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While there are various types of lagers (pale lagers, pilsners, Vienna lagers, helles lagers, and quite a few more), the overarching style does have a few specific parameters. In order to be referred to as a “lager,” the beer must be bottom-fermented (while ales on the other hand are top-fermented). The various versions have different aromas and flavors, but in general, lagers are known to be lower in ABV, refreshing, light, and often very crisp.

Translation: lagers just might be the perfect beer for the ever-changing weather during the Spring season. And while nobody is going to fault you for drinking a bitter, hoppy IPA on a warm spring day or a tart sour ale on a gloomy, cloudy day, lagers fit both.

To find some of the best, most spring-feeling lagers, we went to our friendly neighborhood barkeeps for help. We tasked them with telling us the best, must-drink spring lagers on the market. They definitely didn’t disappoint. Keep scrolling to see all of their seasonal picks.

Master Gao Baby Jasmine Tea Lager

Erin Birmingham, bartender Le Salon Cocktail Bar in New York City

ABV: 5.4%

Average Price: $4 for a 12-ounce bottle

The Beer:

Master Gao Baby Jasmine Tea Lager from China. It’s as light as a traditional Lager should be. The addition of the Jasmine flower is delicate and complementary to the crispness of this beer. Best served icy cold. Go get this beer.

Tasting Notes:

Herbal tea, bready malts, light citrus, and floral flavors make this crisp, refreshing lager a great choice for spring weather.

Arbor Euchre Pils

Cosimo Bruno, beverage curator at Daxton Hotel in Birmingham, Michigan

ABV: 5.5%

Average Price: $10 for a six-pack

The Beer:

A great lager to enjoy in the spring is Euchre Pils by Arbor Brewing Company. Leave the heavy-drinking beers for winter and hop into spring with this vibrant and refreshing beer.

Tasting Notes:

Noble German hops make this easy-drinking lager ideal for the end of any day. This a classic, crisp lager with bready malts, light citrus, honey, and floral hops.

The Olde Mecklenburg Brewery Captain Jack Pilsner

Danmy Nguyen, bartender at The Ballantyne in Charlotte, North Carolina

ABV: 4.8%

Average Price: $11 for a six-pack

The Beer:

The Olde Mecklenburg Brewery Captain Jack Pilsner. This golden-hued, sublimely crisp beer is named for Captain James Jack and the rest of the Mecklenburg Convention who some believe signed the now-disputed first-ever Declaration of Independence from Great Britain a year before the one we all learned about.

Tasting Notes:

We love local beer and this one is crisp and smooth, with some bready undertones. A crowd pleaser in our bar for sure.

Peroni Nastro Azzurro

Austin Jacobs, bartender at The London West Hollywood in Beverly Hills, California

ABV: 5.1%

Average Price: $10 for a six-pack

The Beer:

For some reason when the weather warms up and the sun is out, I start craving beer in green bottles. I don’t know if there’s a scientific reason for this or if I’m just weird, but my favorite green-bottle lager is the classic, crisp pilsner Peroni Nastro Azzurro.

Tasting Notes:

It’s just so light, crisp, and refreshing but still packs a piney flavor with just the right amount of that pleasant skunkiness.

Ommegang Idyll Days

Thomas Muscolino, director of beverage innovation at Landmark Hospitality in Plainfield, New Jersey

ABV: 5%

Average Price: $13 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans

The Beer:

Ommegang Idyll Days is my favorite spring lager. It is a light-bodied, European Pale Lager made in the Belgian style by the talented brewers at Brewery Ommegang near Cooperstown, New York (home of the Baseball Hall of Fame).

Tasting Notes:

It’s full of flavor, yet extremely easy to drink. This beer has floral aromas, notes of malt, and a subtle honey flavor.

Augustiner Bräu Lagerbier Hell

Rene Votteler, food and beverage director at Wequassett Resort & Golf Club in Harwich, Massachusetts

ABV: 5.2%

Average Price: Limited availability

The Beer:

Augustiner Bräu Lagerbier Hell. For a Lager, there is nothing wrong to go back to a beer with a lot of tradition from Bavaria. Light and refreshing, yet flavorful.

Tasting Notes:

This classic German Helles lager is known for its cracker-like malts, citrus zest, and floral, herbal noble hops.

