Is Ginger Ale Even Considered Soda?

Ginger ale is a nostalgic beverage for many folks. Whether you sipped on it while home sick from school or looked forward to ordering a fountain ginger ale from a soda shop, this sweet (and sometimes spicy) ginger-flavored carbonated drink is still a popular choice today, and only getting more so — it has a projected compound annual growth rate of 7.1% between 2024 and 2030. Many people drink it on its own, but it's also a popular mixer in cocktails and mocktails. It's even the most popular drink to order when flying in an airplane.

But is ginger ale considered a soda? Its name might suggest otherwise, but yes, ginger ale is absolutely a soda. Broadly defined, soda is a non-alcoholic, carbonated, water-based drink that typically contains added sweeteners (usually in the form of high fructose corn syrup or other artificial sources), added flavors, and preservatives. For example, Canada Dry, a popular commercial brand of ginger ale, contains 32 grams of added sugar, citric acid (a flavor enhancer and preservative), sodium benzoate (another preservative), added coloring, and natural flavor (which usually means an essential oil or extract and not real ginger). When comparing the typical ingredients of any other soda to the ingredients of Canada Dry, it pretty obviously falls under the soda umbrella.

An ale refers to a beer that uses top-fermenting yeast, but modern ginger ales do not undergo any fermentation. So why is ginger ale referred to as an ale? Just like root beer is absolutely a soda despite its somewhat misleading name, ginger ale, too, is a soda and not an ale. However, the earliest versions of the drink in 19th century England did undergo fermentation. This beverage was called ginger beer, which still sometimes gets confused with ginger ale today. Shortly after, an unfermented cousin of this drink turned up in Ireland. That's the ancestor of the non-alcoholic version of ginger ale that eventually made its way across the Atlantic Ocean to evolve into the soda we drink today.

While there are some natural or craft ginger ales that do contain real ginger, and therefore have more of a bite, the refreshing, fizzy drink we all know definitely lands in the soda category. However, unlike some colas, ginger ale is not caffeinated and has a more unique taste to set it apart from other soft drinks. Despite its name suggesting it might be fermented or alcoholic, it isn't, and can be enjoyed by kids and adults alike.