Pumpkin Spiced – Eric’s Gourmet Root Beer Blog

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.

Parlor Pumpkin Root Beer

Bottled Root Beers No Responses »

Mar 062024

I do love a seasonal root beer. I love root beer in general and then that variation that is flavored root beers, but seasonal flavored root beers are much more rare so they make me happy in a way that few things can. Parlor I’ve reviewed before. They do a fine job with their original and butterscotch root beer. Every fall they also release their pumpkin root beer, which is done in partnership with Blackcraft Clothing. They specialize in goth, cult, witch type clothing stuff, which fits the theme of Halloween. I got this in a trade with anthony, which is good because I didn’t want to mail order a whole case and they don’t sell it local at all. While I’ve had good experiences with Parlor, the only other pumpkin spice root beer I had didn’t turn out too well, so I was cautious coming in.

The Body is sweet and rich with a strong pumpkin spice complimenting a solid classic root beer core. It’s really delicious. The Bite is amazing with that aforementioned spice, clove being the prominent but others backing it up. The carbonation is good and it finishes smooth. The Head is great, tall and frothy. The Aftertaste is vanilla and clove and really quite pleasant.

Wow! This is a fine brew. I really love that pumpkin spice they’ve got. Parlor has done it again, took their classic, solid root beer flavor and amped it up to a work of art. The subtle pumpkin and the strong spice really make for my now most recommended Halloween brew and my favorite Parlor offering yet. Shame I can’t get it year round. See how it rates against other root beers.

Rock Island Brewing Company Pumpkin Spiced Root Beer

Bottled Root Beers No Responses »

Aug 032016

Rock Island Brewing Company Pumpkin Spiced Root Beer Bottle

Every year at the start of October, all of the coffee shops, chocolatiers, perfumiers, butchers, bakers, candlestick makers, and pretty much everyone else gets out their pumpkins and their spices and unleash a flood of harvest/Halloween/Thanksgiving food and fragrance upon the world in the form of pumpkin spiced lattes, hot chocolates, regular chocolates, candles, incense, Jell-O?, Pringles, Pop Tarts, and probably every food product imaginable. This continues until December when they swap out the pumpkin for eggnog and continue until the New Year. These products have varied levels of grossness with a few actually tasting good, though those are the exceptions and not the rules. Into this fray stepped the expert brewers from Rock Island Brewing Company (who’s rocking abilities cannot be overstated) and decided that a glaring hole in this onslaught of pumpkin spiced everything was root beer and they were gonna solve it. I wasn’t sure if I was excited to try it or not. On the one hand, Rock Island Brewing Company, on the other hand pumpkin spiced Jell-O…

The Body is spicy, very spicy. It’s thick and rich as well with some vanilla and pumpkin syrup flavors featuring prominently. The Bite is sharp and intense from all of that spice. I think I’m getting cinnamon, allspice, and clove; maybe others too. It really burns in a way that puts hair on your chest. The Head is okay. It’s medium-short with large bubbles but it sticks around for a bit. The Aftertaste is a honey pumpkin flavor that finishes with clove bits.

So they surely got that spiced part right. That this isn’t awful is a testament to the skill of the brewmasters. Not only that, if you are a spice addicted Bite lover, this could be one of your favorite brews. As for me, I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. After much deliberation as I drank my two bottles … I would drink this again. During that “special” time of the year. See how it rates against other root beers.