Art History Good Morning Munich

Lauren Porto, Cicerone at The Graceful Ordinary in St. Charles, Illinois

ABV: 5.2%

Average Price: $13 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans

The Beer:

Good Morning Munich Lager is an outstanding spring lager. An ode to the everyday beer of Bavaria, where the locals prefer drinking their lager rather than talking about it. It is a phenomenal lager that stands up to the history of the production of a quality lager.

Tasting Notes:

Easy-drinking with a creamy white head, sweet cracker-like taste, and fresh, Noble hop character. It’s crisp and compliments the fresh flavors of warmer weather.

Coors Banquet Beer

Alex Barbatsis, head bartender at The Whistler in Chicago

ABV: 5%

Average Price: $9 for a six-pack

The Beer:

Coors Banquet might not seem like a trendy choice, but it certainly hits the spot on a hot spring day. You can’t mess with a classic.

Tasting Notes:

It’s a crushable, crisp, and a surprisingly flavorful, economical beer that’s great casual drinking for when you and your buds are just getting back to the park, pool, and backyard hangs. It’s perfectly paired with good times and even better weather.

Carlsberg Beer

Drew Russ, head bartender at Venteux in Chicago

ABV: 5%

Average Price: $12 for a six-pack

The Beer:

Carlsberg is my go-to spring lager. It’s balanced and refreshing, perfect for welcoming spring. This Danish pilsner is beloved in Europe and America alike for its funky, sweet, malty, thirst-quenching flavor.

Tasting Notes:

It starts a little funky, but that’s part of the appeal. It then moves into flavors of yeasty bread, citrus, light fruit, honey, and floral, earthy hops at the end.

Brooklyn Lager

Mario Flores, beverage director at Maple & Ash in Chicago

ABV: 5.2%

Average Price: $12 for a six-pack

The Beer:

Brooklyn Lager is a great option to drink during the spring. This year-round, 5.2% amber lager is known for its mix of caramel malts, bright citrus, and floral hops. It’s balanced and highly drinkable any time of year.

Tasting Notes:

I love that it has a little bit of floral hop flavor but finishes with a nice caramel malt taste. There’s also a nice kick of tangerine and grapefruit in there, making this a great choice for spring weather.

Aeronaut Robot Crush

Frederic Yarm, USBG bartender in Boston

ABV: 5.1%

Average Price: $13 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans

The Beer:

Aeronaut’s Robot Crush has a hint of Citra hops to accent the grassy, honey, and biscuit flavors of this pilsner with citrus and peach notes.

Tasting Notes:

That hint of fruit helps to foreshadow the coming summer months without bringing us there so soon.

Kelly Clarkson has fans laughing today, after the talk show host and musician responded to a viral clip of Troye Sivan reacting to a video of her.

The bit started because, during the performance of her latest song, “Mine,” it sounds like she’s singing, “Troye Sivan / Who the hell do you think you are?” instead of the regular line, “Your choice of art / Who the hell do you think you are?.”

“What did I do to upset Kelly Clarkson?” Sivan asks in the TikTok before it cuts to Clarkson singing the lyric. “@Kellyclarkson, drop your location im ready to fight,” he captioned.

“This part kinda slays though. Imagine I make this my theme song where every time I walk out somewhere, they have to play this part?” he jokingly added in another video.

Clarkson eventually caught notice of his post, as she reshared it to her social media. “Troye Sivan, you know what you did!” she poked back lovingly.

Others in her comments also definitely hear what Sivan had heard, as they point out that now you won’t be able to unlisten. “Oh this is amazing and now millions and millions will sing his name when we pretend to be Kelly driving down the freeway,” one person commented.

“Well now you have to have him on your show to hash this out,” another added, referencing The Kelly Clarkson Show.

Check out Kelly Clarkson’s “Mine” video reaction from Troye Sivan above.

Kelly Clarkson is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

The Philadelphia 76ers were floundering. James Harden had been ejected late in the third quarter. Facing incessant double-teams, MVP frontrunner Joel Embiid looked battered, frustrated, and less sharp than normal. Their once-explosive offense was stalling and ground to a dull halt. They’d scored 31 points over the prior 21 minutes and trailed the Brooklyn Nets, 92-89, with just over three minutes remaining in the final frame.

As Tyrese Maxey isolated Cameron Johnson on the left wing, the shot clock dwindled below 10. Philly’s 22-year-old emotive trackstar hesitated, drove, ducked his right shoulder under Johnson, stopped short of Dorian Finney-Smith’s oncoming rotation, and lofted in a runner off the back rim.

