To make a cool, delicious summer classic, you need a little magic.

The beverage was originally dreamed up in Scotland.  The idea was to combine the cool bubbly refreshment of an ale with the creamy smoothness of milk.  Sort of a cross between a sweet pilsner and a milkshake.  But, since the brew was intended to be an all-family, mainstream concoction, it couldn’t contain either alcohol or lactose.

The challenge of actually creating it fell to Executive Chef Steven Jayson in Florida.  He traveled to the Hogs Head Pub in Edinburgh, for some critical input and inspiration.  Then it was back to his kitchen in Florida, where he got to work.  He struggled for several months, and made 16 different attempts, before he realized that the drink had to be constructed in two layers.  The bottom is a slightly thickened mixture which tastes like a combination of butterscotch, cream soda and shortbread cookies.  The top is like marshmallow fluff, only lighter and fluffier.

Once the he’d cracked that code, Jayson made numerous slight recipe variations and tested them among a panel in Florida, and at the bar in Edinburgh.  One of the recipes was unanimously approved.  From there, Jayson needed to figure out how to produce the brew at high volume for public sale.  And then just pray for a successful launch.

He needn’t have worried.  When it went on sale in Florida in the summer of 2010, it was a smash hit.  Lines formed at the counter, trailed out the door, and around the corner.  It became one of the most noteworthy new product launches in recent memory.   Over a million pints have been sold since.

If you want to try it, you can only get it in one place: Three Broomsticks Pub, Hogsmeade, Orlando.  That’s right, the magical brew is Butterbeer, that heavenly concoction enjoyed by Harry Potter and generations of Witches and Wizards.  And now Muggles like us can enjoy it too, at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios.   No trip to Orlando this summer is complete without enjoying a pint.

(And – if you have no plans to go and can’t apparate to Orlando – there’s still lots of wizarding fun to be had this weekend.  The final movie installment of Harry Potter hits theaters today.)

Cheers!