# What is butterbeer? How does it taste? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 25, 2003, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-butterbeer-how-does-it-taste/184375 "2003-06-25T21:40:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2003, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-butterbeer-how-does-it-taste/184375/21 "2003-06-29T02:44:51Z")
I always thought it was the wizard world’s equivalent to root beer or ginger beer…some carbonated beverage with the taste of butter. I forgot it’s also served hot. But I never thought of it as alcoholic. Firewhisky, on the other hand… ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2003, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-butterbeer-how-does-it-taste/184375/22 "2003-06-29T04:32:21Z")
What the heck book are you guys talking about? I mean, I’ve been all through my _Chronicles of Narnia_ and I can’t find butterbeer anywhere! FISH ---
**Author:** ![ElJeffe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/958977/32.png) [@ElJeffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElJeffe)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2003, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-butterbeer-how-does-it-taste/184375/23 "2003-06-29T05:41:14Z")
> [@](#): > > One of the Google-supplied links: > > ## quote: > > 2 1/2 cups of milk > 2 tablespoons of brown sugar > 1 teaspoon of vanilla > 1 level teaspoon of butter > > 1. Heat milk in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. > 2. Add the rest of the ingredients. Blend with a small > handmixer if you have one, to make it frothy. > 3. Bring the mixture almost to boiling, but not quite. > 4. Pour into mugs and serve! > > * * * > > This sounds good. I’m sipping a warm mug of this right now, and it _is_ pretty good. I just guessed on all the measurements (as I typically do when I cook), but I think it could use a bit more brown sugar. What I’m drinking tastes as if it should be mild, but not quite as mild as it is. It’s rather butterscotch-y, so it sounds pretty close to what JKR said she imagines it as: “I imagine it to taste a little bit like less-sickly butterscotch.” I heartily recommend it to anyone who’s geeky enough to try a recipe for a made-up beverage found in a children’s book. 😉 Jeff ---
**Author:** ![Xixox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/13edae/32.png) [@Xixox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xixox)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2003, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-butterbeer-how-does-it-taste/184375/24 "2003-06-29T07:48:39Z")
I posted this in the [Drink Recipe Haiku](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=166475) thread back in March, actually… Rowling’s Butterbeer One twelve ounce glass of root beer One shot Buttershots And I’m with **Qadgop** about making it Wisconsin’s State Drink. ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2003, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-butterbeer-how-does-it-taste/184375/25 "2003-06-29T07:57:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Qadgop the Mercotan \* > \*\*Whatever it is, I’m surprised they haven’t made it Wisconsin’s state drink. > > “Eat cheese or die”. Or perhaps “Eat cheese and die”. > (Wisconsin’s true state motto) \*\* Y’all are so _damn_ witty. I have something for the lot of you to eat, and it isn’t cheese, but cows do make it. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-butterbeer-how-does-it-taste/184375.md?page=1)