This is What Butterbeer is REALLY Made Of in Harry Potter!

Like the Quidditch mascot Barny the Fruitbat, we’re just batty about Butterbeer! Popular among Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry students, Butterbeer can be enjoyed either hot or cold. It is comforting, smooth, and delicious. Many Harry Potter fans serve the drink at themed parties or celebrations — it goes quite nicely with a chocolate frog or cauldron cake, after all. Additionally, Universal Studios theme park attendees can enjoy this beverage while waltzing around Diagon Alley in their wizarding robes and pointing their wands at those pesky lurking Death Eaters.

But … what exactly is Butterbeer made of? Let’s break down the ingredients below to figure out why it’s a staple in both the books and movies — and in our own geeky homes.

What is Butterbeer made of?

Butterbeer is made of cream soda, caramel extract or syrup, toffee nut syrup, butterscotch candies and/or syrup, whipped cream, and sugar. Some potion-makers online also add or substitute heavy whipping cream, butter extract, and powdered sugar. Some of these are toppings, of course. At its simplest, you’ll want to whisk together the soda, syrup(s), and cream. You can make it warm or freeze it for a more slushie-fied experience.

Notably, alcohol is absent from most recipes. But don’t let that stop you from adding a splash of your favorite liquor such as rum, vanilla vodka, butterscotch schnapps, bourbon, or dark beer like Guinness. You can make your Butterbeer as simple or as fancy as you, well, fancy. It’s all personal preference after you get the right list of base ingredients.

Variants

The Three Broomsticks’ landlady Madam Rosmerta also concocted an extra-sweet Butterbeer recipe in the Harry Potter books. This sweetened Butterbeer variant is made with Sugar Shrub, Mallowsweet, and Moondew, among the original and additional undisclosed ingredients. Of course, since these are fictional plants and herbs, you might need to find real replacements of your own. Might we suggest more sugar, more syrup, and the likes?

Butterbeer in Harry Potter

First Appearance

Butterbeer first appears within the pages of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. In the book, Ron Weasley suggests that he, Hermione Granger, and Harry Potter go to the Three Broomsticks to grab a glass of the semi-alcoholic brew. We tend to hear about it most during the winter months at Hogwarts and in Hogsmeade. The drink is served in foaming tankards when hot or chilled bottles when cold. For two sickles, it’s a great choice for patrons sitting and relaxing for a while alongside friends and family. Its slight alcoholic content (apparent only in the books and films) also means you can drink a lot and not get particularly drunk — unless you’re a House Elf or you’re very small.

Of course, the beverage appears wherever there is good cheer. We mentioned the Three Broomsticks, but you can also get it at the Hog’s Head, Leaky Cauldron, and other pubs/inns. After Harry defeats a dragon in Goblet of Fire, the Gryffindor common room is awash with it. Butterbeer is additionally served at the Quidditch World Cup, the Yule Ball, during Professor Horace Slughorn’s Slug Club parties, and as a refreshment at Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour’s wedding. The drink is seemingly synonymous with happiness or celebration in the series.

Luna’s Butterbeer Cork Necklace

What’s brilliant is how intrinsically Butterbeer is woven into the Wizarding World itself. Characters drink it — and Fire Whisky — all the time. Plus, some people like Luna Lovegood even repurpose the Butterbeer bottles. Luna Lovegood is known for her quirky personality and appearance. This Ravenclaw wears colorful clothes and strange jewelry despite the sneers and jabs she gets for her fashion choices.

One such accessory includes a Butterbeer necklace. However, it’s not a charm or a metal piece like you might imagine someone wearing coffee cup jewelry in our world. No, Luna’s necklace is very much simply made up of Butterbeer corks. In the movies, it is a a layered blue string necklace with a single cork at the bottom. In either depiction, it’s fun and showcases Luna’s charm. We love a girl who is smart enough to reduce, reuse, and recycle.

Have you tried Butterbeer? Share the magic — AKA your own secret recipe— at side.show/geekgroup or in the Sideshow Social Network. Then grab some Harry Potter collectibles to share in the festivities, and as always, don’t forget to Let Your Geek Sideshow!