Homemade Butterbeer

Harry Potter tried his first sip of butterbeer in the third Harry Potter novel, The Prisoner of Azkaban. In the fictional world, it was winter, and the drink was hot.

Fast forward two decades later, and the iconic drink has left the story pages to land in the hands of tourists at Universal Studios. At the park, guests can enjoy the drink in three different incarnations: hot, cold, and frozen—but if a trip to Universal isn’t in your near future, don’t fret! You can make the bubbly concoction at home with this incredibly easy butterbeer recipe. 

A Homemade Cold Butterbeer Recipe

While butterbeer can be made in the hot and frozen versions described above, this recipe is for the cold version—in my opinion, probably the easiest of the bunch to make at home. 

The drink is made up of two parts: a bubbly cream soda base, and a layer of sweetened whipped topping. Butterscotch flavor permeates the drink, both in the soda base and the topping, which we’ll get into. 

Buy Store-Bought Butterscotch Syrup...

There are two ways to go about adding the butterscotch flavor in. One way is to make a butterscotch syrup from scratch, and the other way is to use pre-made bottled butterscotch syrup. 

You might be surprised to find that making your own butterscotch syrup might be easier than finding a quality bottled syrup! If you do wish to purchase a pre-made bottle, I recommend Monin’s Butterscotch syrup. You can find it online, but locally, well—it’s the kind of thing that you’ll typically only find through commercial restaurant suppliers. If you have one near you, you may be in luck!

...Or Make Your Own Butterscotch Syrup!

If you choose to go with a homemade version of a butterscotch syrup, start with this sauce from Simply Recipes. However, I highly recommend you add in an 1/8 teaspoon of cream of tartar when you add the brown sugar into the pan (to reduce crystallization of the sugar), and only take the syrup to 250°F to help retain some liquidity. 

It will thicken more as it cools and will be in an almost solid state straight from the fridge, so my suggestion is to warm it before use—or, even better, just use it right away. 

If the syrup is still too “sauce” like and stiff, warm it up and mix it in the bottom of a pint glass with a few tablespoons of the cream soda. This should loosen it up enough to disperse throughout the cream soda. 

Butterbeer Whipped Topping

The other key component here is the whipped topping, which is layered on thick in the original drink, and is also very, very sweet. For this recipe I’ve dialed back the sweetness, but by all means increase your syrup amount if you want to go full power! 

I also recommend taking a few minutes to whip up your own fresh cream. You’ll have more control over how thick or thin you want your whipped topping and can adjust the sweetness levels to your liking. 

How to Serve Butterbeer

To serve, a well-chilled 16-ounce pint glass will fit a full 12-ounce bottle of soda, with room for a 1 inch thick layer of the cream topping. However, that portion can also be split into two smaller 6-ounce helpings that can be served in double rocks glasses or small steins. Even in the small glass, leave room for an inch of that cream topping!