Ginger Beard - Wychwood Brewery Company Ltd

TerryW

Ontario (Canada)

1.91/5  rDev -37.6%
look: 2.25 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1.75

The bottle says "Fiery Alcoholic Ginger Beer", but it just ain't so. If it said "Soapy Syrupy Alcoholic Ginger Beer" it would be a lot closer. Fiery ginger beer is that old school or Caribbean stuff. This brew has only got the merest whiff of that, so it oversells itself that way by more than a little.

Pours a fizzy 1 cm head that dissipates in short order. No ring, no lace, no nuthin'. Clear amber coloured brew.

A little bite from carbonation. Syrupy sweet, ginger flavour. Just too sticky overall. Aftertaste like soap. Feh. Not real good.

Serving type: bottle

04-13-2013 20:56:33 | More by TerryW

BlackHaddock

United Kingdom (England)

2.53/5  rDev -17.3%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Brown 500ml bottle best before 17 June 2012, poured into a UK pint sleeve Sep 2011.

Looked fine at first: bright amber body with a full white crown on top, sadly the crown faded away to leave a thin wisp and collar very quickly.

I might be being unkind, but to me this was just a sweet gingery tasting liquid that I didn't enjoy one bit.

I knew what I was buying, but I just expected a bit more effort in the brewing, not an unbalanced mess of alcohol, sugar and root ginger.

Serving type: bottle

09-19-2011 18:51:56 | More by BlackHaddock

Ciocanelu

Romania

2.6/5  rDev -15%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

500 ml bottle, poured into a pint.

Clear amber color, dense, creamy head, leaves only a little lace.
Ginger is present in the aroma but is not overwhelming, it still smells like beer. There is also something unpleasant in the smell.
Taste is also dominated by ginger but, like in the aroma, it's not overwhelming. The ginger gives it a nice, spicy sting but the aftertaste is kind of weird.
Body feels medium, not very carbonated.

Overall the beer wasn't bad but I can't really call it good either. I definitely had better gingers.

Serving type: bottle

11-29-2012 13:55:46 | More by Ciocanelu

CrazyDavros

Australia

2.63/5  rDev -14.1%
look: 2 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 3

Pours amber with a small head.
Lots of ginger in the aroma, little else underneath, just some faint vegetal notes.
Sweet flavours, with some biting ginger as well. A bit cloying.
Needs more carbonation.
Seemed refreshing at first but the sweetness is over the top.

Serving type: bottle

10-18-2012 09:49:02 | More by CrazyDavros

andrenaline

Ontario (Canada)

2.68/5  rDev -12.4%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.75

A - Pours a light golden colour, thin layer of head, little retention and no real lacing.

S - Fresh ginger... Candied sugar... That's about it!

T - Sweet ginger ale, spicy heat lingers on the finish with bready malt and candied sugar.

M - Medium bodied, smooth and wet.

O - Super sweet and literally reminiscent of ginger ale soda, the only difference being a touch of heat on the finish. ABV is undetectable, making this easily mistaken for soda. Not my cup of tea, too sweet and not enough of a malt backbone.

Serving type: bottle

05-12-2013 19:55:48 | More by andrenaline

doktorhops

Australia

2.7/5  rDev -11.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Wychwood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? A timeless question for the pro brewers at Wychwood, one of the better brewers out there. Today however is not about the frequency of woodchucks selecting aforementioned wood in denominations unspecified, today is about reviewing a possibly fine beverage I received as a gift from my bottleshop employed brother, thanks bro.

Poured from a 500ml bottle into a - you guessed it - nonic pint.

A: Well it certainly looks the part of a ginger beer with its pale amber body and white foam head. The bottle even has a picture of a dwarf on it - we all know how much dwarves love ginger beer.

S: Stating the obvious but it smells distinctly gingery. There are underlying tones of roasted coriander seeds, cardamom and cane sugar. No malt or hops to speak of... what did you expect from a ginger beer?