That bucket ignited 10 straight points for Maxey, who scored a team-high 25 in Philadelphia’s grimy, 102-97 victory to assert a commanding 3-0 lead in the first round against their Atlantic Division foe. Three days earlier, Maxey poured in a game-high 33 points on 13-for-23 shooting to spearhead a 96-84 win. Despite a quiet Game 1 (13 points, 3-for-8 shooting), the third-year guard is averaging 23.7 points on 69.5 percent true shooting in this series. Over his last two playoff runs combined (15 games), he’s averaging 21.3 points on 62.7 percent true shooting.

The Sixers selected Maxey 21st overall in the 2020 NBA Draft using the pick they received in the deal that sent Markelle Fultz to the Orlando Magic. When Philadelphia traded up for and drafted Fultz in 2017, it pictured him as the skeleton key third star alongside Embiid and Ben Simmons: a pick-and-roll maestro who could boogie off the dribble and ease the burdens of its towering stars. Years later, he indirectly yielded his former team Maxey, their platonic third star alongside Embiid and Harden, who was acquired in a trade centered around Simmons.

The harmony of his fit is constantly exhibited, but perhaps no more than the past two games, when he’s tallied 58 points on 40 shots. With the Nets sending hard doubles toward Embiid on nearly every touch, the NBA scoring champion is not shouldering the same load as he did in the regular season. He’s averaging 13 fewer points with a usage rate that’s seven points lower. Somebody has to replace that volume.

Harden backpacked grander responsibilities in Game 1 (23 points, 21 shots) and Game 3 (21 points, 15 shots in 29 minutes) before his ejection. Tobias Harris (18.7 points, 65.5 percent true shooting) has emerged as an efficient, versatile release valve.

Maxey is ever-present the last two games to pierce a hectic, rangy Nets defense. The former Kentucky Wildcat is not just a jackpot shooter because of his numbers (41.3 percent from deep for his career). He launches on the move, relocates to openings, and absolutely torches poor closeouts, which Brooklyn has tossed his way as it scrambles on the backside of Embiid doubles. Embiid and Harden are methodical, slowly operating scorers. Maxey is a strike of lightning whose immediacy is a jarring shift of tempo for defenses. That dichotomy induces whiplash.

Unlike some 6’1 guards, simply exiling him off the arc is not a solution to extinguish his flame. The Toronto Raptors struggled with this in last year’s first round. The Nets are experiencing the same dilemma. Both teams prioritized slowing the man in the middle, and Maxey’s prolific showings are not a coincidence. They are a direct effect of that gambit. According to PBPStats, Maxey touts an effective field goal percentage of 92.5 on assisted field goal attempts in the playoffs. (The league average is 58.2 percent.) Blending rainbow jumpers and intrepid, acrobatic forays, he is the exemplary moon to orbit around Embiid’s sun.

With Harden watching from the locker room and Embiid’s creation stymied by Brooklyn’s feisty, brazen defense, the Sixers needed their young guard to be the primary initiator down the stretch. Behind a split-leg floater and two pull-up triples, he slid into that role gracefully, as he’s often done throughout the year. Over the final 4:50, they recorded three buckets in the half-court. Maxey authored all of them.

According to PBPStats, he’s generated an effective field goal percentage of 52.1 on self-created jumpers in the regular season and 51.8 in the playoffs, both of which are more than two points above the NBA average. He’s also splashed home 38.6 percent of his off-the-bounce long balls this season. His handle and passing limitations hinder his capacity to be a full-time on-ball explorer at the moment, but this context doesn’t demand that. He’s qualified to scale up in waves. A gigantic, paramount wave arrived Thursday night and Maxey flashed his credentials.

Part of the enthusiasm for Maxey doesn’t center solely on his current exploits. He is a turbo-charged, malleable off-ball scorer and budding on-ball scorer who remains years away from his prime. Eventually, the hope (maybe even the belief) is that these on-ball flurries won’t be shooting stars that generally pop up when Embiid and/or Harden are absent. They’ll be the foundation of his offensive acumen.

The Sixers certainly imagine it. They know Harden and Embiid will not be around forever — or at least not these calibers of stars forever. They understand the difference in timelines when their pillars are 22, 29, and 33 years old. Maxey’s comfort balancing those somewhat discordant timelines punctuates his brilliance.

