Things are about to get dark ‘n stormy for the St. John Brewers guys.
This month, the duo will release their third soda, a ginger beer, which will join the brewers’ popular Green Flash energy drink and Root Beer.
The ginger beer, a well-balanced take on the classic Caribbean beverage, features spicy ginger notes with a sweet balance. The recipe was perfected over the past four years at St. John Brewers’ on-site brewery at the Mongoose Junction pub the Tap Room.
“It’s a recipe that Kevin [Chipman] and I created at the Tap Room that we’ve been brewing in small batches for the past four years,” said St. John Brewers co-owner Chirag Vyas.
“Because of its popularity at the Tap Room, where we’ve been serving it on draft, we decided it was time to bottle it and release it to the larger market of the Virgin Islands.”
The recipe calls for pure cane sugar rather than high fructose corn syrup, resulting in a perfectly refreshing ginger beverage.
“It’s not too spicy or too sweet,” said Kevin Chipman. “It’s balanced the way our customers have enjoyed it over the years.”
Vyas and Chipman recommend the ginger beer as part of the popular Caribbean dark ‘n stormy cocktail — a sweet and spicy combination of rum and ginger beer — or on its own over ice.
Due to the constraints of their small on-site brewery, the ginger beer soda will be bottled at St. John Brewers’ production partner in Portland, Maine while draft production will remain in the Virgin Islands. Vyas and Chipman will constantly monitor the product to ensure that it continues to meet their strict specifications.
St. John Brewers’ other two sodas, the Green Flash energy drink and their Root Beer, as well as their Tropical Mango Ale, Island Summer Ale, Liquid Sunshine Belgian Ale, and Island Hoppin’ IPA beers, were all created by Vyas and Chipman on the island of St. John and are distributed locally in the Virgin Islands and in the U.S. mainland.
Additionally, Vyas and Chipman continue to create small batch brews on-site, like their Amber Jack, Double IPA, and Frozen Cistern Winter Ale, available on draft at the Tap Room.
The ginger beer will be sold at convenience stores, bars, and restaurants throughout the Virgin Islands by distribution partner West Indies Corporation and found wherever St. John Brewers products are available.