Utterly Disgusting: Maine Root Ginger Brew May Be Ethically Made, But It Is Inedible!

The Good: Fair ingredients, Ethically created
The Bad: Exceptionally expensive, Horrible taste
The Basics: Maine Root Ginger Brew is not even worth trying, it is so foul!


On my way out of New York State, I picked up a few celebratory sodas for myself. The whole point was to commemorate my trip to my new life in Michigan with my wife. To that end, I picked up Maine Root sodas, both the Blueberry Soda (reviewed here!) and the Ginger Brew. When the truck was unpacked and my wife and I were together, we had a toast. She had a Blueberry Soda and I tried the Ginger Brew. From the expression on my face, she made me put it down and not subject myself to too much more. But, alas, as a reviewer, I had to have one of the full bottles and nothing makes me truly regret being a reviewer like tasting and retasting something as foul as this.

Maine Root Ginger Brew is a premium, handcrafted, fair trade certified soda that is sold in glass bottles from Maine Root. Back in New York, it was over seven dollars for a four-pack of bottles and that was not only overpriced, it was practically throwing money away.

Basics

Maine Root Ginger Brew is a bottled soda that is sold at grocery stores and specialty stores and does not seem to be well-known in the marketplace yet. Each 12 oz. clear glass bottle houses the pale green liquid. The bottles look good and while Maine Root is a smaller company, they are big enough that their operation is completely professional, as far as labeling and recycling/redemptions go.

The 12 fl. oz. bottle represents a single serving of Maine Root Ginger Brew, or (as I call it) a year’s supply!

Ease Of Preparation

Maine Root Ginger Brew is a liquid in a clear 12 oz. bottle. Preparation is as easy as opening the bottle by popping the bottle cap off and drinking the liquid inside. I recommend not buying the bottles to begin with or, barring that, burying them somewhere entirely forgetful to best prepare you for drinking these. In other words, the best preparation is doing whatever one might to avoid ever drinking them!

Taste

The smell of ginger root is potent when one opens the bottle. This smells like my father’s kitchen when he is making a Chinese stir-fry. The ginger scent is strong and distinct.

Maine Root Ginger Brew is excessively carbonated, so one’s tongue is first scraped clean by abrasive bubbles that rip off anything that might prevent the flavor of the Ginger Brew from being fully realized. The taste that follows is dry and exceptionally bitter. Maine Root managed to make a drink that tastes just like slicing open a ginger root and sticking it on one’s tongue. With the carbonation, this drink tastes like having one’s tongue raked over with a root grater that has been grating fresh ginger root. It is bitter, the antithesis of thirst quenching and, in every way, utterly horrible.

Nutrition

As a soda, one might expect this to have many unpronounceable ingredients. However, Maine Root Ginger Brew is made of carbonated pure water, Fair Trade Certified organic cane juice, ginger extract, and spices. There are no unpronounceable ingredients in this and Maine Root seems committed to creating a uniquely-flavored beverage that is ethical in how it is produced.

Nutritionally, Maine Root Ginger Brew is not enough to live off of, but it could be worse. Maine Root Ginger Brew has 40 grams of sugar. With 165 calories per serving, there are only 35 milligrams of sodium in this. Maine Root Ginger Brew has no fat, nor any other nutrients.

Storage/Clean-up

Maine Root Ginger Brew comes in a glass bottle and there is no clear expiration date on the bottle. There is a batch code printed on the bottom.

This drink is a pale green color, so if it gets on light fabrics it will certainly stain them. Consult a care guide for your clothes, though I suspect even light clothes will be able to wash the soda right out. As well, the drink wipes off surfaces easily with a cloth, assuming they are impermeable.

Overall

Maine Root Ginger Brew is not worth even a curiosity bottle. It is a beverage that leads to pain and disappointment and is not at all worth trying, no matter how ethically it is produced!

For other soda pop reviews, please check out my thoughts on:
Stewart's Orange 'n Cream Soda
Virgil's Black Cherry Cream Soda
Virgil’s All Natural Cream Soda

1/10

For other food and drink reviews, please visit my Food Review Index Page for a complete listing of all the foods I have reviewed!

© 2012 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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