The surf-lovers at 7th Day Brewery love causing a stir, which is why they call their limited series beers Making Waves. Number eight of the year is Shirley Ginger Ale, something I’m sure was brewed with the same serious nature of Lesley Nielsen.
Pouring a rockmelon orange that's a dead ringer for most pale ales, Shirley has some zesty aromas familiar to anyone who has ever cooked Thai food from scratch and knows the "peeling ginger with a teaspoon" trick (seriously, try it).
The flames on the can art (by M-Lon) didn’t adequately prepare me for this fiery little number. Although called ginger ale, it is surprisingly more beer-bodied than most brewery-made ginger ales. With far less sweetness than you may expect, ginger is the undeniable star in Shirley which, at 5.3 percent ABV, encourages responsible sipping as too many of these might have you waking up with a perfectly healthy throat and Darren Lockyer's voice.
Benedict Kennedy-Cox
Published December 22, 2023 2023-12-22 00:00:00
