It turns out we have heaps of them – we tried as many as we could get our hands on.

New Zealanders bloody love ginger beer. Found throughout the nation’s chiller aisles and shelves, the variety of brands dwarfs other fizzy beverages, with household names like Bundaberg and Schweppes sitting alongside supermarket house brands, imports and New Zealand companies.

Self-described flavour scientist Graham Eyers, from the University of Otago’s department of food science, is a fan of ginger beer too, going so far as to make his own. He says the biggest difference between all the different commercial varieties is whether they’re brewed, which is the traditional method of making ginger beer. “[Brewed] refers to some extent of fermentation,” he explains. Not all of them are – some might use an extract instead. “Differences in terms of how that extract is made change what the flavour is.”

That unique flavour of ginger comes from three factors; the taste on your tongue, the aroma and chemesthesis – that warm, burning feeling. With ginger beer there’s also the fizz factor. “Carbonation is an important part of that as well.”

Other than bubbles and ginger – which can range from “ginger extract” and “brewed ginger” to “ginger root” and “ginger juice” – what goes into ginger beer is pretty loose. Some makers add lime, some vanilla, cinnamon or hops. “Ginger beer historically would have been a brewed product,” says Eyers. “But I think that’s become a generic term for any kind of gingery soft drink.”

So how does a thirsty traveller choose from them all? The Spinoffice bravely stepped up to the plate, tasting, judging and delivering reckons galore on an array of local options (as many as we could get our hands on). Here they are, ranked from worst to best.

13 Barrier Buzz Ginger Beer

The honey element of this drink was unmissable, in fact it threatened to overpower the ginger completely. Unfortunately it turned out this wasn’t what anyone was after. The general consensus was that Barrier Buzz would be a great medicinal drop if you were feeling poorly (a classic use for ginger beer, after all). “This would probably be my #1 if I had a cold,” mused taste tester Calum Henderson. “But not today.”

12 Remedy Authentically Brewed Ginger Beer (330ml bottle, $4.50 from Woolworths)

Effervescent and a little bit tart, this one reminded us of kombucha – something a few of us didn’t mind but a couple absolutely weren’t in the mood for. We also wondered whether this had sweetener instead of sugar and what do you know: Remedy uses plant-based sweeteners instead of sugar, which makes it the lowest-calorie drink in our lineup.

11 Stoke Classic Ginger Beer (12 x 330ml cans, $13 from Pak’nSave)

A spicy little number, the aroma of cinnamon is strong as you crack the can and the flavour stays with you as you drink, overwhelming the delicate ginger notes. Unsurprisingly, this proved divisive. “A little unorthodox,” conceded Henderson. “But I don’t mind it.”

10 Macs Ginger Beer (6 x 250ml cans, $7.30 from Pak’nSave)

Great fizz, very sweet, and not too gingery. No one had much to say, but the word “inoffensive” came up more than once.

9 Charlies Honest Ginger Beer (10 x 320ml cans, $15 from Woolworths)

This was at the sweeter end of the spectrum, which didn’t go down well with some tasters. “Too sugary for me,” judged Henderson, harshly dismissing it as “a child’s drink.”

8 Schweppes Ginger Beer (1.5l bottle, $3 from Pak’nSave)

This one divided the panel, with some ranking this as high as four and others as low as 11. While it’s easily confused with Schweppes Classic Ginger Beer, the two products do differ slightly – this one is sweeter and stronger. “Not fizzy enough,” ruled tester Gemma Spring.

7 Woolworths Ginger Beer (1.5l bottle, $1.40 from Woolworths)

Scoring for this one varied wildly too – just goes to show how personal taste can be. Everyone agreed on the fizz factor; this was probably the bubbliest of the bunch. Henderson described it as “sessionable” and Spring was a big fan. “It’s got a nice kick to it,” she said. “I would buy that.” It’s the best value pick by far at just $0.93 per litre. Tester Robbie Nicol suggests “it would be good in a punch.”

6 L&P Ginger Beer (375ml bottle, $3 from Fresh Choice)

A recent release for the iconic New Zealand brand, this isn’t the first time L&P has produced ginger beer. This new iteration comes in a classic dark-brown glass bottle which gives it a more premium and “old school” feel. But what about the beverage inside? Well, it does taste quite L&P-y. Nicol declared it “yummy”, and this sentiment was co-signed by Spring, who thought it’d be a good choice if you “don’t want a strong ginger beer”.

5 Karma Drinks Gingerella

This leans heavily on the sweet side, likely owing to its organic cane sugar. It’s also lighter on the ginger than many other drops, which is perhaps what led Henderson to declare it “hugely guzzlable”.

4 Schweppes Classic Ginger Beer (4 x 330ml bottle, $5 from New World)

Confusingly one of two ginger beers produced by Schweppes (also owned by Coca Cola). This one comes in both cans and glass bottles – we had the former which, with its brown packaging and cursive font, has a “classic” look. It tastes pretty classic too. Henderson thought it would be a good mixer but stands on its own too. “Very dry, crisp, a little bit bracing – maybe not what you want but probably what you need.”

3 Fever Tree Premium Ginger Beer (4 x 250ml can, $11)

With a classy glass bottle and a strong ginger scent, Fever Tree came hard out that gate, ticking critical boxes; it’s dry and has that classic ginger afterburn. Nicol was its leading evangelist: “That’s what I’d buy for myself,” he declared. “That’s what I want when I’m getting a ginger beer.”

2 Hakanoa Dry Ginger Beer

This is made the old fashioned way – using a hand-made wild culture of yeast and lactobacilli – and you can taste it. Think funky and flavourful with a tart, yeasty punch. “It tastes like it’s small-batch brewed,” said Spring. She noted a strong ginger flavour. (Hakanoa uses fresh and dried mature ginger from Fiji). “Not your traditional ginger beer, but a clear cut above the rest,” said Henderson. “Whatever happens during the ‘wild ferment’ gives it an almost unfair advantage.”

1 Bundaberg Ginger Beer (4 x 375ml bottle, $8.40 from Woolworths)

Everyone’s first or second choice, Australia’s Bundaberg is pretty much synonymous with ginger beer – vaunted status for any brand. It helps that the packaging is highly distinctive and they’ve had the stones to leave it largely unchanged. Henderson declared it “about as good as a classic ginger beer can or probably ever will be”, though wondered if he’d still feel that way in a blind taste test, while the holistically-minded Spring said she’d “offer that up to someone who wasn’t feeling well”. While the sugar – cane sugar – is on a par with Schweppes, Bundaberg’s secret is that it contains way more sodium at 11mg/100ml. Along with ginger root, the ingredients list also includes citric acid, yeast and “natural flavours”.