No. Ginger ale is caffeine free. Canada Dry, Schweppes, and Seagram's all sit at 0mg of caffeine. Seagram's is confirmed on Coca-Cola's official Seagram's page, and Canada Dry and Schweppes both list zero caffeine on Keurig Dr Pepper's product facts site. So when a customer asks whether the ginger ale will keep them up, the answer is a flat no.
Why ginger ale has no caffeine
Ginger ale gets its flavor from ginger, not from a caffeine-bearing plant like the coffee bean, the tea leaf, or the kola nut that flavors a cola. There is no botanical reason for the drink to contain caffeine, so the mainstream brands do not add any. That is different from a cola, where the caffeine is part of the recipe on purpose. Ginger ale sits in the same caffeine-free bucket as most root beers, most lemon-lime sodas, and club soda.
This holds across the variants too. Diet Canada Dry, Zero Sugar Canada Dry, and the diet and zero sugar Schweppes and Seagram's pours are all caffeine free as well. Going diet or zero sugar changes the sweetener, not the caffeine, because there was never any caffeine to begin with. The only thing that changes across those cans is calories and sugar.
The one label worth a second look is a green tea ginger ale. Canada Dry has sold a green tea version that pulls a small amount of caffeine from the tea, which is the exception that proves the rule. If a can says green tea on it, read the label. A plain ginger ale from any of the three big brands does not.
This is also why ginger ale gets handed out on planes and to people who are not feeling well. It is a mild, caffeine-free carbonated drink, so it will not add a jitter on top of a queasy stomach or a late-night nerve. To be clear, that is about the caffeine, not about ginger ale being a medicine. The commercial versions are mostly high fructose corn syrup and carbonation with very little actual ginger, so treat it as a soda that happens to have no caffeine, not as a remedy.
Put it next to the sodas that do carry caffeine and the gap is obvious. A 12 oz Coca-Cola runs about 34mg and a Dr Pepper about 42mg, while a cup of brewed coffee lands near 90 to 100mg. Ginger ale is a flat zero against all of them. If you are pouring for someone cutting caffeine after dinner, a ginger ale is a safer call than any cola on the rail.
Ginger ale caffeine by brand
| Ginger ale | Serving | Caffeine | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada Dry Ginger Ale | 12 fl oz | 0 mg | Keurig Dr Pepper |
| Schweppes Ginger Ale | 12 fl oz | 0 mg | Keurig Dr Pepper |
| Seagram's Ginger Ale | 12 fl oz | 0 mg | Coca-Cola |
All three read zero on the source that matters, which is the brand's own product facts. Canada Dry and Schweppes are both Keurig Dr Pepper brands and list caffeine free across every can size from 7.5 oz up to the 2 liter. Seagram's is a Coca-Cola brand and its page states the drink is naturally flavored and caffeine free. For the record, Coca-Cola lists a 12 fl oz Seagram's at 130 calories with 33g of sugar and 40mg of sodium, so it is caffeine free but not calorie free.
A quick note for anyone working a bar or a counter: check the can, not your memory. The three brands here are safe defaults for a caffeine-free pour, but formulations change and a green tea or specialty ginger ale can break the pattern. The printed label is the only source that is always current.
For context, the FDA cites 400mg of caffeine a day as an amount generally not associated with negative effects in healthy adults. How caffeine affects you depends on your own tolerance and health, so treat these numbers as information, not advice.
Comparing caffeine? The caffeine comparison tool puts hundreds of drinks side by side, and the caffeine curfew calculator can check your cutoff time for tonight.
Related caffeine reads
Ginger ale caffeine FAQ
Does Canada Dry ginger ale have caffeine? No. Canada Dry Ginger Ale is caffeine free at 0mg, and so are its diet and zero sugar versions, per Keurig Dr Pepper's product facts.
Is Seagram's ginger ale caffeine free? Yes. Coca-Cola lists Seagram's Ginger Ale as naturally flavored and caffeine free, at 0mg per 12 fl oz.
Is any ginger ale not caffeine free? Plain ginger ales are all caffeine free. The exception is a green tea ginger ale, which pulls a small amount of caffeine from the added tea, so read that label.
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