Filbert’s Old Time Root Beer

First of all, St. Louis elite Unilocaler, Dennis W., contributed lots of helpful information in regard to the Filbert’s Old Time Root Beer factory in McKinley Park, Chicago. Thank you for your review so that I knew what to expect about this place.
The reason why I didn’t visit the factory sooner was because I didn’t think I would be able to carry a large case of soda or root beer home on public transportation since I CTA chauffeurs me everywhere I go. Well, you’re not obligated to purchase the entire case; I bought four (4) bottles since I didn’t have enough green bucks on me. The price was $ 0.50÷12 fl. oz. bottle, so a case of twenty-​four (24) bottles would be $ 12!
I felt like an «intruder» when I went in from the loading deck off Ashland Ave. I then walked around, looking at boxes and boxes of soda and root beer, while other workers seemed careless about my presence and intent of coming here.
Suddenly Mike, one of the workers at the factory, greeted me and asked if I needed help. Yes, please, because I wasn’t sure what I was doing.
He practically told me to open boxes if necessary to find different flavors. Obviously this «outlet store» is cash-​only. I paid Mike on the spot after I made my choices.
Continuing the discussion of their factory-​store pricing, I don’t think you can beat $ 0.50/bottle, even World Market charges $ 0.98 on their website for the same item.
I guess next time I should bring my grocery cart and try to carry as much home as possible. The factory is located four (4) blocks south from the CTA Ashland Orange Line station. Walking alone during the day is totally fine. Nevertheless, the area past the plaza where Mariano’s is appears quite industrial and bare. Thus it may not be as pleasant of a walk like you would encounter other parts of the city.

How many places can you name that still brew local pop? Besides being hands down the best root beer ever they go beyond that. I remember as a kid getting the big ass glass bottles of pop on tables at weddings so it was a treat something to look forward to. When I grew up and moved into the neighborhood and seen who was next door my mind was blown. They are great people doing things right. I don’t think they have a flavor can’t can’t please …
If you are within a hour drive you have no excuse for not going there and stocking up. Prices are very fair and you owe it to your self, what ever you do do not leave without a case of root beer.

Visiting Filbert’s bottling plant/​warehouse on Ashland is a unique experience, to say the least. As the sign pictured here on Unilocal notes, the actual entrance isn’t on Ashland itself per se. Instead, it’s perpendicular to the street, just off of a small parking lot. From the lot, visitors enter via a short staircase onto a loading dock. (Alternatively, it seemed like you could also enter through an additional storage and loading area towards the back of the parking lot, if stairs were an issue. Definitely call ahead if you have any accessibility questions or concerns).
Once inside, from the perspective of looking into the warehouse from the loading dock, there are three things to see: To the left, a live bottling line; to the right, along the back wall, a display of historic drinking containers; in the middle, dozens of pallets of freshly made Filbert pop.
…and that’s about it. There’s no receptionist. There’s no signage (that I noticed). There’s no retail space. You’re just in the middle of a small warehouse. It may not feel right at first, but you’ve found the correct place, in all of its light industrial glory.
Filbert’s is an active work space and you may need to wait a moment to catch anyone’s attention. A couple of minutes after my arrival, one of the guys in the warehouse offered up a spare case and there was no rush or pressure while browsing cases of pop for sale. With a few exceptions (notably, ginger beer: $ 1 each), each 12oz glass bottle is $ 0.50 and you’re welcomed to create mixed cases of whatever is available. A small shelf held a few popular flavors in larger sizes as well. Filbert’s line includes well over a dozen pops («sodas», as I’d call them back home…), but the Draft Root Beer is the centerpiece. While I didn’t bother to confirm whether or not every flavor was in stock, it seemed like most were.
Depending on the day, you might be able to find out a little more about the company or get to check out the line. Be forewarned though: there is not a formal tour or anything of the sort, so your experience may differ from that of fellow Unilocalers.
As far as the sodas themselves? There wasn’t one among the eight that I selected and didn’t like, but none that I’d add to my ‘must-​try’ list either. The most pleasant surprise might have been either of the lemonade (a tart, refreshing, snappy version that made me wonder why carbonated lemonade wasn’t more popular) or the blueberry (a not-​too-​sweet fruit-​flavored drink with a clean, fresh finish). For those so concerned, many of the drinks here are sweetened with high fructose corn syrup (per their labels), although the ginger beer uses cane sugar.

