What's The Difference Between Ginger Ale And Ginger Beer?

Ginger ale and ginger beer sound like pretty much the same thing. After all, they're both carbonated, sweet drinks flavored with ginger. But, despite those similarities, ginger ale and ginger beer aren't the same beverage at all.

Ginger ale is the sweeter of the two, with a light ginger flavor and no real kick to it. This is the drink lots of to soothe an upset stomach. Ginger beer, however, has a .



It's got lots of carbonation and also comes with the bracing heat you get from concentrated ginger. What's particularly interesting about ginger beer is that it's fermented, which is where it originally gets its carbonation from. But, that fermentation can also create a bit of alcohol as a byproduct.

Despite this, you don't need to bring your ID to buy ginger beer most of the time — there's usually only trace amounts of alcohol, if any, in modern store-bought ginger beers. And, where that carbonation comes directly from the fermentation processes in some natural ginger beers, most modern versions simply use carbon dioxide to add those crisp bubbles. Ginger ale and ginger beer are both great cocktail mixers Ginger ale and ginger beer are perfectly great to drink on their own, though you'll probably notice that ginger beer has a much punchier flavor to it.

Both are used as common ingredients for mixed drinks. Ginger ale is sometimes used as the base soda for the non-alcoholic Shirley Temple, which also and maraschino cherries in it. But, you can also use ginger ale to make classic cocktails like the Pimm's Cup, which features Pimm's No.

1 liqueur, lemon juice, ginger ale, and fruit garnishes. Ginger beer is most commonly known for its presence in classic iced cocktails like the Moscow mule and the dark 'n' stormy, which both have similar flavors. The Moscow mule is made up of vodka, ginger beer, and lime, while a dark 'n' stormy simply swaps rum in for the vodka.

Both are served on the rocks and are perfect for a hot summer's day. Since ginger beer has such a bold flavor, it also does well when paired with other brown spirits like whiskeys. Depending on your level of tolerance for strong, spicy flavors, both ginger ale and ginger beer are great items to with.

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