There is now some ginger in PWB ale.

Pacific Western Brewing Company, maker of the Cariboo line of beer products, has added a second soda to the family.

The Prince George-based brewing company began producing its own brand of root beer last month. On Friday, PWB added its own brand of ginger ale.

"It comes straight out of the brewmaster's book. He [Henryk Orlik] invents our recipes, from India Pale Ale to ginger ale," said Paul Mulgrew, PWB's product development manager.

The downside to being a brewing company is the regulations insisting that any pop made on premises be stamped with the .05 per cent alcohol label. Mulgrew said PWB introduced no alcohol to either the root beer or the ginger ale. In fact, trace amounts up to .05 per cent may be found in almost any soda on the common grocery store shelves due to natural fermentation.

The new soda can be found in cold beer and wine stores where other PWB products are sold. The pop will be in the non-alcohol section where near-beer and drink mixers are sold. Mulgrew said the company had inked a deal with London Drugs to carry their soft drink products, and he had hopes for grocery stores, but the large food retailers had regimented buying processes that this new set of products had not been able to hurdle through yet.

The first ginger ale rolled down the PWB production line at about 3 p.m. Friday, and soon the clicker had surpassed 5,000 cans and still climbing. The same process happened with the root beer and Mulgrew said the entire run sold quickly. There was a similar expectation for this new flavour in the gold can.

The soda venture was first conceived when provincial taxation rules were such that PWB was in danger of shutting down all beer production. In an effort to keep their staff and equipment working for a living, the pop conversion was researched and develop. That took a couple of years, and by then the provincial government changed the regulations to streamline the brewery's tax levels. Now the pop is considered an exciting new business category instead of a desperate lifeline. Mulgrew said other soda flavours were being considered, but the company wanted first to establish itself with its two vanguard pops.