REVIEW: Skinny Pop Harry Potter Butterbeer Popcorn

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Butterbeer, the fictional beverage from the world of Harry Potter, is having quite a comeback. I’m not sure if it’s in early preparation for the new HBO series (coming 2027) or if the snack-powers-that-be simply wanted the wizarding world to remain in the social zeitgeist, but Harry is back in the snack, big time. Mr. Potter’s Butterbeer has already had collaborative releases this year with Hershey’s Kisses, Keebler Fudge Stripes, and Goldfish, so if next in line isn’t going to be a new bizarro sweet and salty Lay’s, why not some Skinny Pop Popcorn?

I am not a wizard and have never been to the Wizarding World at Universal Studios to try the Butterbeer. However, I am a popcorn connoisseur and lover of butterscotch, so I went into this new fantasy-flavored kettle corn quite excitedly.

The aroma is distinctly that of sugary popped kettle corn with an extra rich burnt sugar flourish that mostly translates to the flavor as well. The taste of the popcorn is 70% that of the standard Skinny Pop “Sweet & Salty Kettle Corn” — corn-forward with a nice little boost of sweetness — but the other 30% is something magical. There’s a deep, toasty, brown-sugar-meets-browned-butter flavor that lands somewhere in between kettle corn and caramel corn. Occasionally, a kernel pops up that’s more coated and crunchy than the others, with an extra dose of buttery sweetness.

Speaking of crunchy, the texture is excellent. Every piece has a firm crunch, but a perfectly soft, airy crumble underneath makes the experience really pleasant. In the finish, there’s a touch of spice. The ingredients say cinnamon but I get a little more of a mild nutmeg. In any case that spiced quality helps contribute to the excellent burnt caramel profile. This is, without a doubt, my favorite unadorned bagged kettle corn I’ve had (not including drizzled varieties), and one that is very snackable without feeling cloying in the slightest.

Initially, despite how much I love the flavor, I thought this popcorn wasn’t quite sweet enough to be a proper butterscotch. But after a touch of proper research, I learned that in the Harry Potter books, Butterbeer is “a little bit like less-sickly butterscotch,” and you know what? I think they nailed it.

Purchased Price: $3.99
Size: 8.4 ounces
Purchased at: Amazon
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (2.5 cups, 28g) 140 calories, 7 grams of fat, 0.5 grams of saturated fat, 25 milligrams of sodium, 19 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 8 grams of total sugars, and 1 gram of protein.

REVIEW: Keebler Harry Potter Butterbeer Fudge Stripes

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Keebler’s new Butterbeer Fudge Stripes are the first Harry Potter-themed confection I’ve tried since a traumatizing run-in with a box of Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Bean, so needless to say, I was trepidatious.

It’s hard to Obliviate your first earwax-flavored Jelly Belly. Just thinking about those cursed beans makes me freeze up in fear as if I were struck by the Immobulous charm. Yeah, I’ve seen the movies, folks. I know spells, at least like six of them. I didn’t read a single word of the books, but I know spells! Uh… Oculus Reparo! See?

I know you can see because I just fixed your glasses.

Anyway, despite being a fan of the Potter films, I’ve never actually had Butterbeer. I’ve had butterscotch. I’ve had butter rum, but that’s the extent of my forays into Butter *insert type of booze here.* I honestly don’t even really know much about the flavor profile of Butterbeer, so I wasn’t sure what to expect-O PATRONUM! Remember that one?!

Ya know, I gotta hand it to the elves, be it tree or house, we got ourselves a nice little collab here. Ernie met Dobby, and they baked up a solid little cookie.

These biscuits, for my British friends, reek of a Waffle Crisp-style cereal, but there’s no maple because Butterbeer IS butterscotch. I think. Perhaps my muggle brain can’t comprehend the subtle differences, but for all intents and purposes, these Quidditch goal-shaped rings taste like butterscotch. I assumed there’d be something a bit more foreign that tasted new to me, but I wasn’t disappointed.

The cookie base is the familiar Fudge Stripe sans fudge stripes, but instead piped with a white Butterbeer(scotch) icing.

As you know, Fudge Stripes are named after Cornelius Fudge, the thirty-second Minister of Magic, and Sorkelport Stripes, a legendary Hogwarts professor that I just made up. It is ultimately they who inspired this snack sorcery, and I think Keebler did them proud.

If you’re not a butterscotch lover, don’t worry, the flavor isn’t as pronounced as the classic hard candies. I’d say it exists in the same sweetness realm as dulce de leche and salted caramel fare we’ve become accustomed to, with these almost pushing “too sweet” but still quite indulgent and enjoyable for a cookie or three. Dare I say good enough to Expelliarmus anyone trying to steal one.

By now, it’s quite apparent – I know my Potter, huh?! Well, maybe not enough to decipher what I’m supposed to be seeing on each cookie, but these do seem to have fun little Wizarding World-specific designs that get swallowed up in the icing, so that’s fun, I guess.

I’d consider these a success, and I like to believe Harry, Hermoine, and… whatshisface would definitely buy a pack from the Hogwarts Express trolley.

It’s also nice to see butterscotch getting a little shine with all this butterbeer stuff hitting shelves. It’s a nice change of pace flavor that’s rarely seen outside of grandma’s candy dish.

Ron! His name is Ron. How could I forget Ron, that’s just Riddickulus! (Six. Told ya.)

Purchased Price: $2.98
Size: 9.5 oz package
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (2 Cookies) 140 calories, 7 grams of fat, 4 grams of saturated fat, 0 gram of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 70 milligrams of sodium, 19 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 9 grams of sugar (including 8 grams of added sugar), and 1 gram of protein.

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