T: Ginger... also a touch of the above spices, some slight hot cinnamon (aka that weird American cinnamon flavour one finds in a pack of "Big Red" chewing gum) and sugar... lots of sugar. It's a really sickly-sweet brew for an uncharacteristically low ABV of 4.2%. Don't like the sugar overkill.

M: Mid to light bodied with medium carbonation.

D: If you can stomach large amounts of sugar, or you are 15 years old and new to drinking beer I can see how this would go down well, otherwise you might want to steer clear of this mistake of a beer. How Wychwood could make such a sickly-sweet brew is beyond me, I thought these guys had real talent in brewing however my respect has gone down a notch... my brother gave me six of these and now I have to drink them all, poo.

Food match: Do not mix this with popping candy, I repeat; Do not mix this with popping candy.

Serving type: bottle

02-28-2013 09:35:34 | More by doktorhops

biegaman

Ontario (Canada)

2.89/5  rDev -5.6%
look: 2.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.75

A more yellowy colour notwithstanding, Ginger Beard is evidently proud to be ginger - bright red highlights are boastfully displayed and entirely uninhibited thanks to pristine clarity and a well burnished complexion. Its heavy carbonation is obvious even though no head forms.

I most often experience ginger one of two ways: either in fiery Asian dishes or in ginger-ale and Caribbean sodas; this smells remarkably like the latter. The zestiness of the ginger is still appreciated but very mellow, any and all of its intensity tempered by sugary sweetness.

The heat is slightly dialed-up on the palate, but is still considerably mild. The syrupy, fountain pop-like texture is not only off-putting in and of itself but also mutes the ginger's piquancy, robbing us the real experience of its peppery, pungent gusto.

Even more diminished than the ginger, however, is the beer. There's not a trace of actual malty flavour. A can of ginger-ale would have been much cheaper and provided the *exact* same experience. While they're both equally bad for your teeth, at least the pop spares my liver.

In small doses, Wychwood Ginger Beard could provide some refreshment on a hot day; it would likely make a serviceable addition to or substitution for a shandy. Beyond that, I'm out of ideas as to how to put a positive spin on a what is honestly a pretty worthless offering.

Serving type: bottle

04-18-2013 02:34:08 | More by biegaman

fullsweep

United Kingdom (England)

3/5  rDev -2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

500 mL brown bottle poured into a pint glass (tumbler).

A: deep auburn in colour; nice white head that dissipates fairly quickly leaving no lacing.

S: smells very similar to a typical non-alcoholic ginger beer--very sweet with a touch of ginger spice in the nose.

T: again, very similar to a normal ginger beer--not much ale/beer taste. It's there but hidden beneath the layers of gingery sweetness.

M: lots of fizzy carbonation, moderate heavyness, but nice and refreshing.

O: Enjoyable but not incredible.

Serving type: bottle

09-19-2012 21:42:08 | More by fullsweep

TMoney2591

Illinois

3.13/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Served in a Lagunitas mason jar.

Unlike a previous reviewer's, my bottle's label calls its contents a "fiery English beer with ginger added", so perhaps they're toning down the rhetoric a bit? Regardless, this stuff pours a clear bronze topped by a finger or so of relatively short-lived glowing off-white foam. The nose comprises a blast of ginger ale (the soda, that is) backed by a bit of lightly-funky barley. The taste definitely leads with the ginger as well, but its more muddled now, with some Pine-Sol, cucumber, and a hint of seaweed (admittedly, this may just be my brain making connections between ginger and seaweed from my sushi escapades, but it's at least constant), all still backed by that oddly lightly-funky barley. Compared to other ginger beers (and even beers with ginger added as a side note), the ginger isn't as bright, as fresh, as "fiery" as it apparently could be. Maybe we Americans have gotten a gingered beer instead of a ginger beer...? The body is a light medium, with a light moderate carbonation and a fairly drying finish. Overall, an okay ginger-y beer at best, one that definitely doesn't hold up to Crabbie's and other big ginger hitters, but one I could see people enjoying if they are into Left Hand's Juju and the like. I, for one, likely will not revisit this stuff, though.

