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The first time I read the Harry Potter series...

Princess AlicePrincess Alice
in General
...I just assumed "Butterbeer" was some British thing my ignorant American self had never heard of.

That bit of worldbuilding totally went over my head.
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  • TachyonTachyon
    imagei will watch the heck outta this pumpkin patch
    i never knew which pop culture references in the Animorphs were references to real things and which ones were fictional
  • OdradekOdradek
    My dreams exceed my real life
    Tachyon and CA embrace, having gained new understanding
  • CrystalCrystal
    Munch munch, chomp chomp...
    I always knew (well, "knew") as a little kid that butterbeer was obviously fictional because I just thought "Come on, who would combine that? It's even more disgusting!" Like something that gross has to be fictional.

    I'd later learn, of course.
  • Princess AlicePrincess Alice
    You are the end result of a “would you push the button” prompt where the prompt was “you have unlimited godlike powers but you appear to all and sundry to be an impetuous child” – Zero, 2022
    Crystal said:

    I always knew (well, "knew") as a little kid that butterbeer was obviously fictional because I just thought "Come on, who would combine that? It's even more disgusting!" Like something that gross has to be fictional.


    I'd later learn, of course.
    I just kind of assumed it was a butterscotch-flavored drink...
  • OdradekOdradek
    My dreams exceed my real life
    Odradek said:

    "Much like how wizarding currency was a satire of the ridiculousness of British pounds and their many denominations, Quidditch was making fun of the impenetrable rules and customs of cricket. "

    This makes a scary amount of sense

  • OdradekOdradek
    My dreams exceed my real life
    Butterbeer sounded tasty to me.

    I imagined it as a butterscotch flavored drink with a bite to it.
  • TachyonTachyon
    edited 2015-07-14 02:11:36
    imagei will watch the heck outta this pumpkin patch
    i pictured it tasting the same as Odradek did.

    . . . we need a word that's like 'pictured' but for when you're imagining a flavour, not an image.

    i wonder how alcoholic it was supposed to be, though . . . the characters were legally allowed to drink it, unlike firewhiskey which was for adults only, but i don't think UK law distinguishes what quantity of alcohol is legal to sell to minors.  Evidently the wizarding world favours a more Continental approach.
  • OdradekOdradek
    My dreams exceed my real life
    Wasn't the idea that it had a small amount, but not enough that you'd drink it with the express purpose of getting drunk?
  • Salix BabylonikaSalix Babylonika
    https://i.imgur.com/IoGc2jA.jpg
    Tachyon said:

    i pictured it tasting the same as Odradek did.

    . . . we need a word that's like 'pictured' but for when you're imagining a flavour, not an image.

    "thinktasting"
  • TachyonTachyon
    imagei will watch the heck outta this pumpkin patch
    Odradek said:

    Wasn't the idea that it had a small amount, but not enough that you'd drink it with the express purpose of getting drunk?

    Yes, i think that's right.  But i don't know if UK law actually allows for such a thing, or whether it would still be illegal IRL.
    planet JANE said:

    Tachyon said:

    i pictured it tasting the same as Odradek did.

    . . . we need a word that's like 'pictured' but for when you're imagining a flavour, not an image.

    "thinktasting"
    Will adopt that.

    i thinktasted the same thing as Odradek.
  • AnonusAnonus
    I've learned to tolerate drama...except on the boat
    butterbeer sounds fucking disgusting to me
  • Princess AlicePrincess Alice
    You are the end result of a “would you push the button” prompt where the prompt was “you have unlimited godlike powers but you appear to all and sundry to be an impetuous child” – Zero, 2022
    Anonus said:

    butterbeer sounds fucking disgusting to me

    You don't like beer to begin with, so that's not surprising.
  • OdradekOdradek
    My dreams exceed my real life
    I didn't imagine it tasting much like beer, because I had not tasted beer when Harry Potter was a thing.
  • Princess AlicePrincess Alice
    You are the end result of a “would you push the button” prompt where the prompt was “you have unlimited godlike powers but you appear to all and sundry to be an impetuous child” – Zero, 2022
    Odradek said:

    I didn't imagine it tasting much like beer, because I had not tasted beer when Harry Potter was a thing.

    Same.
  • TachyonTachyon
    imagei will watch the heck outta this pumpkin patch
    The description in the books didn't make it sound much like beer.  i assumed it was just the name.
  • CalicaCalica
    Sup bitches, witches, Haters, and trolls.
    Crystal said:

    I always knew (well, "knew") as a little kid that butterbeer was obviously fictional because I just thought "Come on, who would combine that? It's even more disgusting!" Like something that gross has to be fictional.


    I'd later learn, of course.
    once i did a ridiculous thing called a keg race and one of the things people did in order to get the beer out faster was to coat the buckets with butter.

    it was disgusting.  don't do keg races
  • HexartesHexartes
    Maybe it's similar to root beer? I went to the Harry Potter section of Universal and it certainly wasn't alcoholic there, though the canonicity of a theme park is obviously dubious.
  • One-Winged EagleOne-Winged Eagle
    Man is a most complex simple creature: see what he weaves, and how base his reasons for doing so.
    Small beer is a beer-like drink that contains trace amounts of alcohol, and before public sanitation, was an acceptable means of hydration for all ages, often because it was cleaner than water.

    Butterbeer probably has around that amount of alcohol.
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