Drove by a million times. But it happened to be open today. Well the door was open cuz it’s hot out. Plus I love visiting local Chicago businesses. Anyways, stopped in and bought a case of philberts root beer for $ 6. Not bad root beer, but I’m far from an expert on that. It taste good to me, so that’s all that matters. The root beer has actual sugar, so if u like that, u will certainly enjoy this.

Website says they’re open 9 – 1 on Saturday’s but when we arrived at 9:45 the place was closed. We rang, we knocked… no answer, not a soul in sight. Disappointing…

I love it here! They were so kind and even gave us a cold sample. Also really cool to see all the old bottles on display. Can’t beat the prices.

Love this gem of a place. Last year I threw my husband a surprise birthday party and because he would take root beer over beer any day of the week, I started looking for places that did root beer kegs. Other places charged upward of $ 75 for a small keg, but Filbert’s only charged $ 25, plus a $ 100 refundable deposit. My husband raved about the taste and quality, and while I was there I picked up 2 cases of soda for myself-​1 peach, 1 pineapple. SOOO GOOD!!! The guys were super friendly, helpful and grateful for my business. If it weren’t so far away I’d be in every week. Whether you need a root beer keg or just some delicious soda, go to Filbert’s!!!

I get Filbert’s root beer from my local market amongst a number of other beverages they make. I didnt pay attention to the fact that they were based out of Chicago until i tried Maria’s ginger beer, which is a partnership between Maria’s packaged goods and Filbert’s. root beer, ginger beer, cream soda, black cherry. It’s all really tasty and a very solid line of great beverages. 4.3 stars

Filberts is a gem! We stopped in on Christmas Eve and bought 24 assorted bottles. We haven’t been disappointed with any flavor. For New Years Eve, we offered flights of Filberts to partyers under 21. It was a huge hit for everyone!

Anything under five stars and your possibly crazy, best place around, they gave my son and I a tour of the bottling area while it was running, cool stuff. They have a great variety of flavors. You can get kegs of root beer for parties and events and it is really affordable. They are really easy going, you walk through and build your own cases of flavors. It feels like your going back in time here neat old building, no fancy storefront, it’s awesome.

I went to Gertie’s for lunch yesterday at 87^th and Harlem and ordered a Filbert’s root beer. It was to die for at the first taste. The best, bar none!

This nondescript warehouse holds so many treasures! We met one of the partners, Ron, who is super friendly (gave us a few FREE «sample» sodas) and a wealth of knowledge on anything and everything you wanted to know about root beer. You buy by the case here, and for 24 bottles at $.50 a piece, you just can’t beat it. Bring cash, or you’ll have to walk to someplace nearby for an ATM (there’s a Dominick’s down the street.) I love this place and will definitely be going back!

Best pop in the city and you can’t get it cheaper or fresher anywhere in the world. Great range of flavors, my favorite being Cherry, then followed by their Cola. Worth the trip.

I myself can only drink the diet root beer. Yummy. Light cake-​mix flavor.
Go and see the bottler in action. Very friendly guys.

LOVE THE ROOT BEER!!! The video strip on archer carries root beer and other flavors!!!

I really like this place, haven’t been often because it’s a bit of a hike, but they have a really good variety of flavors.
Some of them are made with sugar, some are made with HFCS, at least according to the bottles. The cherry, red raspberry, peach, and lime all tasted like real sugar and were outstanding. Very friendly, they’ll talk your ear off about politics, the neighborhood, whatever.

This place is trip! A case of retro soda in glass bottles for $ 10.00! Unbelievable. Great for parties where kids are around!

I am sipping a bottle of Filbert’s Pineapple Soda. There is absolutely no pineapple taste in the bottle. None. Nada. The Filbert chemists to do a little more research. Rootbeer must be their forte, it sure isn’t the fruit flavored drinks.

In case anyone has a child’s party. You can even rent their Root Beer by the keg! I was at a friends party and the kids were creating Root Beer Floats using the keg. The kids had fun with it since they have never seen one before.
They also have created several new flavors such as Banana, Red Raspberry, Blueberry, Apple and more.

9 $ for a 24 pack of killer local root beer. That’s about 38 cents for a delicious local root beer. Why aren’t you picking up a case right now?