Late first-round picks are not supposed to shine this brightly or this rapidly. Maxey was drafted fewer than 2.5 years ago and is in his second campaign as a starter. His 25-point outbursts, of which he now owns five over his past 15 playoff appearances, should not be the expectation every third postseason game. The dude’s dotting crunch-time, pull-up threes in the playoffs while sharing the floor with scoring royalty.

Adapting to varying roles so seamlessly at his age should be an outlier. But it’s not. All of this is woven into the expectations for who he is, not who he’ll become, and justifiably so; these expectations are borne from his résumé. He is a tremendous player who amplifies the Sixers’ stars, nonchalantly toggles across duties, and is arguably the foremost reason they’re perched atop a 3-0 lead in this first-round duel with the Nets.

After teasing their collaboration at Coachella, TiaCorine and Latto have released their “Freaky T” remix. While the Memphis trap-influenced beat remains unchanged, Latto adds a typically muscular verse, name-checking YouTuber Kai Cenat, DJ Khaled, and Savage X Fenty as she struts along the slinky Southern instrumental.

In addition to the “Freaky T” remix, Latto’s having another busy weekend, dropping a new single, “Put It On Da Floor,” which she also teased at Coachella. Although fans believe that the song contains shots at Latto’s veteran rival, Nicki Minaj, one of its lyrics drew the attention of a former Nicki collaborator, Coi Leray, instead. In response to the line “Smokin’ on that gas, blunt big as Coi Leray,” the New Jersey rapper tweeted, “Here you go talking about my body. Please do not come on here and talk about nobody BODY.”

Meanwhile, the release of the remix extends the life of a track that many fans on social media have already begun calling one of the songs of the summer — despite the song originally coming out five months ago. TiaCorine’s following has certainly increased since then, making the North Carolina an artist to watch in the coming months as Latto’s cosign brings new eyes and ears to her already rising profile.

Check out the “Freaky T” remix above and catch TiaCorine’s UPROXX Sessions performance of “Chaka Khan” here.

It was a beautiful day for afternoon baseball in Wrigley Field, and for seven innings, the fans in attendance witnessed a pitcher attempting to make history. Chicago Cubs starter Drew Smyly was perfect through seven against the Los Angeles Dodgers, and thanks to the Cubs’ bats coming to life and giving him a 13-0 lead entering the eighth inning, all eyes were on whether or not Smyly could throw the 24th perfect game in Major League history.

Up to the plate to lead off the top of the eighth was David Peralta, who came in as a defensive substitution in the previous half inning. Smyly had him looking at the first pitch for a strike, and then, Peralta meekly swung at a pitch outside of the zone on the second pitch of the at-bat. It was a soft liner down the third base line, and Smyly or his catcher, Yan Gomes, had a chance to get to it and try to make a play.

The issue: the communication between the two was just a bit off, so while Smyly got their first, Gomes got there about a quarter second later. He tried to get out of the way, but instead, he just jumped on Smyly’s back, which let Peralta get to first.

It’s an unfortunate twist for Smyly, who got two outs in the inning before his day ended. Major League Baseball has not seen a perfect game since 2012.

John Mulaney will return with his third Netflix special, titled Baby J, next week, though it will be a different type of comedy show than his fans are used to. Mulaney last took the stage in 2018’s Kid Gorgeous, and since then he has gone through a drug relapse, a stint in rehab, a breakup, and (on the upside of things) he also welcomed a baby with Olivia Munn. So there is a lot riding on this upcoming show.

While speaking with Theo Von on This Past Weekend, Mulaney admitted that the latest special is a lot more personal than his past stand-up shows. The comedian managed to attract a very wholesome reputation (you may recall when he wrote an entire sketch about Subway churros) before his time in rehab, and he even admitted that he tried to bring up his struggle with addiction in the past, but didn’t feel like his fans would want to hear it. He explained, “Of course, the guy who seems like he has it all together has the problem,” Mulaney said of his “good guy” persona. “Because that’s just, like, how life works.” This is the same man who wrote a bizarre musical for children, so bringing up his drug use might have been a little jarring for viewers.

Now, Mulaney is embracing that side of himself. It is his special, after all. “This special I’ve got coming out is about everything from intervention through rehab and after,” the comedian, who used to be extremely private, explained. “So at the moment, or in the past two years, I haven’t wondered what I’m gonna talk about on stage. But now having shot this thing and, you know, and I’m really, really happy with it and it’s longer than my other specials and I’m thrilled that it’s longer. This was the time to do this chunk of material.”