Serving type: bottle

04-16-2013 18:26:23 | More by TMoney2591

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

3.36/5  rDev +9.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25

500ml bottle. Nice Tolkien-esque dwarf staring menacingly from the label.

This beer pours a clear, medium golden amber hue, with one finger of tightly foamy, somewhat creamy eggshell white head, which leaves a decent craggy lava flow pattern of lace around the glass as it evenly subsides.

It smells of sweet powdered ginger, with a moderately zingy spiciness, pale grainy malt, a touch of muddled nutmeg/clove, and a soft citrus juiciness. The taste is semi-sweet candied ginger, thinly bready pale malt, musty orange juice, and a subtly growing vegetal heat, one that plateaus early enough, though.

The bubbles are quite sedate, the body medium-light in weight, and mostly smooth, but for a hovering, though somehow hollow earthy spiciness. It finishes off-dry, the sugary ginger and lame malt parrying the waning zest with a modicum of difficulty.

While not as fiery as the label might lead you to believe, this still has more kick than any ginger beer in recent memory. Unfortunately, the malt is too anemic, and those musty vegetation notes kind of put a damper on the whole deal, evoking associations to stale ginger ale.

Serving type: bottle

02-09-2013 23:33:04 | More by biboergosum

jazzyjeff13

United Kingdom (England)

3.58/5  rDev +17%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A 500ml bottle with a BB of June 2012. Described on the label as a beer infused with fiery root ginger to give it some bite.

Poured into a Stella chalice. A clear golden-amber colour with good carbonation. Yields a large head of creamy white foam that subsides after a minute or two. Aroma of sweet, sugary ginger; little else is discernible.

Tastes sweet and gingery with some light malt in the background. Quite sugary and has a spicy kick to it. The heat builds as you continue to drink, saturating your tastebuds. No other flavours to be noted - if hops are present they don't make themselves known. Mouthfeel is light and prickly, with notable spiciness. Sweet gingery aftertaste.

A pretty good effort even if a bit two-dimensional. Nice and spicy; refreshing on a hot summer's day. A bit too sweet though - could do with more malt and less sugar. Worth sampling.

Serving type: bottle

08-02-2011 22:01:39 | More by jazzyjeff13

SmashPants

Australia

3.78/5  rDev +23.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Bottle: great funky label, stylish 500mL embossed brown bottle. Pretty awesome!

Appearance: a bit heavier than the standard ginger - mid-straw with minimal head that fades quickly.

Aroma: sweet ginger (of course), but there is also a hit of strong spices - definitely getting nutmeg and cloves.

Taste: quite strong ginger, tastes very natural and slightly bitter. Certainly has some 'wham', of which I certainly approve.

Aftertaste: dissipates reasonably quickly, which is a bit disappointing.

Mouth feel: light-to-moderate body, with a reasonably high carbonation to carry the flavour and makes for a refreshing ginger.

Overall: supposedly has "traditional root ginger"... In any case, it has a 'Wham!' that most ginger beers don't. Fantastically different, really good ginger beer. Not sessional, but at least it's got something!

Serving type: bottle

10-07-2012 01:21:34 | More by SmashPants

Kremlock

Ontario (Canada)

3.78/5  rDev +23.5%
look: 3.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

A: Dark copper in colour. Pours a small head and has low head retention.

S: Ginger, ginger, ginger. There is some maltiness backbone that can be perceived.

T: GInger on the palate with some sweet malt. A bit of heat at the back of the throat and then finishes with some great sweetness.

M: Good carbonation, some heat from the ginger.

O: This is a fantastic Ginger Beer.

Serving type: bottle

04-19-2013 23:21:21 | More by Kremlock