Royal Jamaican Brewery Craft Beers & Spirits has launched Royal Jamaican (RJ) Alcoholic Ginger Beer, a ready-to-drink beverage, coming in at 4.4% alc/vol. This ginger-forward fizzy beer has the potent richness and pungency that makes a real ginger beer! Cloudy and spicy, the beer’s distinct ginger taste gives a robust full-bodied mouthfeel that’s not overly malty. RJ Ginger Beer is produced in true Caribbean style, using two-row malt beer, Jamaican ginger and cane sugar.

RJ Alcoholic Ginger Beer is the brainchild of Rick Anand and Peter Wong. I sat down with Anand, Wong and their team at the brewery, located at 7 Pechon Street, downtown Kingston, to learn more about the genesis of this amazing product and brewery.

Peter Wong a multi-generational Jamaican, reflects on growing up on his grandmother’s ginger beer in the parish of St James. “Sometimes it actually fermented,” he says. He soon realised that it became a popular potion for her church sisters, family, and friends alike. Rick Anand, meanwhile, was born in the UK in Bristol, raised in Canada, and is now an honorary Jamaican. He was on vacation with his family when he decided to reach out to Big City Brewery from a phone number he found on the label of the beer he was drinking (Real Rock beer). Anand managed to connect with Peter Wong, managing director at the time, and realised that they both had similar interests and a genuine passion for beer and Jamaica.

Anand and Wong were inspired by the fact that ginger is integral to the Jamaican culture. Together, they started working on creating a beer that could capture the essence of Jamaica and the Caribbean. “We were seeing the rise of craft beer in the world, and we thought that Jamaica could fill a void,” says Wong. Collaboratively, the pair set out to bring this product to market. Anand’s original intention was to market the ginger beer to the overseas Jamaican diaspora. Little did he know it would take the mainstream market by storm.

Since 2007 Anand and Wong had been experimenting and were able to land on the ultimate recipe that consistently produces a high-quality alcoholic ginger beer. Wong reflects on the many test-run batches of ginger beer while working at Big City Brewery. Following the sale of Big City Brewery in 2011, Anand saw the potential and moved the business to the Red Stripe brewery, where they contract-packaged for roughly four years. Ricardo Wiggins, quality manager at Royal Jamaican, remembers the process and testing every batch using a sensory tasting panel each time.

Ten years later, in September 2017, the brewery, formerly known as Big City, was purchased by Anand, Wong, and Bobby Choudhary. Together, they made a significant investment to rebuild, retool and retrofit the brewery, bringing it up to international standards. This took three years to complete. During that time, the arrangement with Red Stripe was formally dissolved in 2019. It should be noted that Royal Jamaican Alcoholic Ginger Beer was only exported up until this time as they were not allowed to sell in the local Jamaican market due to contract obligations with Red Stripe.

January 2021 marked the relaunch of the newly minted factory after a three-year hiatus. The orders increased over the period and the feedback was that it tasted even better. “It has a cult following, people go crazy about it,” says Samantha Anand, Rick’s wife and social media manager. Though it wasn’t on the shelf for three years customers and consumers were begging for it to come back to the export markets. Finally in September 2021 they were proudly able to realise their ultimate dream to launch in the local market.

Gayann McLeod-Graham, brewing manager at RJ, was already exposed to brewing Royal Jamaican Ginger Beer during her employment at Red Stripe. McLeod-Graham started her career in brewing as a graduate intern straight out of UWI. While at Red Stripe McLeod-Graham spent the first two years working in quality, and the rest of time (eight years) working in brewing moving from team leader to manager. McLeod-Graham left Red Stripe in 2018 and was elated when Wong called her to join their team. “I was pretty excited that I was returning to brewing,” she says.

“This company [Royal Jamaican] is about producing an excellent product that is the right fit for the consumer. We have the best expertise. We can compete on quality globally because we have the in-house capabilities that can manage everything we do on-site,” states Neville Alexander, engineer and maintenance manager. At RJ it is all about teamwork “teamwork makes the dreamwork” Alexander chimes in. “Everyone around this table contributes to taking this from a vision into reality.”

“I see this product making a big impact,” adds Fredrick Williams (senior maintenance), on board since the property was purchased in 2017.

When speaking about the future, innovation is key. They’ve always thought of other products, and some are already in the works. They are not just about the beer, but also blend and produce the various rums and liqueurs. Though Royal Jamaican is a brewery, it’s also a blending facility for producing rums. Royal Jamaican produces for other rum brands as well as for themselves. Michael Caron is the resident blender of rum and brings a unique set of skills to the table. Caron has a graphic design background and states that “sometimes life has a different path.” If I can create something great it would be a joy for me. I love blending!” Caron enjoys the creative process. “Personally, I am very motivated. Working with so many persons that have the same vision and goal, it just adds to the energy. It will take this company a far way.” The rum is also exported because why not have a little rum with your ginger beer! Royal Jamaican is currently exporting to Singapore, New Zealand, Australia, Denmark, Cayman, US, Canada, and Japan.

Royal Jamaican has an open-culture mentality where all are invited in a post-covid world. Team is #1. They remain open to entrepreneurs who want to produce their own brands and need somewhere to do it!

“We can produce rum for the ‘small man in the street’ that wants to launch a private label or brand of rums, liqueurs, and beers,” Anand says proudly. “We can help take your vision and bring it to market. You can pick the label, cap, lid, and bottle, and co-pack with Royal Jamaican. This fluid and flexible approach is part of their vision in bringing other people’s dreams to life. Part of this inclusive culture involves retaining a local Kingston mural artist to do some of their labels.

When it comes to safety, Royal Jamaican is mindful of keeping everyone safe and have mandated vaccinations for staff as they come under increased pressure from insurance companies in that the onus is on the employer to provide safer work environments.“A positive is that it has really highlighted safety as it relates to manufacturing in the food and beverage industry, and it has heightened our quality and safety programme,” says Wong.

Last month Royal Jamaican Alcoholic Ginger Beer was launched with Wisynco. So far, we’ve received positive feedback and the sales numbers are looking good despite the lockdown days, says Wong. He tells us that “there is a lot more to do! We plan to continue to invest in team and more infrastructure bringing greater efficiencies and excellent products!” Royal Jamaican understands that continuous evolution, investment, and innovation is key. There are exciting products in the pipeline!

In the meantime, be sure to grab a six-pack or two from your local grocery or supermarket! Best served ice-cold by itself or can be used when making cocktails. Royal Jamaican Alcoholic Ginger Beer is a wonderful addition to any cocktail! A house favourite and a classic is the Moscow Mule. All you need is one lime wedge, ½ oz of fresh lime juice, 4 oz of RJ Alcoholic Ginger Beer, and 2 oz of vodka (like Tito’s or Ketel One).

Pro Tip: in addition, you may want to use simple syrup or agave syrup for added sweetness. Feel free to substitute the vodka for rum! Combine all the ingredients (except the ginger beer), then shake with ice and strain into a chilled mule cup filled with ice. Top with ginger beer, and garnish with a lime wedge! If you’ve got candied ginger, it also makes for an excellent garnish and complements the lime wedge beautifully. Enjoy!

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Website: www.royaljamaican.com

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