Even though Mulaney is excited about his next phase, he doesn’t know where his material will come from in the future. “Now I don’t remember how to do comedy.” He can always go the “cool dad” route by making fun of his toddler on stage. That always lands!

Baby J debuts on Netflix April 25.

(Via This Past Weekend With Theo Von)

Donald Trump‘s latest attack on Ron DeSantis has apparently left conservative commentator Ben Shapiro stunned at the former president’s choice of tactics. While appearing on the Full Send podcast, Trump reportedly trashed DeSantis for his COVID response, which is an odd approach to take given most MAGA supporters were actually against mitigation measures like masking, lockdowns, and even the vaccine.

“I’m putting out the Covid numbers, he didn’t do well on Covid. He had more deaths than almost every country in Florida. I hate to say it cause Florida’s my state, but he did not do well,” Trump said. “It’s really, it’s very interesting, I don’t wanna knock anybody, but the thing he did well on was public relations, because the numbers weren’t what they pretended to be.”

Shapiro immediately mounted a defense of DeSantis. “That is a lie,” The Daily Wire founder said via Mediaite. “The numbers are exactly what he said they were.”

Shapiro then accused Trump of attacking the Florida governor from the left before questioning where Trump now stands on COVID policies and whether it’s in line with Republican voters.

“Presumably this means that he would’ve been in favor of lockdowns because Ron DeSantis was not in favor of lockdowns,” Shapiro said. “Presumably this would be mean that he would be in favor of vax mandates because Ron DeSantis was not in favor of vax mandates. Presumably this would mean that Trump is in favor of mask mandates cause DeSantis was not in favor of mask mandates.”

However, despite questioning whether Trump will uphold “conservative values,” Shapiro ended the segment by noting he would still vote the former president.

(Via Mediaite)

Mythic Quest stunned fans with its decision to give actor F. Murray Abraham the boot over a year ago but recently the world learned more about the behind-the-scenes drama that led to Abraham’s ousting.

According to a recent Rolling Stone report, The White Lotus star was fired from the Apple TV+ series after two sexual misconduct allegations. After the first complaint, producers warned Abraham to stay away from some of the show’s actresses. The second complaint of alleged misconduct was brought to creator Rob McElhenney, who then had the actor written out of the upcoming season. Though none of the cast or crew have elaborated further on Abraham’s behavior and the uncomfortable environment it created on set, the Oscar winner has now come forward to issue an apology for his action.

In a statement released to People, Entertainment Weekly, and a few other outlets, Abraham offered an apology and claimed that his offending behavior involved off-color humor and not anything more than that.

“This is a sincere and deeply felt apology. Though never my intention to offend anyone, I told jokes, nothing more, that upset some of my colleagues and as a result, lost a great job with wonderful people. I have grown in my understanding from this experience, and I hope they will forgive me.”

Murray bounced back from the firing with a role on season two of HBO’s The White Lotus where he played Bert Di Grasso, a problematic vacationing patriarch whose sexist attitudes caused conflict within his own family. Murray, along with the rest of the cast, received a SAG award earlier this year for his work on the show.

(Via Page Six)

At this point, we’ve tried just about every soda flavor out there. We ranked colas, juicy and sweet cherry sodas, miscellaneous fruit sodas, from orange to strawberry to lemon-lime, and complex root beers. We’ve even hit up mineral waters and seltzers! If it’s fizzy, it’s safe to say that we’ve tried it — which brings us to our last and final big blind soda taste test (for now!)…

Ginger Beer. Not ginger ale, we’re talking about just the good stuff. If you’re not aware of the difference, you’re missing out. Ginger ale is fine — it’s carbonated water, a lot of sugar, and some ginger flavoring (usually artificial). We’re not dunking on it, but ginger beer is another world entirely. The flavor is bolder, spicier, and more crafted. It can turn your Moscow Mule from a sweet and sugary mess to something complex and biting. Despite its name, it’s non-alcoholic, but the good stuff is still brewed. Meaning there’s a level of skill behind a good ginger beer which makes taste-testing it a whole lot of fun.

So we picked up all the ginger beers we could find and put them to the blind taste test in search of the very best brew. Let’s drink!

