National ginger ale shortage.

[ViolentPanda]

what's happened is sainsbury's is going soviet. we've noticed it in hackney. and for several days the sandwich selection at the waitrose i use for dinner has been appalling. not that it's that good at the best of times, but it's been abysmal. no salmon and cucumber. a gaping hole where cheddar ploughmans is supposed to be.

Probably lots of jars of pickled vegetables, though.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

is it still ten cents a glass?

 

[JuanTwoThree]

It's a world of half-lies where nothing is what it claims to be: apart from very occasional alcoholic versions, none of which I remember from a decade ago, 'ginger beer' is not beer and 'ginger ale' is not ale.
'Ginger wine' is alcoholic and always has been but it's hardly what the EU defines as 'wine', ie “a product obtained exclusively from the total or partial alcoholic fermentation of fresh grapes, whether or not crushed, or of grape must”.

This seems to clear things up a bit

http://www.wsta.co.uk/images/Committees/bwpccode.pdf

 

[BoatieBird]

Ginger ale is also a fine mixer to have with rhubarb gin.

 

[Saul Goodman]

Ginger Beer is a fine drink on its own but Ginger Ale needs to be mixed with brandy IMO.

Heathen!

Any mixer pollutes the perfection that is brandy

Sometimes you don't want alcohol perfection - just a fine drink!

Heathen!

 

[ringo]

I've noticed the same thing. The Waitrose in Ramsgate was totally out of big bottles all summer, just had small cans of Old Jamaica ginger beer occasionally. I get the big bottles of ginger beer from my local offie in South London so have not had to endure my rum without, thus far. Except the posh stuff, what I drink with just ice.

 

[pogofish]

Heathen!





Heathen!

So no objection to a shot in coffee then...?

 

[Saul Goodman]

So no objection to a shot in coffee then...?

A shot of ginger beer?

 

[pogofish]

No - Brandy!

 

[Saul Goodman]

No - Brandy!

Only if it's cheap brandy that an ex friend gave you for Christmas. Proper brandy shouldn't be used this way.

 

[sojourner]

they're not talking good, decent, ginger beer, they're talking ginger bloody ale! Terrible stuff.

Fentimans all the way

Tesco do a sugar-free (uses natural sugars) ginger beer and it's lush. 99p for 4 cans!

 

[mrs quoad]

 

[kabbes]

Try something with more flavour. Water’s good.

 

[mrs quoad]

^^^ literally Waitrose last night. Not a bottle of sugar free, own brand or branded, in sight.

Any ideas, moomoo

 

[CH1]

I'm bumping 'cos this has started again.
My comments relate to Brixton/Camberwell supermarkets.
Lidl stopped doing Fiery Ginger beer before covid - but apparently there was a CO2 xhortage back then Presumbably Ginger Beer is less popular than their Freeway Cola.
Morrisons has been intermittent. Off sale until the beginning of 2021 - and now off sale again.

During 2020 Tescos had supplies at times - then stopped, when Morrisons stated up again.

A bit of Googling threw up some odd comments on Forbes:
1. US ethanol plants, which produce CO2 as a by-product for use in brewing and soft drinks manufacture were running at low capacity during the early Covid period.
Hence no Ginger beer (in the USA)
2. There was a similar CO2 shortage in Norway in 2020 - producing conitnuing lager and fizzy drinks probelms in the EU and UK
3. There is a shortage and price rocket on the Nigerian ginger crop due to climatic factors. Presumably this impacts on Tescos and Morrisons cheapy 2 litre bottles much more than Old Jamaica, which is more than twice the price (and with compulsory mega sugar) - not to mention Fentimans which is £2 for 750mL.

Any shopping recommendations anyone?

 

[Elpenor]

I am a big ginger beer drinker. The Sainsbury’s fiery ginger beer with no added sugar stuff is the best about I think. Cans or 2 litre bottles.

 

[CH1]

I am a big ginger beer drinker. The Sainsbury’s fiery ginger beer with no added sugar stuff is the best about I think. Cans or 2 litre bottles.

Hadn't thought of them Will check tomorrow.

 

[platinumsage]

Buy a sodastream and make your own.

 

[hitmouse]

Blimey, good thing I've not got any brandy in the house at the moment then.

 

[StoneRoad]

My bezza makes an absolutely lethal ginger beer (more like wine in the alcofrol content0
Otherwise known as "falling down water"

At home I tend to drink Fentimans.

 

[Ax^]

Buy a sodastream and make your own.

best just to inhale the whippets

 

[danny la rouge]

People are confusing ginger ale and ginger beer. Two different things.

 

[farmerbarleymow]

People are confusing ginger ale and ginger beer. Two different things.

Tell us what the difference is then.

 

[kabbes]

Tell us what the difference is then.

They are completely different drinks. It’s like asking the difference between cream soda and lemonade.

 

[danny la rouge]

Tell us what the difference is then.

Ginger ale is a golden brown colour and is less fizzy. Brands are Canada Dry, Schweppes and so on. Found in pubs as a mixer.

Ginger beer is a paler colour and more opaque. It’s fizzier and generally consumed as a drink in its own right. It’s more gingery.

Ginger ale:

Ginger beer:

 

[The39thStep]

There’s only one ginger beer in my mind

 

[pogofish]

For normal (ie not Dry Ginger) Canada Dry and Swchepps have been the same brand for some years now - The reformulation after Schwepps took-over ruined Canada Dry though.

And yes, it has been difficult to get anything else ginger ale-wise for a few months now but luckily I had a bit of a stockpile, so didn't run too low.

However in Sainsbury yesterday, they had a whole six bottles left, so I bought three of them.

Ginger Beer however - I've not noticed any problems with stock levels so far, similarly Cream Soda can still be got with some ease.

 

[Saul Goodman]

People are confusing ginger ale and ginger beer. Two different things.

One is shit, the other is really shit.

 

[danny la rouge]

One is shit, the other is really shit.

Irredeemable wrongness as always.

 

[sojourner]

People are confusing ginger ale and ginger beer. Two different things.

Bugbear of mine. I love ginger beer, and will always ask for it if I'm at a pub doing a gig. The amount of times I've been given ginger ale instead, and had to deliver the 'difference' lecture