Butterbeer

"Why don't we go and have a butterbeer in the Three Broomsticks, it's a bit cold, isn't it?"

- Hermione Granger inviting Harry Potter to the Three Broomsticks Inn.

Butterbeer was a popular wizarding beverage described as tasting "a little bit like less-sickly butterscotch."

It had a very slight alcohol content, which could get house-elves fully drunk, but seemed to have a less pronounced effect on humans. In 1996, Harry Potter wondered what Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger might do at Professor Horace Slughorn's Christmas Party "under the influence of Butterbeer," indicating that it could lower inhibitions. Winky, a house-elf, took to getting drunk on Butterbeer after losing her job with the Crouch family — an addiction from which she never fully recovered.

Butterbeer was served cold in bottles and hot in "foaming tankards." In Hogsmeade, it was sold at the The Three Broomsticks and The Hog's Head, although the fact that the latter pub's stock was described as "very dusty" suggests that it was not sold there very often. In Diagon Alley, the drink is sold at the Leaky Cauldron.

At the Hog's Head, customers were charged two sickles per Butterbeer, but it is not certain whether this is a universal price for the drink, or if the price of the drink varies from location to location.

Behind the scenes

 * Michael Gambon once said that the first thing he will do when he gets to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park is to order eight pints of Butterbeer. According to him, it is not alcoholic, and it is refreshing.
 * Executive Chef of Universal Parks and Resorts, Steve Jayson commented that butterbeer is "Real comforting and nice and smooth going down".
 * Butterbeer at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter can be served either cold with butterscotch-like foam on top and a taste similar to cream soda or frozen as a slush.

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (video game)
 * The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

Notes and references
Bièraubeurre