PART I — Methodology

For this blind taste test, I collected every bottle and can of ginger beer from Trader Joe’s, Bev Mo, and Total Wine I could find.

Here is our tasting class:

• Barritt’s Ginger Beer
• Betty Buzz Ginger Beer
• Bundaberg Ginger Beer
• Cock ’n Bull Ginger Beer
• Devil’s Foot Ginger Beer
• Devil’s Foot Ginger Beer Fuego
• Devil’s Foot Ginger Beer Ghost
• Fever Tree Blood Orange Ginger Beer
• Fever Tree Ginger Beer
• Goslings Ginger Beer
• Reeds Extra Ginger Beer
• Stoli Ginger Beer
• Trader Joe’s Ginger Beer
• Q Mixers Ginger Beer

I had a glass of each poured for me out of sight and made note of each one’s flavors. Ginger beer has a lot of variation, due to each brand’s preparation process — so each glass was markedly different.

A Small Caveat…

Keep this in mind — some ginger beers are meant to be mixed but not all of these ginger beers fall into that category. That probably means that the sweeter stuff is going to rank better, but pay special attention to our bottom line during the ranking portion of this article to get the clearest picture of what each bottle offers.

Here are the initial tasting notes.

Part 1: The Tasting

Taste 1:

An initial cane sugar sweetness hits the palate with a floral ginger flavor and a strong spice that attacks the back of the throat. It’s a bit dry, but very enjoyable and bold tasting with a refreshing fizzy body.

Taste 2:

The ginger is very fragrant on the nose, this one comes across as a lot sweeter than Taste 1. I’m tasting a bit of agave, cardamon, and warm earthy notes. The finish is light and crisp.

Taste 3:

After the first two, this one tastes incredibly tame in terms of sweetness. It has a very fragrant ginger scent on the nose and the flavor is rich and spicy. It tastes noticeably natural but doesn’t move into any other flavor but ginger. That can be a good or bad thing depending on what you’re looking for.

Taste 4:

Pungent and sour on the nose. That sourness translates to the flavor, it is almost wince-inducing. At the finish is a bit of cinnamon but not enough to cover up that horrible sour note. This is the bottom of the bottom.

Taste 5:

Not sweet at all, but that’s not a bad thing. I’m tasting floral notes, a twist of lime, and a body dominated by ginger. The finish is a bit bitter.

Taste 6:

Bright and lemony. If I didn’t know this was a ginger beer taste test, I don’t know that I’d clock this as ginger beer. This is a slight ginger flavor at the backend, but this mostly tastes like some sort of lemonade gone wrong.

Taste 7:

Very dark and distinct. There is a nice richness to this that I really enjoy. The dominant notes here are ginger and brown sugar with a woody finish.

Taste 8:

Very very fizzy. It almost has a Coca-Cola-like bite. Sweet and gingery with a hint of cinnamon and a light body.

Taste 9:

Very blunt on the nose, it almost smells like chili peppers. One whiff of this stuff made me sneeze. Is that a good thing? Not sure. It’s very spicy, but not in the way ginger is normally spicy — this is legit spicy like a pepper.

It has that earthy dry flavor that chili peppers have, I don’t think it tastes great on its own but it can really work in a cocktail. I think that must be what it’s for.

Taste 10:

Light and bright ginger notes with a juicy finish. It tastes almost like some sort of grapefruit juice but with that subtle ginger bite lurking at the finish.

Taste 11:

Very natural ginger flavor. It’s not sweet at all. Great flavor though, it tastes like someone juiced a ginger root into a vat of club soda.

Taste 12:

Dark and juicy, it creates a wet sensation on the palate. I’m tasting a hint of cardamom with a spicy finish that lingers on the tongue.

Taste 13:

Very spicy and fragrant. It ends with a sort of citrusy sour lemon and lime finish. I think this must be what Taste 4 was going for, but it actually works here.

Taste 14:

Very rich. The flavor evolves, hitting you first with ginger notes before settling into a brown sugar finish with a hint of clove. This one is almost malty, with a nice balance between sweetness and spice. I guess we saved the best for last because this is my favorite by a significant amount.

Part 2: The Ranking

14. Goslings Stormy Ginger Beer (Taste 4)

Price: $5.98 (6 pack)

Goslings is one of the only brands of ginger beer that touts awards it has won (Gold Medal at the BTI International Review of Spirits and 91 points at the Ultimate Spirits Challenge) but I found it to be easily the worst of the bunch. There is simply too much tang here. I don’t know if I got a bad bottle or if years of blind-tasting sodas has permanently fried my taste buds, but this one wasn’t for me.

