GourmetRootBeer

Filbert’s Pumpkin Root Beer

Apr 022025

Pumpkin root beers. The limited edition brews that show up near the end of September and stick around through pumpkin spice season. I’ve had mixed experiences with pumpkin root beers. Granted, I’ve only had two of them before, making it one of the rarest type of flavored root beer. One of those two is toppest tier while the other was very meh. I’ve known about this one for a few years but it has eluded me until recently when anthony sent me some. Filbert’s is a brand I had tried awhile back and it was decent but nothing special. But now they’ve made pumpkin so is this the redemption arc? I like their label, what with the horses and wagon, but shouldn’t it be carrying pumpkins and not just kegs? I mean, we get that the root beer is in kegs but add that extra pumpkin? I don’t know. The orange on black does capture the Halloween asthetic.

The Body is sweet with a mild pumpkin spice flavor. There’s a distinct lack of root beer flavors. Just pumpkin. The Bite is decent with some clove and other pumpkin spices shining through. The Head is short and fizzes away quickly. The Aftertaste is sweet pumpkin spice.

Well, this is a pleasant soda, but isn’t really a root beer at all. I get they want it to taste like pumpkin, but there has to be a way to make the pumpkin flavor shine over a root beer core. I’ve tasted it done properly and this is not done properly. They should likely just call this pumpkin soda or something but they didn’t so I don’t really like it. See how it rates against other root beers.

Old Keg Root Beer

Bottled Root Beers No Responses »

Mar 052025

The root beer that could have been my 500th review. I bought the bottle after trying my 499th, but, I didn’t think it was “special enough” to be 500. It’s another resurrected brand from Orca Beverages, of which there are several, and that’s just a bit to plain a backstory for the storied 500th brew. I found this at the store formerly known as Blue Sun Soda, and I do like the motif of an old keg being called Old Keg. I mean, I throw pictures of old kegs all over this site of mine. But does it really have that, “old keg” flavor and profile?

The Body sweet with rich honey and vanilla complimenting a nice rooty sassafras core. It is really delicious. The Bite is spicy and prickly with a smooth finish. The Head is medium tall and foamy that fizzes away faster than I prefer by coalescing into increasingly larger bubbles. That’s rather unique. The Aftertaste is a delicious honey sassafras with hints of vanilla.

This is my kind of root beer. Darker than classic, with honey showing through. I love it. Honestly, as far as quality of the root beer goes, this would have been a better 500th than what I had, and while it didn’t have a backstory then, it’s lack of backstory has become one of the better ones. Ah, the brew and review that could have been, but at least it won the Seal. See how it rates against other root beers.

49th State Brewing Frontier Root Beer

Draft and Keg Root Beers No Responses »

Feb 052025

The third (and last) brewery from my Anchorage trip. I was amazed that there was so many house root beers. The residents said it had to do with them all wanting to have something family friendly. I don’t know if every brewery up there makes root beer, but three out of three that I investigated did, so either I’m very lucky or it’s a pretty high percentage. Either way, this last place also makes several other soda flavors including Spruce Tips, which seemed really unique but I don’t review all sodas, just root beers. They brought it out in frosty mugs which is bonus, not for any review scoring, but just for the experience in general.

The Body hits you with a fruity sarsaparilla flavor that really isn’t my favorite at all. The more you drink, the more it matures to an aged flavor from fruity, so it does grow on you. The Bite is spicy and complex, prickly and fizzy, but still finishes smooth. There is no Head. None at all. It is sad. The Aftertaste is creamy, soothing vanilla, which is quite a nice touch to end on.

This is the worst of the three this week. It starts bad but does get drinkable as you go on. Barely drinkable, aged sarsparilla is decent, but the fruity is a no go. It’s good enough, over the course of the mug, to squeeze in a drinkable rating, but barely. The food is delicous so definitely worth a visit.

**A crab meat grilled cheese sandwich with chowder for dipping. Super delicious.**

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