Good Juju by Left Hand Brewing Co.
I’ve been lucky to find places that sell single bottles for two to three dollars apiece. It’s provided me incentive to try some beers I ordinarily would be a bit apprehensive about. And if I still end up not liking a beer, at least I don’t have five more I have to choke down. Beer that is brewed with fruit or spices usually sends up red flags for me but I’m a fan of many Left Hand beers as well as their artful label designs so I had to at least try it. Good JuJu, by Left Hand Brewing Co. from Longmont, Colorado, is brewed with ginger. The good thing is that the ginger taste does not overpower the beer taste but the bad thing is that both are underwhelming. This is definitely a light, yellow, watery beer of the lager/pilsner variety with a very thin head and noticeably low alcohol content. The beer itself is an easy drinker with nothing offensive about it but also nothing super interesting. That distinctive ginger flavor makes itself known in the aroma and the initial sip but dissipates very quickly. To be perfectly honest, I would rather have a good, strong non-alcoholic ginger beer/ginger ale than Good JuJu. If done right, I think adding ginger to an IPA would actually work better than this. The spiciness of the ginger could contrast with and intermingle well with the bitterness of hops. Overall, this ginger is not impressed with Left Hand’s ginger brew.