Maybe it’s geared for use as a mixer and isn’t supposed to be tasted straight.

The Bottom Line:

If you like your ginger beer sour and tangy, this brand might be for you.

13. Betty Buzz Ginger Beer (Taste 6)

Price:$6.99 (4 pack)

Generally, I’m a big fan of Betty Buzz, it’s my go-to brand for grapefruit juice when I’m making a Paloma, but this one just didn’t hit with me. At the end of the day, it just doesn’t really taste like ginger beer to me, or ginger at all. The lemon notes were way too prominent here.

The Bottom Line:

It doesn’t taste like ginger, it tastes like unsweetened lemonade.

12. Devil’s Foot Fuego (Taste 5)

Price: $42 (24 pack)

Devil’s Foot pride itself on using natural ingredients, and this tastes like ginger with a hint of citrus and floral honey sweetness with some heat on the backend. That absolutely works in a cocktail but I don’t know that I love it straight on its own.

The Bottom Line:

A good ginger flavor with a bit of heat.

11. Devil’s Foot Ginger Beer (Taste 11)

Price: $42 (24 Pack)

I like Devil’s Foot Ginger Beer a touch more than the Fuego version. There is no heat here and that allows me to focus on the ginger root flavor with more prominent floral honey notes.

The Bottom Line:

An ideal mixer if you’re looking for natural ginger notes to add complexity to a drink.

10. Fever Tree Blood Orange Ginger Beer (Taste 3)

Price:$4.99

This tastes a bit more like grapefruit juice to me than blood orange. It adds a bitterness to the flavor you expect from ginger beer and a nice juicy finish. To make this Fever Tree adds real Italian-grown blood oranges into a ginger beer made from ginger from the Ivory Coast, Nigeria, and Cochin, India. It relies on fruit sugar in place of cane sugar and is specifically created to be a mixer, but I think it tastes pretty damn good on its own.

The Bottom Line:

Juicy, natural, and tasty enough to drink on its own. A unique flavor in the world of ginger beers.

9. Devil’s Foot — Ginger Beer Ghost (Taste 9)

Price: $42 (24 pack)

Devil’s Foot has a lot of ginger beer variations, but this one was far and above my favorite. Ghost takes Devil’s Foot Fuego Ginger Beer and infuses it with Scotch Bonnet Peppers, creating a ginger beer with a whole lot of heat. On its own, I won’t lie, I don’t like drinking it straight, but as soon as I had a taste it unlocked all these ideas in my head for complex cocktails.

The Bottom Line:

Devil’s Foot Ghost needs to be stocked in everyone’s bar cart as a secret weapon for complex and delicious cocktails.

8. Reed’s Extra Ginger Beer (Taste 13)

Price: $8.27 (4 pack)

Reed’s has several different ginger beer flavors out there but I’m willing to bet this is the most popular of the three since it was the only one I could find at all three stores. The ‘Extra’ sports two times the amount of ginger beer than the original flavor and utilizes a Jamaican-inspired recipe that combines real ginger root, natural fruit juices, honey, and spices.

The Bottom Line:

Sweet, tangy, and a bit spicy. Reed’s is great on its own or mixed in a drink.

7. Q Mixers Ginger Beer (Taste 2)

Price: $7.99 (4 pack)

Q Mixers Ginger Beer mixes real ginger, organic agave, chili peppers, and carbonation into a spicy soda that is explicitly made to be used as a mixer only. At least that’s what the website says, we think it tastes pretty damn good on its own!

The Bottom Line:

Spicy, sweet, and floral, Q Mixers is an ideal mixing ginger beer that dares to be delicious drunk straight.

6. Stoli Ginger Beer (Taste 8)

Price: $6.99 (4 pack)

Hailing from the house of Stolichnaya (but actually manufactured in the US) Stoli’s ginger beer is basic, in a good way. This just tastes like very good ginger beer, it doesn’t have any extra special ingredients that try and take it to elevate it to a new place, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes you just want something that tastes like ginger, this fits the bill.

The Bottom Line:

A delicious straight sweet ginger beer with no distracting bells and whistles. It has a classic flavor to it.

