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RefreshIreland’s first hard ginger beer hit the market in 2021 and has defied all expectation ever since. The brainchild of brewer Kevin Byrne and daughter Rachel, Zingibeer is described as fermented ginger with a twist of lemon zest and a hint of botanicals, as opposed to a beer flavoured with ginger. 2022 was the brand’s first full year of trading and it couldn’t have gone better, says Rachel. “We seem to have hit that elusive gap in the market where we’re not a beer, but we’re also quite different to other ginger beers on the market. Lemon zest gives the product a really refreshing element, which is something Irish people enjoy. We find that when people try it at tastings, they’re almost surprised that they like it, it’s not something they were expecting to enjoy. We also won some awards last year; we took home bronze at the World Beer Awards in London and gold at Blas na hÉireann. So that was a really great way of ending out our first year of trading.”

The recipe for Zingibeer was developed by Kevin Byrne, who previously led Persistence Brewing Company. With the onset of the pandemic, his business of selling kegs to the on trade disappeared overnight and so he focused on perfecting his recipe for ginger beer. The next step was establishing a company with ex banker Rachel to sell the liquid. “Coming up with the right recipe was a lengthy process, there was a lot of trial and error. There were quite a few plastic buckets containing spice mixes around the place and we were grating a lot of ginger root back then! But we got there in the end. At the moment production is outsourced, but we’re hoping to develop our own facility when volume reaches a certain level.” Just over 700 hectolitres (70,000 litres) of Zingibeer was produced last year. For 2023, the target is 1,500 hectolitres. That’s a lot of ginger beer. “It just seems to sell really well! We’re in about 25 Super Valu stores as part of the Food Academy and in 20 Tesco stores. We’re also stocked in a good number of independent off licences around the country.” Zingibeer is distributed by Grand Cru Beers. “They've been a brilliant partner to grow the brand with. Without them, we definitely wouldn’t have gotten the type of distribution that we’ve gotten to date. They’ve really backed the brand and we’re appreciative of their support.”

Zingibeer is the only ginger beer available on draft in Ireland, with approximately 80 taps dotted around the country. “It ticks the box for people who are looking for a more clean label alternative to the usual beers and ciders. It’s gluten free, contains no preservatives and has a low abv so it’s appealing to people who are perhaps that bit more health conscious.” A refreshing ginger beer over ice sounds great on a hot summer’s day, but was there any concern over the brand’s viability during the winter months? “Yes of course, but we’ve been pleasantly surprised on that front. Obviously, it’s a drink that sells well in summer but we’ve continued to see growth in sales outside of the warmer months. People feel like it’s something they want to pick up, even in the colder weather.”

The rising cost of glass, sugar, packaging materials and ginger root saw Zingibeer’s price point rise in 2022. “We use a specific ginger from Malaysia and we like to use it consistently to ensure continuity of flavour. We tried to hold off passing the cost increases onto the customer for as long as possible but eventually we had to. As the only Irish-made ginger beer on the market, I think we’re priced very competitively. All our competition are UK imports; we’re really proud of the fact that we’re Irish and that we’re supporting the local economy.”

Zingibeer is participating in Foodworks 2023, an accelerator programme for high potential, ambitious food and drink start-ups. Irish companies interested in going down the export route are encouraged to sign up. “Towards the end of 2023, we’d like to be in a position to start exporting. Foodworks will give us the knowledge that we need to get that side of the business moving.” The rest of the year is about brewing more liquid and introducing Zingibeer to a wider market. “We’ve got Zingibeer to where it needs to be in terms of quality and taste. Now, it’s all about building the brand and working towards a route to export.” significantly. We are weathering the storm and expect the elevated costs to continue for at least another year, but we are focused on energy cost saving projects as part of our sustainability efforts.

WHAT COCKTAIL TREND WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE DISAPPEAR?

Edible cocktails. I prefer to keep things traditional and sip cocktails the classic way!

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE DRINK TO MAKE?

I love a Whiskey Sour; starting with making my own simple syrup, shaking until just foamy enough and then adding a few dashes of bitters before topping with a maraschino cherry. Perfect!

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE DRINK TO ENJOY?

I can never turn away a margarita – a whiskey based one that is! You have to try it, just switch out the tequila for a great quality whiskey.

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