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Butter Beer

Drinks
Historic

(Or Butter-Ale, Butterbere, Butterbeer)

Beer boiled with egg, sweet spices and butter. Known at least since the 16Cent it occasionally pops up right into modern times. As recently as 1936 we learn that Queen Elizabeth went to Westminster, "when the children of the Grammar School acted, and afterwards the Queen paid for "buttered beer for the children, being hoarse".



Sam Pepys (1660) has "Thence home and to the office, and so home having a great cold, and so my wife and Mrs. Barbary have very great ones, we are at a loss how we all come by it together, so to bed, drinking butter-ale."


London spire flagon
Image: http://www.pewtersellers.com



Original Receipt in 'The Good Huswifes Handmaide for the Kitchin' 1594 by Thomas Dawson, (Huswife 1594)

To make Buttered Beere.
TAke three pintes of Beere, put fiue yolkes of Egges to it, straine them together, and set it in a pewter pot to the fyre, and put to it halfe a pound of Sugar, one penniworth of Nutmegs beaten, one penniworth of Cloues beaten, and a halfepenniworth of Ginger beaten, and when it is all in, take another pewter pot and brewe them together, and set it to the fire againe, and when it is readie to boyle, take it from the fire, and put a dish of sweet butter into it, and brewe them together out of one pot into an other.




Original Receipt in 'The Accomplisht Cook' by Robert May, 1660 (Robert May 1660);

Buttered Beer.
Take beer or ale and boil it, then scum it, and put to it some liquorish and anniseeds, boil them well together; then have in a clean flaggon or quart pot some yolks of eggs well beaten with some of the foresaid beer, and some good butter; strain your butter'd beer, put it in the flaggon, and brew it with the butter and eggs.
Buttered Beer or Ale otherways.
Boil beer or ale and scum it, then have six eggs, whites and all, and beat them in a flaggon or quart pot with the shells, some butter, sugar, and nutmeg, put them together, and being well brewed, drink it when you go to bed.



The name 'butterbeer' has been registered with the Patent office since 2004 by the London packaging design company Stranger & Stranger. Butterbeer is the drink of choice in 'Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban'.




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