Reed's Ginger Brews are a product of the
Original Beverage Corporation, based in
Los Angeles, and are brewed from all-natural ingredients.
The first time I ever cracked a bottle of Reed's Original Ginger Brew, after reading a positive review of it in
BevNet, my feelings were mixed. It was a
spicy soda. Being used to the bland American version (
again!), I wasn't quite sure if I liked it or not. However, I couldn't stop drinking it. It's definitely an
unusual beverage if you haven't yet ventured into the wild world of ginger drinks. The original (an " all natural Jamaican style
ginger ale") is very tasty,
smooth but with lots of
kick. Reed's Extra Ginger Brew (a
ginger beer) which contains 26g of ginger to the original's 17g) is quite similar, but obviously with a lot more kick. Both contain 25%
fruit juice and have identical nutritional information. Either is definitely worth a try.
Perhaps the most significant thing I noticed about Reed's is this: it has definite
mood-altering properties. Not unlike the flavor of the drink, I found that at first, these feelings were not clearly
positive or
negative. In time, as with the
taste, I definitely got a liking for this, though. The biggest components of this seemed to be a
light-headed/
buzzing feeling and mild
euphoria.
The packaging of the soda is definitely presentable, green glass bottles with slightly different color schemes and caps for the different varieties. The front depicts a beach scene, presumably of
Jamaica.
From the bottle:
"Freshly brewed from: sparkling, filtered
water (sweetened by a blend of
fructose,
pineapple juice from
concentrate, and
honey), fresh
ginger root,
lemon and
lime juices from
concentrate and
spices. No
preservatives and no
artificial anything!"
Nutrition Facts:
Serving Size: 12 fl. oz (355ml)
Servings Per Container: 1
Calories: 145
% Daily Value (for a 2000 calorie diet)
Total Fat 0g, 0%
Sodium 5mg, 0%
Total Carbohydrate 37.4g, 12%
Sugars 37.4g
Protein 0g