Man, the quest for Butterbeer at home is a tough one. You can find recipes on the internet that swear it’s like the real thing. Then they do things like put butter in it. There are great soda recipes, but they are never close enough. Starbucks even has a Butterbeer flavored latte (or whatever it is they have), and while it’s good…it’s not Butterbeer. Sure, many will say it tastes just like it, but if you’ve ever had the real thing at Universal Parks, then you know that anything you’ve had is nowhere close to it.
So, color me curious when a new flavor of ice cream comes out, and everyone swears that it’s “just like the stuff you get at the Wizarding World”. The new Butterbeer Ice Cream from Yuengling…yes, the same family that makes the beer….says that it is just that. The ice cream is available where ever Yuengling Ice Cream is sold.
Now, I know what you’re thinking, what do beer people know about ice cream. Apparently, they are the same family, but it is a complete and totally different branch that has nothing to do with the brewery. They’ve been doing it for almost 100 years, and it was a Pennsylvania tradition, up until about 1985.
The Yuengling family stopped making beer during prohibition, and switched instead to ice cream. The company was so successful that after prohibition ended, half of the family went back to making beer, and the other half kept making ice cream. While the plant shut down in 1985, the ice cream was reintroduced in 2014, and has made a comeback all over the country.
Except Florida.
Naturally being a fat kid, and a huge Harry Potter fan…not to mention Butterbeer addict, I went on a search for it, only to find that no one within a 100 mile radius of me or Orlando sells the ice cream. I reached out to the company to see if there was a place that sold it anywhere in Florida, and if not, how could we get it here.
Surprisingly, here’s what I was told:
Erik:
It is not available in Florida. We have met with Publix 3 times and they have turned us down each time. Please contact the Publix buyer Scott Gifford – scott.gifford@publix.com and let him know you want them to carry our ice cream.
Thanks
David Yuengling
President
Yuengling’s Ice Cream
So, according to President of the company, the ice cream is not available in Florida. However, we were informed by a people trying to make a point that there is a place that sells it. One place. In the entire state of Florida. ONE PLACE.
Harris Teeter in Fernandina Beach, FL carries Yuengling Ice Cream. Congratulations. You were right…technically. One place. However, let’s be honest. We want to see it in more places, especially places closer to Orlando. Publix if a Florida institution, and while it’s not the only grocery store in Florida, it is one of the biggest chains in the Southeast.
Being a consumer, you have the power to get it closer to you than Fernandina Beach. All you have to do is email scott.gifford@publix.com and let them know that you want their Butterbeer Ice Cream. If enough people ask for it, then there’s a chance they just might carry it.
One further bit of info from David Yuengling…this recipe isn’t trying to replicate Universal’s Butterbeer. The Yuengling recipe is simply their take on a universally available recipe. It’s described as “Butter Cream & Butterscotch Super Premium Ice Cream with a Butterscotch Swirl.” The flavor of actual Butterbeer at Universal Orlando is very complex and almost impossible to pin down exactly. There are a lot of hints of butterscotch, and cream and even a hint of shortbread. While we can’t wait to see if Yuengling ice cream comes close, it still sounds like there’s only one place to get the real thing.
Stay tuned for more.
