger on the label
- Natural ginger flavouring
- Sugar
- 7.2g
- Gluten
- None listed
- Alcohol
- None
Alcoholic ginger beer
- Look
- Varies
- Ginger on the label
- Fermented ginger
- Sugar
- Varies
- Gluten
- Check the label
- Alcohol
- Usually around 4%
| Bottle | Look | Ginger on the label | Sugar | Gluten | Alcohol |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fever-Tree Premium Ginger Beer | Cloudy | Ginger root and natural ginger flavouring | 7.9g | None listed | None |
| Franklin & Sons Brewed Ginger Beer | Cloudy | Ginger extract in a non-alcoholic ferment with malted barley | 11g | Contains gluten | None |
| Fever-Tree Premium Ginger Ale | Clear | Natural ginger flavouring | 7.2g | None listed | None |
| Alcoholic ginger beer | Varies | Fermented ginger | Varies | Check the label | Usually around 4% |
The mule family runs on its heat
The Moscow Mule is usually credited to 1941 and to two men with stock to shift: Jack Morgan, who made Cock 'n' Bull ginger beer, and Heublein's John G. Martin, who sold Smirnoff vodka. Accounts differ on where. The copper mug came with Martin's promotion; choose one lined with stainless steel, because acidic drinks dissolve bare copper. The same frame takes Irish whiskey in the Dublin Mule, tequila and cassis in El Diablo, and spiced rum in our Pack Mule.
The Dark 'n' Stormy belongs to Gosling's rum
Gosling Brothers of Bermuda hold the name as a US trademark for a drink made with their Black Seal rum, and our Dark 'n' Stormy uses it: 100ml of ginger beer with 60ml of Black Seal floated on top. Spiced rum does not stand in for it. Ginger beer with spiced rum is its own drink, and Storm & Spice is ours: 150ml of ginger beer, 15ml of lime and the rum floated last.
Using Ginger Beer
Usage
Our recipes pour 60 to 150ml over a glass packed with ice: 90ml in the Dublin Mule and El Diablo, 120ml in the Moscow Mule, 150ml in Storm & Spice. It usually goes in last; in a Dark 'n' Stormy it goes in first and the rum floats on it.
Pro Tip
When a Mule tastes of sugar and lime and little else, change the ginger beer before the spirit. A hotter, drier bottle at the same 120ml does more for the drink than an extra 10ml of vodka.
Top Tips
- Taste it on its own before mixing. A ginger beer that is mild and sweet alone will be milder still under spirit and lime.
- Read the label for ginger root or a ferment near the top. Ginger flavouring alone usually means less bite.
- Look for barley on the label if gluten matters; some brewed bottles ferment with malted barley extract.
- Open a small bottle for one or two drinks. Even resealed and cold, an opened ginger beer is spent within a couple of days.
Possible Substitutions
- Ginger Ale: clearer and milder: a different drink, not a weaker one
Production Method
Most bottles are carbonated water and sugar flavoured with ginger, as root, extract or flavouring, with an acid. A few are brewed: a non-alcoholic ferment of ginger, sugar and water, sometimes with malted barley, kept under 0.5% ABV. Home ginger beer is fermented with a ginger beer plant, a culture of yeast and bacteria.
History & Context
Brewed ginger beer is generally traced to Yorkshire in the mid-18th century. It was a fermented drink that could reach about 11% alcohol until England limited it to 2% in 1855, and it travelled to Canada and the United States by about 1790. Most modern bottles are carbonated soft drinks rather than brews.
More to explore
Common Questions
What is ginger beer?
Is ginger beer alcoholic?
What is the difference between ginger beer and ginger ale?
Does ginger beer contain gluten?
Why is ginger beer cloudy?
What ginger beer should I use in a Moscow Mule?
Can I make a Dark 'n' Stormy with spiced rum?
How long does ginger beer keep once opened?
Styles of ginger beer
Made with Ginger Beer
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Guide by Jerry Can Spirits · Updated 11 October 2026