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How To Make Your Very Own Harry Potter-Inspired Butter Beer

Photo Courtesy of Simon & Schuster
Dinah Bucholz is the author of The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook from our sister company Simon & Schuster. She lives in Philadelphia.

Butterbeer is one of the most popular drinks in the wizarding world, and when Harry has his first butterbeer during a sneak visit to Hogsmeade, he finds it to be the most delicious drink he has ever tasted (see Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Chapter 10). But what is this most warming and comforting of drinks? Is it Buttered Beere, as described in a sixteenth-century cookbook? Is it more like a cream soda? Recipes for both concepts follow.

Buttered Beere

Makes 2 servings*

Ingredients

  • 1 12-ounce bottle non-alcoholic beer
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons brown sugar, according to taste
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 3 large egg yolks
  • 1 tablespoon butter, cut into pieces
  • ¼ teaspoon vanilla

Directions

  • In a saucepan combine the beer, sugar, and spices and cook over medium high heat, whisking constantly, until the sugar dissolves. Continue to cook until steaming hot, then temper the egg yolks and add to the mixture, whisking constantly. Continue to cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture is steaming hot but not boiling. This will be hard to tell as it is very foamy. Turn off the heat.
  • Add the butter and vanilla and whisk until the butter is melted and combined. Pour the Buttered Beere through a strainer into another pot or directly into 2 mugs.

Note: This drink is very filling, so have it after a light meal. If you find it too thick for your taste, use two egg yolks.

"Cream Soda" Butterbeer

Makes about 1 gallon

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
  • 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
  • 4 cups water, divided
  • 2 tablespoons corn syrup
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
  • Ice, for serving
  • Cold seltzer, for serving

Directions

  • Place the sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup, salt, cream of tartar, and 2 cups of the water in a large saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve. Wash the sides down with a pastry brush dipped in hot sugar. Clip a candy thermometer to the pot and cook on a medium flame until the mixture reaches 300 degrees F. As the mixture approaches 300 degrees F, stir to prevent burning.
  • Turn off the heat and add the remaining 2 cups water and stir quickly. Turn the heat back on and continue to cook until any hardened parts of the mixture are liquefied again. Turn off the heat and stir in the vanilla.
  • Transfer the syrup to a container and cool to room temperature. Store in the refrigerator.
  • To serve, fill a tall glass with ice. Add three tablespoons of the syrup and top with the cold seltzer. Stir gently.

Excerpted from The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook Presents: A Fantastic Beasts & Treats Menu Copyright © 2016 by Dinah Bucholz  and published by F+W Media, Inc. Used by permission of the publisher. All rights reserved.

Dinah Bucholz is the author of The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook from our sister company Simon & Schuster. She lives in Philadelphia.
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