Fentimans is a botanical brewery based in

Hexham Hexham ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, on the south bank of the River Tyne, formed by the confluence of the North Tyne and the South Tyne at Warden nearby, and close to Hadrian's Wall. Hexham was the administra ...

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

, England.

History

Thomas Fentiman, an iron puddler from Cleckheaton,

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...

, acquired a recipe for botanically brewed ginger beer in 1905 when a fellow tradesman approached Fentiman for a loan. The loan was never repaid so Thomas became the owner of the recipe. The firm became a door-to-door ginger beer sales company using a

horse-drawn vehicle A horse-drawn vehicle is a piece of equipment pulled by one or more horses. These vehicles typically have two or four wheels and were used to carry passengers or a load. They were once common worldwide, but they have mostly been replaced by auto ...

for transport. His ginger beer was stored in handmade stone jars known as 'grey hens', all stamped with the Fentimans mascot based on Thomas'

German Shepherd The German Shepherd, also known in Britain as an Alsatian, is a German Dog breed, breed of working dog of medium to large size. The breed was developed by Max von Stephanitz using various Old German herding dogs, traditional German herding dog ...

dog 'Fearless' who won the Crufts obedience class twice in 1933 and 1934. The botanically brewed ginger beer became popular quickly and the business grew, with several brewing and production facilities being opened in the North of England. The company fell on hard times as supermarkets entered the soft drinks market. As a result, sales of the Grey Hens (the stone jars in which ginger beer was sold) slumped and the company closed down in the mid 1960s. But in 1988, Thomas Fentiman's great grandson re-established the business with a mission to produce drinks in the original way, using the traditional ginger beer recipe and 100% natural ingredients. From then, with old-style products and vintage goods becoming more popular, Fentimans has enjoyed a wave of popularity. Since 1905, Fentimans has brewed botanical sodas with ingredients including roots, bark and flowers, and with the exception of adding new flavours, Fentimans make their sodas the same as at the turn of the century. Some production processes have been updated, for example, pasteurisation to extend the shelf life of the drinks. This causes the loss of some carbon dioxide, so mild carbonation was introduced.

21st century

Fentimans has franchised in the US, where products are manufactured in Pennsylvania and are available across North America. More than two-thirds of Fentimans' overseas sales are in Europe, with the bulk of the remainder in the US, Japan, South America, Canada and Russia. Both UK and US divisions use the same recipe and brewing methods to create Fentimans. North America has purchased identical brewery equipment to that used decades ago, to maintain the characteristic flavour. In recent times they have changed their recipe in the UK to include the sweetener Steviol glycosides. Fentimans' range includes both gluten-free alcoholic ginger beer and a mixer range; mixers include tonic, diet tonic, rose lemonade, bitter lemonade and ginger ale.

Botanical brewing

Thomas Fentiman's botanical brewing is a technique using a combination of infusion, blending and fermentation of natural ingredients. Thomas Fentiman's original recipe involved milling ginger roots before putting them into copper steam-jacketed pans and leaving them to simmer to release their flavour. Natural botanical ingredients such as herbs, natural flavourings, sugar, spring water and brewer's yeast were then added, thoroughly stirred, and boiled together. The liquid was then transferred into wooden vats and left to undergo the process of fermentation. The liquid went on fermenting and was then decanted from the wooden vats into the iconic handmade stone jars ('grey hens') where it would be ready to drink within seven days.

Alcohol content

In 2009 the state of

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

in the United States banned the sale of Fentimans Victorian Lemonade to anyone aged under 21 after reclassifying it as an "Imitation Liquor". The ban was introduced after a schoolboy in the small town of

Houlton, Maine Houlton is a town in and the county seat of Aroostook County, Maine, United States, on the Canada–United States border. As of the 2020 census, the town's population was 6,055. It is perhaps best known for being at the northern terminus of Int ...

, noticed the lemonade's label stated it contained "up to 0.5% alcohol" and showed his high school principal. They contacted the local police who went to the State's liquor licensing officials and Maine's attorney general's office. Fentimans responded to the ban with a statement telling any concerned citizens of Houlton and law enforcement officers and officials to steer clear of the company's other naturally-fermented botanical soft drinks. Although the lemonade label states that the beverage may contain up to 0.5% alcohol by volume (below the soft drinks' alcohol limit legislated for in the United States of America), Fentimans said it was closer to 0.3%, the same as many common products such as mouthwashes or chewing gums. A person would need to consume 200 fluid ounces (5.7 litres or 12 US pints) to equal the intoxication level from one beer.

Products

Fentimans' current products are:

Soft drinks (275ml/750ml)

* Curiosity Cola *

Cherry Cola Cherry cola, a distinctive soft drink blend of cherry-flavored syrup and cola, traces its roots to the United States, where it gained prominence in the realm of soda beverages. The origins of this concoction can be situated within the nostalgic ...

* Dandelion & Burdock *

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

and Seville Orange Jigger * Lemon Shandy * Victorian Lemonade * Rose Lemonade * Traditional Ginger Beer * Sparkling Lime and Jasmine * Gently Sparkling Elderflower * Old English Root Beer * Apple and Blackberry * Sparkling Raspberry * Pink Ginger

Mixers (125 ml/500 ml)

Ginger Ale Ginger ale is a carbonated soft drink flavoured with ginger. It is consumed on its own or used as a mixer, often with spirit-based drinks. There are two main types of ginger ale. The golden style is credited to the Irish doctor Thomas Joseph ...

* Tonic Water/Light Tonic Water * Rose Lemonade * Curiosity Cola * Pink Grapefruit Tonic Water * Valencian Orange Tonic Water * Connoisseurs Tonic Water * Pink Rhubarb Tonic Water * Oriental Yuzu Tonic * Tropical Soda * Elderflower & Rose Tonic

Craft beer

* Hollows & Fentimans Alcoholic Ginger Beer

References

External links

Fentimans

Fentimans North America
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200214131927/http://www.drinkfentimans.com/ , date=14 February 2020 1905 establishments in the United Kingdom Companies based in Northumberland English brands Food and drink companies established in 1905 Ginger beer Hexham