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What is Ginger Ale?

Michael Pollick
Michael Pollick
Michael Pollick
Michael Pollick

Ginger ale is a carbonated soft drink flavored primarily with the essence of ginger and perhaps a citrus oil to balance out the natural peppery tartness. It is a popular mixer for certain cocktails and mixed drinks, and is also the main ingredient in a non-alcoholic mocktail known as a Shirley Temple. Many people enjoy mixing the drink with frozen sherbet and fruit punch concentrate to form a very sweet and refreshing communal beverage at parties and receptions.

Ginger has been used for medicinal purposes for centuries, which is most likely how the idea of converting it into a consumable beverage came about. As a medicinal soft drink, ginger ale precedes most of the well-known carbonated sodas originally concocted as digestive aids, such as Coca-Cola® or 7-Up®. It could be brewed with basic distilling equipment and additives such as brewer's yeast, sugar and clear water. This process yielded a potent form of the drink known as golden ginger ale. Allowing the ginger/yeast/sugar mix to ferment longer would yield an alcoholic beverage known as "ginger beer," which can still be found on some store shelves today.

Ginger is used to make ginger ale.
Ginger is used to make ginger ale.

The original golden ginger ale was naturally carbonated with small bubbles of carbon dioxide, much like real beer. Some consumers often found this version to be too stout for their tastes, and soft drink manufacturers worked on a more palatable alternative. The result was a mixture of a simple syrup flavored with ginger and carbonated water, considered a dry ginger ale for its underlying tartness. While it is still possible to buy a true golden ginger ale such as Buffalo Rock® or Vernor's®, the dry varieties such as Schweppes® and Canada Dry® appear to be much more popular with modern consumers.

Some cooks prefer using ginger ale in place of water to boil bratwursts.
Some cooks prefer using ginger ale in place of water to boil bratwursts.

There are recipes available online and in home brewers' manuals which describe the process for brewing authentic golden ginger ale. The process can take several weeks to complete, and great care must be taken when dealing with natural carbonation, but the result is said to be a stronger form with a different flavor than the modern beverages made primarily from flavored syrups. In some regions of the United States, mint flavoring is added to the dry drink and often used in place of boiling water when preparing bratwurst or other sausages.

Michael Pollick
Michael Pollick

A regular WiseGEEK contributor, Michael enjoys doing research in order to satisfy his wide-ranging curiosity about a variety of arcane topics. Before becoming a professional writer, Michael worked as an English tutor, poet, voice-over artist, and DJ.

Learn more...
Michael Pollick
Michael Pollick

A regular WiseGEEK contributor, Michael enjoys doing research in order to satisfy his wide-ranging curiosity about a variety of arcane topics. Before becoming a professional writer, Michael worked as an English tutor, poet, voice-over artist, and DJ.

Learn more...

Discussion Comments

CarrotIsland

The first soda made in the United States was Vernor's Ginger Ale. It was made in Detroit, Michigan in 1866 by a man named James Vernor. He owned a drug store for 30 years and sold the ginger ale there. He later opened a factory to producer it on a large scale.

Ginger beer, on the other hand, has a much stronger ginger flavor than ginger ale. It is made with fermented ginger, lemon juice or citric acid, and sometimes lemon peel. It is made in alcoholic or non-alcoholic versions.

Golden ginger ale is another form of ginger ale, generally sweet tasting and has a very strong ginger spice flavor. Many believe it was brought into North America by migrants from Eastern Europe.

anon93376

Only helps if you get the soda with real ginger root extract. Can calm the gas in the upper extremities.

anon72316

Yep, my grandma made me drink it when I was vomiting. Half hour later I was done.

bestcity

I think drinking some ginger ale when the stomach is upset can be quite helpful.

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    • Ginger is used to make ginger ale.
      By: margo555
      Ginger is used to make ginger ale.
    • Some cooks prefer using ginger ale in place of water to boil bratwursts.
      By: SunnyS
      Some cooks prefer using ginger ale in place of water to boil bratwursts.
    • Mint flavoring is added to ginger ale in some regions of the United States.
      By: margo555
      Mint flavoring is added to ginger ale in some regions of the United States.
    • Ginger ale is a popular soft drink.
      By: Brent Hofacker
      Ginger ale is a popular soft drink.
    • Ginger ale may be used in certain cocktails and mixed drinks.
      By: emirkoo
      Ginger ale may be used in certain cocktails and mixed drinks.