Do you ever think about how much Butterbeer is in the Potter series?

From Butterbeer to Fire Whiskey, it seemed like the kids at Hogwarts were always drinking. So what is the deal with the drinking age in the wizarding world?

Reading the books as a kid, I never thought about Butterbeer and Fire Whiskey being alcoholic. As an adult, I’m struck by how much these kids actually drank. When you stop to think about it, everyone in the series drank.

From Slughorn’s party to them going to the Three Broomsticks or the Leaky Cauldron, that seems to be anything anyone did. Which is weird because these are, at the bases of the book, children we are reading about.

It’s strange that it never rang a bell that they were drinking alcohol. To be honest, it wasn’t until I went to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter that I realized that Fire Whiskey was, in fact, whiskey. (It’s just Fireball really but still.)

Maybe it is because I’m an American and, to us, we wait until we’re 21 to drink. So the idea that these kids are drinking baffles me. But in European countries, it isn’t as weird. Honestly, who knows, but it is a shock when you finally realize what your favorite characters are drinking.

Is that why half the time their ideas are absolutely insane? Maybe. They do go and have meetings while they’re drinking and then Dumbledore’s Army is formed. Who knows but still, it is crazy to stop and think about what, exactly, our favorites were drinking.

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Did you know that they were alcoholic? Or were you like me and figure they were just weird names for normal drinks? Sound off in the comments below and let me know what you thought Butterbeer and Fire Whiskey were while you read the series as a kid!