Crabbie's Spiced Orange Alcoholic Ginger Beer
Halewood International Ltd

 

 

 

A thanks to the man who added this beer, woodychandler, for this beer. Poured from a brown 11.2 oz. bottle. Has a golden/copper color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is strong of oranges, a dash of ginger. Taste is sweet, sweet , and what? Sweet! There is a good balance of ginger and oranges present. Feels medium/light bodied in the mouth and overall, it ain't bad, and I would love to finish my glass, but my type 2 diabetes is warning me not to do it with this much added sugar.

I had originally been planning a Philly excursion today, but between the crappy rainy weather forecast for the totality of my potential visit, a high school class meet-up this evening & a definite trip to PHL on Monday, I aborted the trip on the launching pad. Goose Island (PHL) has been releasing a keg of a BCBS variant every Monday in December & while I can only make 24 & 31 December, it is still compelling enough for me to head east. Today becomes a Crabbie day, instead.

From the Bottle: "Best served chilled over ice with a slice of orange"; "For more than two hundred years Crabbie's has shipped its ginger from the Far East -- following in the pioneering footsteps of the first Scots Merchant Adventurers -- hence our distinctive Elephant Trade Mark."; "Following a secret recipe, the steeped ginger is combined with quality ingredients and matured for 8 weeks. It's then combined with real Orange Extract giving it a deliciously distinctive flavor."; "Best served chilled with a slice of orange, Crabbie's Spiced Orange Alcoholic Ginger Beer provides a uniquely refreshing experience - only for grown-ups!"

How exciting to be this beer's first reviewer & rater! It all began with the Pop! of the cap. I followed this with a quick C-Line pour which resulted in a solid finger of fizzy, foamy, eggshell-white head with moderate retention, leaving decent lacing in its wake. Color was the same Amber (SRM = > 7, < 9) with NE-quality clarity that I had noted in their standard Original Ginger Beer. I could have put it down as Gold (SRM = 5), but it had a darkening tint, perhaps from the ginger, that propelled it forward. Nose smelled like potpourri - ginger & oranges! It put me in mind of an activity book for children that I had as a wee lad - first, I fashioned a pirate hat by folding a newspaper & then I stuck whole cloves into an orange & let it dry on the windowsill. Spicy orange! Still, the ginger led the way with orange close behind. Mouthfeel was thin-to-medium, a little more body than in the Original, but don't expect a whole lot. The beauty of Herb & Spice Beer is that you merely need to experience the spice (or herbs) to make it stylistically correct. I would have been incorrect in adding it as a Fruit & Field Beer since the orange was not as prevalent as the ginger. That said, I liked this more than the Original simply because the orange was cutting the intensity of the ginger in this one. I know, that's like going to an AYCE pancake breakfast and partway in, saying "This would be great … if I liked pancakes!" 8=( OTOH, where I saw Original as a mixer, this could easily stand on its own. If I were going to use it as a mixer, I would use it with vodka. The orange flavor made it quite palatable while the ginger remained spicy enough to be refreshing. Finish was dry & spicy, but I would have it no other way. Your thoughts …