An Update: The Harry Potter Studio Tour And Butterbeer

An Update: The Harry Potter Studio Tour And Butterbeer

Posted on Sunday March 4, 2012, 18:14 by Helen O'Hara in Empire States

A few months ago I blogged about the upcoming WB Studio Tour London - The Making Of Harry Potter, and we wrote about it in last month's magazine as well. You may remember that in both cases we discussed that this will not be an immersive experience like Florida's Wizarding World Of Harry Potter; this is more about the process of making the films. As a result, there won't be actors in costume hanging about and there won't be butterbeer on sale. But that was then. This week we got a slightly sheepish call to inform us that someone had changed their mind: there would be butterbeer after all. And would we like to go up and try some?

As you know, my devotion to you, the readers, knows no bounds, so I hopped on a train to Watford Junction and toddled over to Leavesden Studios to try it out. I wasn't quite sure what state the Tour would be in: last time we saw it, a little over a month ago, technicians were still adjusting the sets and many of the exhibits were still in boxes. Now, aside from a few missing items in the shop, it's up and running, with friends and family of the studio already visiting to try it all out.

I'm going to write more about the content of the Tour a little closer to its opening, but here's a quick word or two on butterbeer itself. You still won't find it in the (rather nice) cafe by the entrance; it's sold about halfway through the Tour at a special spot next to the Knight Bus. I'm told that the flavour is designed to be "butterscotch meets English shortbread" which is probably fair enough. It's rather cream soda-y, too, for my money, but there's definitely a buttery tinge as it foams up over a couple of minutes after it's poured. My guest for the day, Kat Brown (formerly of this parish) managed to down her entire tankard in a few gulps; I admitted defeat with half a glass still to go. Whichever way you look at it, it's now clear to me that wizarding dentists must be pretty gifted. But when it's tasty, who cares?

Of course, this is only the tip of the iceberg as far as fictional food goes. While there have been attempts to bring to life lots of other Harry Potter sweets and a few Willy Wonka confections, our ability to create the sweets we imagine remains limited. I'm still waiting for the day that someone figures out how to make me a butter pie, a Diana Wynne Jones creation from A Tale Of Time City (cold on the outside, hot and melty and butterscotchy on the inside). And while James has had a bottle of Romulan ale on his desk for a while now, it doesn't have quite the advertised effects of the real thing.

So there you have it: butterbeer exists, and it's coming over here, but what other imaginary foodstuff are you holding out for?