5. Barritt’s Bermuda Ginger Beer (Taste 7)

Price: $7.99 (4 pack)

Barritt’s touts itself as the Caribbean’s most beloved ginger beer and considering it’s one of the few brands that proudly proclaims it is sweetened with high fructose corn syrup, it’s easy to see why. This ginger beer is soda sweet, but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t taste good because of that.

It’s delicious! But just be warned, you’re basically drinking straight-up soda with stuff. It might as well be ginger ale.

The Bottom Line:

A sweet sugary ginger beer that should probably be reclassified as a ginger ale.

4. Trader Joe’s Ginger Beer (Taste 12)

Price: $3.99

Balance. That’s what Trader Joe’s was going for here and it works. This is the sort of ginger beer that pleases everyone, whether you’re looking for the sweet stuff or the more natural. It has a ginger bite mixed with some sweet cane sugar notes and a zesty citrus finish. No complaints here, this stuff tastes great straight.

The Bottom Line:

Sweet, natural, and citrusy, with a mild fizzy body.

3. Cock ’n Bull Ginger Beer (Taste 1)

Price: $4.78 (4 pack)

To many, the name “Cock n’ Bull” is just a name, but to this Southern California boy, Cock n Bull will always make me think of the former Hollywood restaurant it was named for. This is the stuff that used to be served in house and if you like your ginger beer spicy and biting, this stuff is near perfect. It’s made with carbonated water, cane sugar, and natural flavors. Notice I didn’t say ginger…

Is this a ginger ale and not a real ginger beer? I think so, but dammit if it isn’t delicious.

The Bottom Line:

Strong, spicy, and very sweet. It’s probably actually a ginger ale, be warned.

2. Fever Tree Ginger Beer (Taste 3)

Price: $2.99

As much as I liked the blood orange version of Fever Tree’s ginger beer, I have to give it to the original. It uses the same blend of ginger from the Ivory Coast, Nigeria, and Cochin offering a flavor that is dominated by spicy, full-bodied ginger. The faintest hint of sugar pulls it all together.

The Bottom Line:

Fever Tree is the perfect ginger beer for those looking for a distinct and flavorful mixer and it tastes great on its own without even trying. At just 80 calories per serving this ginger beer is that rare low-sugar variety that still tastes amazing.

1. Bundaberg Ginger Beer (Taste 14)

Price: $7.49 (4 pack)

Bundaberg is made from Australian-grown ginger from the brand’s own farm that is dried and ground before being combined with ginger wort, Queensland cane sugar and water, then fermented with yeast, and matured for three days in barrels before being mixed with carbonated water.

I’m not sure if it’s those three days of aging, but this is far and above the best ginger beer I tasted today.

The Bottom Line:

Sweet, distinct, spicy, and rich. Bundaberg offers a journey of flavors that offers something new with every sip. It is the ideal ginger beer for drinking straight or mixing in cocktails, offering a spicy natural flavor that rings in the back of the throat, and enough sweetness to make it a joy to slow sip.

Buzzing teenage rapper Luh Tyler has been getting more and more attention lately. With his debut mixtape My Vision out now (along with its deluxe version My Vision: Reloaded, he isn’t taking any time to rest on his laurels. Dropping a new song, “First Show,” he draws attention to his upcoming My Vision Tour, which kicks off on June 20 at The Echo in Los Angeles and includes performances at Rolling Loud in Germany, Miami, and Portugal, as well as Lyrical Lemonade’s Summer Smash in Chicago.

“First Show” is short and simple, with Luh Tyler rapping straight through, boasting that he’s “snappin’ in this rap, just had to you know.” As the first new music since the release of his mixtape, “First Show” is an effective display of the young rapper’s appeal.

Check out “First Show” above and see the dates for the My Vision Tour below. You can get more info here.

6/20 -– Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo
6/22 –- New York, NY @ Market Hotel
6/24 — Chicago, IL @ Lyrical Lemonade Summer Smash
6/25 -– Dallas, TX @ HOB Cambridge Room
6/27 –- Durham, NC @ Motorco Music Hall
6/28 -– Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade – Purgatory
6/30 -– Orlando, FL @ The Social
7/1 — Tampa, FL @ Crowbar
7/5 — Portimao, Portugal @ Rolling Loud Portugal
7/7 –- Munich, Germany @ Rolling Loud Germany
7/11 –- London, UK @ Colours
7/22 –- Miami, FL @ Rolling Loud Miami