Alcohol in OOP - ButterBeer

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 68985

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Rach" <rachrobins at h...> wrote:
> Was anyone else impressed by JKR's treatment of alcohol in OOP? 
> 
> There are the usual references to Butterbeer (which I assume is a 
> light beer) and several references to fire whiskey - I just loved the 
> scene in the Hogs Head when Ron wanted to try it!  ...edited...
> 
> rach

bboy_mn:

Ron wanted to try Firewhiskey in the Hog's Head, and one of the other
students wanted to know if Harry wanted to chip in some money because
they thought one of the other students could get some Firewhiskey for
the end of year/end of exams party. Notice that both times, temptation
was resisted.

In Britain, beverages are allowed to have as much as 0.5% alcohol and
they are still considered a 'soft' drinks that can be sold to anyone.
I read that they have the equivalent of 'near beer' or what is being
marketed now as NA (no alcohol) beer which really does have a small
trace of alcohol. Some kids get a kick out of drinking 'near beer';
that's a vicarious thrill, not intoxication.

Any beverage that is fermented, and most soft drinks like root beer, 
ginger ale/brew/beer, cream soda, and others were traditionally
fermented until the recent invention of carbonating machines, has a
trace of alcohol in it unless great pains have been taken to remove
it. So, I suspect that Butterbeer, which is like a butterscotch
flavored root beer, is naturally fermented and does have this trace of
alcohol in it which is why it affects house elves.

For what it's worth, fermentation give you a much thicker richer
creamer head of foam than you find in sodas and soft drinks that have
had carbonation injected into them. 

For reference, typical beer is about 6% alcohol, so you would have to
drink 12 bottles of butterbeer to get the equivalent alcohol of a
single regular beer. 

Just thought I would pass that along. 

bboy_mn