Butterbeer the recipe for ultimate Harry Potter experience (2024)
Beth J. Harpaz
Got butterbeer?
Harry Potter fans are all abuzz about butterbeer, and they've got the foamy mustaches to prove it.
The cold and creamy, frothy drink is the most popular food item at the new Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando with visitors lining up to try it.
"Then they would walk around and have this mustache on," said Sabrina Sampson, 11, of Richmond, Va., who described the drink as tasting "like cream soda. It was somewhat thick, and it was really sweet, and then it got salty as you swallowed it, like butterscotch."
"It's interesting that one small thing they can sell for a few dollars is getting as much attention as the rides," said Gabe Travers, who reviewed the park for WESH.com, the NBC affiliate in the Orlando area.
Immediately after The Wizarding World's June 18 opening, butterbeer was one of the most searched-for terms on the Internet.
A butterbeer recipe on MuggleNet.com got 3,445 hits when the park opened, up from an average 350 daily views before the opening, according to MuggleNet.com spokesman Andrew Sims. Now the recipe is averaging 1,200 daily views.
Even DISboards.com, a site for fans of Disney World, has a separate thread for comments related to Universal's butterbeer.
Universal would not release its butterbeer recipe, but press materials describe the drink as "reminiscent of shortbread and butterscotch."
In the Harry Potter books, butterbeer appears to have an inebriating effect, and some older online recipes include butterscotch schnapps, but the Universal version is nonalcoholic.
In Bon Appetit's January 2002 issue, author J.K. Rowling was asked what butterbeer tastes like, and she said: "I made it up. I imagine it to taste a little bit like less sickly butterscotch."
The version sold at The Wizarding World was tasted and approved by Rowling herself.
Visitors to the park see a large wooden barrel that bears the word "BUTTERBEER" as soon as they enter, and they can buy it from a street cart and inside The Three Broomsticks restaurant and Hog's Head pub.
Butterbeer is sold in two varieties, regular and frozen, but many people buy both.
The consensus among online fans appears to be that the frozen version is more delicious.
The drink is drawn from a tap, like a beer, and the dense, whipped topping is added from a separate tap. It's served in cups, about $3 ($4 for frozen) for a disposable cup and about $10 ($11 for frozen) for a hard plastic souvenir stein.
The 150 recipes in Bucholz's cookbook are classic versions of some of the foods cited in the “Harry Potter” books. But because of copyright rules, dishes named by Rowling, including butterbeer, could not be used in the “unofficial” cookbook.
Butterbeer was a popular wizarding beverage described as tasting "a little bit like less-sickly butterscotch". It was served at numerous locations in the wizarding world and had a very slight alcoholic content. Students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry would often buy it when visiting Hogsmeade.
The Butter Beer is worth the expense. Get it in a keepsake mug which can be refilled with various drinks of your choice around the park for . 85 instead of the customary/exhorbitant drink fee. Get your Butter Beer in The Three Broomsticks rather than on the street.
In the Harry Potter series, several instances imply Butterbeer contains a low level of alcohol. Particularly in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, there are subtle hints about its effects. One notable moment is when Hermione Granger appears slightly tipsy in the film adaptation after consuming butterbeer.
But its origin dates back much further than J.K. Rowling's films. Butterbeer, or “Buttered beere” as it was described in 1594, has existed for many centuries. At the time of the Tudors, beer was already a typical and commonly consumed drink.
Where to find it: Hot Butterbeer is available at Leaky Cauldron and The Hopping Pot in Diagon Alley and Three Broomsticks and Hog's Head in Hogsmeade. Mix the ice cream in a cup of cold Butterbeer to make a DIY Butterbeer float.
But, where can you grab a hot butter beer at Universal? You can grab hot butterbeer at The Leaky Cauldron, The Hopping Pot (in Hogsmeade Village) or Hogs Head, and The Three Broomsticks (in Diagon Alley).
What does draft Butterbeer taste like? Draft Butterbeer is a non-alcoholic beverage reminiscent of shortbread and butterscotch with a frothy head, served in a souvenir tankard.
Calling all Potterheads! You don't have to make a trip to Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley to get your hands on some delicious Butterbeer. Flying Cauldron's butterscotch cream soda, previously only available in a glass bottle option, is now sold in new 16-ounce aluminum cans for on-the-go magic.
It is not at all alcoholic, despite its name and despite the fact that the drink is (slightly) in the source material, but it is sweet – too much so for some, particularly in certain forms, though most find it absolutely delectable.
Just as Rowling imagined, there's more flavor here than sugar, or at least that's how it drinks — essentially, you're getting a butterscotch cream soda with a float of something like toasted marshmallow crème; there's no escaping the inevitable foam mustache, and while you can try, you'll never outdrink the head.
Yes! And no. Butterbeer at Universal's Wizarding World of Harry Potter is dairy free in its cold and frozen form; however, the foam that's served with it is not dairy free. Now, you can ask for it to be served without the foam, which hasn't been an option until recently.
Hobby: Calligraphy, Rowing, Vacation, Geocaching, Web surfing, Electronics, Electronics
Introduction: My name is Msgr. Benton Quitzon, I am a comfortable, charming, thankful, happy, adventurous, handsome, precious person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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