[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLnbEkvc4Zo[/youtube]The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal's Islands of Adventure just sold its millionth butterbeer, which creates a nice segue into two burning questions about the Hogsmeade brew of choice: Does it contain butter? Does it contain beer?
No on both counts.
Having a son who's ragingly allergic to dairy, I shook down several WWoHP staffers on several different occasions about the dairy content, and they all professed that the potion was dairy-free. We ordered ours - one frozen, one regular - but I got a little concerned when the butterbeer slingers (the patient souls seen in the clip above) topped the concoction with a creamy foam. They assured me that the foam was also dairy-free, and judging by the fact that we didn't wind up in the Wizarding Emergency Room for a magical encounter with the Epi-Pen, they were right.
On to more fun topics: What does butterbeer taste like? Not beery at all, but more like a sophisticated take on cream soda. Butterscotch can be oversweet and cloying, but butterbeer is not. I'd recommend trying both the frozen and the regular kind, as they taste a bit different. If it's early in the day, though, pass on the souvenir mug, as it's a drag to carry it around all day.
Another wizarding potable worth trying is Pumpkin Juice: It's for sale in souvenir bottles the shops of Hogsmeade as well as in cups the The Three Broomsticks and the Hog's Head pub, where--in case you were disappointed at the non-alcoholic nature of butterbeer--you'll also find Potter-inspired cocktails, beer and wine. In the books, pumpkin juice never sounded all that appealing to me, but Universal's version is a treat: made of apple juice with pumpkin and apricot puree and spices reminiscent of pumpkin pie, it's refreshing and less soda-sweet than butterbeer.
Stay tuned for a look at the shops and attractions of Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley. More questions about the Wizarding World of Harry Potter? Post them in our forum, and if I don't have the answers, I'll find 'em.
And be sure to check out Matt Blum's review of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter over at GeekDad!
