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Bionade Lychee, Elderberry, Herbs & Ginger Orange Review

6/2/2014

24 Comments

 
bionade review australia
While I do enjoy a beer (evidently from this site) there are some days when my liver says, "Enough Tanya! I need a break no matter how tasty that malted barley is!" At this point, I usually reply, "It's ok liver, I'll find something equally as delicious but healthier for you," and while my conversation with my liver continues for a few minutes more, I will save you the verbatim.

One drink that actually ticks the "as-satisfying-as-a-beer-but-is-not-alcoholic" box is Bionade, which is relatively new to the Aussie market.

I had never head of this beverage before, but a Bionade rep got in touch with me and provided me with some samples, some of which I am giving away in a competition below. If you'd like to know exactly what you're going to taste in the prize pack, read this first!

Bionade is the brain child of a Bavarian beer brewer who wanted to create a brewed non-alcoholic drink that was 100% organically certified. Word has it he experimented for 10 years to come up with Bionade, which is still brewed with malted barley (hooray!) and has the added bonus of containing less than half the amount of sugar than regular soft drinks do. This is reflected in the taste- each bottle was subtly flavoured which allowed the brewed barley malt to still shine through. So how do they taste? Given the 10 years it took to finalise the recipe- pretty good!

Lychee: I love a lychee-based cocktail and this flavour of Bionade makes for a delicious non-alcoholic version. This flavour has a wet-leaf kind of smell, and a subtle lychee taste. It's similar to flavoured mineral waters, but has a barley malt back bone which adds another dimension to it. 

Elderberry: Berry-based soft drinks can often be so sweet you need to down a litre of water afterwards, but while the Elderberry flavoured Bionade tastes the sweetest out of the four, it is balanced and refreshing without being sickly. Again, it's like a flavoured mineral water, but the fermentation process of Bionade is what differentiates it from other softies on the market.

Herbs: Now this one piqued my interest straight away- what other soft drink is herb flavoued? When I pulled out this bottle a friend instantly went, "ugh, garlic, chives and sage in a drink?" While the marketing of this one may be a bit off for some people, the taste won us both over on the first sip, and we can report that there was not even a whiff of garlic. Rather, this had a very slight aniseed flavour and had the tiniest hint of Jagermeister- without giving you the heinous hangover.

Ginger Orange:
This was my favourite pick of all of the bottles on offer. The ginger orange tasted similar to ginger ale but again the barley malt made this bottle stand out as being a bit more interesting. The slight orange flavour also added to the refreshing nature of this bevvy.

Bionade originally reached Aussie shores in 2012 and has been seen around town in Sydney in
organic convenience stores, trendy bars, cafés and restaurants. For the rest of us in other states, you can buy Bionade online or you may be lucky enough to see this retro bottle down at your local.


COMPETITION- WIN! WIN! WIN!

The peeps at Bionade have been generous enough to provide me with 3 lots of prizes to giveaway- each prize contains one of each flavour of Bionade (total of 4 bottles) for you to put your tastebuds to work.

To win one of these three drinks packages, simply leave a comment below on what your most creative non-alcoholic beverage concoction has been, and the top three tastiest suggestions will each receive a Bionade pack.


This competition is for Australian residents only, and the winner will be selected on skill. The three winners will be chosen at 5pm on Sunday 6 April 2014. Prizes will be sent by Australia Post. Please include your email address when you comment so I can get in touch. Good luck!

UPDATE: Winners for this competition have been notified and prizes sent. Thank you to everyone who entered!


Website: Bionade
Twitter:
@BionadeAus
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24 Comments
Jess
6/2/2014 05:45:40 am

I once had a strawberry milkshake with violet crumble crushed through it and topped with a brownie. A whole brownie!

Reply
Liam Kallaher
6/2/2014 06:06:18 am

creaming soda spider with mint ice cream. was pretty foul actually.

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Samantha
6/2/2014 06:42:28 am

Ohh that herb one sounds interesting. I like using mint to spice up a drink. Even it it's just mint and a few sliced strawberries in iced water.

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Leia
6/2/2014 07:05:01 am

Guava nectar, dry ginger ale and passion fruit pulp - its the Pollyanna of the punch world.

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Jonah B
6/2/2014 10:40:46 am

Lemonade with elderflower syrup.

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Arianna C
6/2/2014 11:44:53 am

Rosemary tea, sounds weird but tastes great!!!

Reply
Tex
6/2/2014 12:01:34 pm

Choc chip thick shake. The best.

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Gillian D
7/2/2014 01:07:07 am

Soda cocktail- soda water, Angostura bitters, sugar. Refreshing!

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James
7/2/2014 01:07:51 am

A classic Roy Rogers with cola and grenadine.

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Beth Moriaty
7/2/2014 01:13:30 am

I LOVE a virgin mary! It's got tomato juice, worcestershire sauce, tobasco sauce, lemon juice and pepper stirred with a celery stick. I'd love to try these Bionade drinks please!!!

Reply
Robyn Hamilton
7/2/2014 01:18:27 am

On a cold night I love a virgin hot toddy: tea, honey, cinnamon, cloves & nutmeg.

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Rebecca Johnson
7/2/2014 01:20:38 am

This sounds gross but I swear it's delicious- kind of like an alcoholic sour: orange juice, lemon juice, lime juice, sparkling water & the final ingredient- egg. Try it! And I'd love a bionade pack please!

Reply
Katie Evans
7/2/2014 03:01:33 am

An Arnold Palmer - Lemonade (American style: real lemons & sugar water) and Iced Tea with a twist - I add frozen mixed berries. Ahhhh refreshing...

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Jacinta McDonald
7/2/2014 04:33:06 am

Iced coffee with malteasers in it- decadent!!!

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Alistair
7/2/2014 04:34:02 am

Coke with a mascherano cherry. Bionade looks interesting.

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Pat Harrison
7/2/2014 06:22:58 am

I love anything citrus and often mix pineapple, orange and lemon juice. Yum! I think I'd like the ginger orange bionade.

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Dean
7/2/2014 06:37:21 am

I'm a simple person- just like water.

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Erin Tobin
7/2/2014 08:22:07 am

Egg nog.

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Pippi J
7/2/2014 08:23:55 am

White grape juice with sparkling water- it's almost like sparkling wine when you're pregnant!

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Ollie Warner
7/2/2014 12:50:46 pm

Lemon squash with rosemary. Try it!

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AndrewF
7/2/2014 03:15:41 pm

Double-shot espresso, poured in a tall glass of chilled sparkling mineral water. Refreshing, simple and elegant. A real pick me up.

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Lora C
10/2/2014 12:14:57 pm

Chocolate milkshake with a cream float, so decadent!!!

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Byrony Grace
19/2/2014 01:36:29 pm

Lemonade and passion fruit in a martini glass. Refreshing!

Reply
Jennie
16/3/2014 11:22:55 am

Bionade with lime!

Reply

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