Rowany Festival AS L AGM and Rankings

My Dear and Fellow Brewers, Greetings!

This year’s Guild Annual General Meeting was held on the Friday of Rowany Festival, being the Feast of St Dismas the Good Thief in AS L.  The sole matter of formal business conducted was the election of a new Guild Clerk, Master Rurik having served for long enough as to feel that it was time for another to serve the Guild in this fashion.  For the post were nominated Baron Angus and myself; Padraig, Lord of the Pelican.  The Guildmembers present chose to select me for this role, for which I can only give my humble thanks again.  I also thank Master Rurik for his excellent work in building the Guild up to where it currently stands, and Baron Angus for also volunteering to stand for this post.

After this was done, I explained to all present who might not know the structure of voluntary rankings used in the Guild, and demonstrated how one might go about applying for rank within the guild.  This demonstration was to qualify myself as a Journeyman in the Guild, and thus I am proud to announce that I am also now noted as a Journeyman on the rolls of the Guild.

Once this demonstration was done, I was summoned to tourney; I had already girded myself for combat and thus moved off to joyful combat.  As for the informal tasting session that followed, I have some papers, but there was not the standardised responses in the Canterbury Style we have come to expect from or Fellows in Southron Gaard.  I am therefore desolate in that I cannot give a full report of the guild tastings, but I can say that Sorcha’s spirituous infusion was much admired, that Stephanos’ Sahti was rated as wonderfully savoury and that Thorgrim’s cider was refreshing and cleansed the palette well.

It is therefore clear that a move to the Canterbury Style of running a guild tasting is to be encouraged at the divers meetings of the Guild. To that end I have asked Rohesia, Journeywoman of the Guild, write instructions on the method of conducting a meeting in the Canterbury Style, to standardise practise throughout Lochac and to make sure that the efforts of all who Practice the Mysteries of our Craft may be noted in their good works.

In Cerevisio Felicitas,

Padraig, Clerk

Rowany Festival AS L Brewing Competition Results

Collegial Greetings to you All!

At Rowany Festival last, held during the reign of Gilbert and Bethony, a Competition on Small Brews Without Hops was held; Rohesia, a Journeywoman of the Guild, called this competition “Bring Out Your Smalls.”  This competition was held on St Garbhan’s day, simultaneous with the Laurel Prize Tourney, an arrangement which worked satisfactorily and which I hope to use again.

Indeed, smalls were brought out and presented, four of them in fact.  Guildmaster Drake presented a small ale, as did Giles, Lord of the Pelican; Lady Rosalind Beaufort presented a recipe from Digby, being “Hydromel as I made it weak for the Queen Mother,” while I submitted an entry of my own, also from Digby, being “Sir William Paston’s Meathe.”

The competition was well contended, and the results are as follows.  The victrix of the competition was Lady Rosalind, with myself and Guildmaster Drake tying for second and Lord Giles coming in a close third.  The prize presented to Lady Rosalind, being an unpierced mash paddle one yard long, was generously donated by the Brewers and Mercers at the Inn at the Sign of the Stone Dog.

Here ends the report of the competition; please be certain to remember that

In Cerevisio Felicitas.

Padraig, Clerk

New Compleat Anachronist on Medieval Brewing

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