Unto the Brewers, Vintners, and Imbibers Guild does Clerk Bjorn send Summer Greetings!
I hope that the festivities of the past month have been good to you. I would like to take this opportunity to reflect on good times of the past year and look to aspirations of the future.
RETROSPECTIVE
At Rowany Festival last we did again hold the Annual Meeting of the Guild, at which I was appointed Clerk. The Competition Something Red was run by Paidrag, then Journeyman, now Craftsman of the Guild. There were numerous entries, with Master Ianto’s Diemen Drink taking the lead, winning a mash paddle gifted by Craftsman Padraig. Master Ianto, being not a brewer of grain, generously passed it on to the runner up Lady Isolda Daye.
There was a Guild Meeting at Southron Gaard Yule at the end of June.
For Intercollege War in July, I called for entries for a Short Mead competition. All brews were to contain fermented honey, and be brewed within 6 months of the competition. Unfortunately there were no entrants, though there were a good dozen people present for the Tasting. The meeting served as a good opportunity for a few newer brewers to have their brews assessed, and many to partake in the delight of assessing such libations and discussing their qualities. I also ran a basic class on brewing mead, which was well attended.
The Guilded Symposium, held in August, was an event to bring together the various guilds of Lochac to share their various Arts with one another. I was unfortunately unable to attend due to personal commitments, but Master Iames Douglas represented the Guild and presented a couple of classes to share the Noble Art.
For Spring War in October, I sponsored a SMaSH Beer competition. Entries were to be brewed with a single base malt and a single hop variety, with as many additions as desired. Lord AElfred se Leof was the winner of the competition, having made all from the same base a Strong Ale, Small Ale, and a Strong Ale with lower carbonation levels emulating what ales may have been more like in period. Lord AElfred received a large mash paddle made by mine own hand with the badge of the guild etched in fire upon its handle. We also had a tasting beyond the competition that went on for a good couple of hours, discussing the various particulars of the Noble Art with new and experienced brewers alike.
At Fields of Gold, Master Iames Douglas set up a bar for Members of the Guild to share their Noble Art with the Populace. Master Iames along with, Lady Isolde and Lord Wintherus contributed to the bar, and Norman Douglasson also assisted with service. There were 4 very different beers, a mead, hyppocras, walnut liquor and a variety of cordials provided for the enjoyment of the populace. Master Iames Douglas was appointed “Brewer to the Crown” for his Art and Service.
RANKINGS
The Guild exists to encourage and celebrate the Art of crafting and appreciating libations, and to bring together into fraternity and community those of us interested in sharing in that Art with one another.
In that Art, we develop skills in the merit of beverages by their palatability and historicity, as well as understandings of the history of the Art itself, sharing the knowledges of these things, and serving the guild that the Art may be furthered and its merits and delights be spread to those others that it might benefit. We pursue these virtues and celebrate them in each other, and the Rankings of the Guild give a scaffold for that pursuit.
At Fields of Gold, Lady Isolda Daye achieved the rank of Apprentice, with a brew made by her hand having been found Drinkable by the witness of Master Iames Douglas, and Apprentice Rosalind Beaufort.
I would like to congratulate the following Members for their new Rankings this year.
Craftsman Padraig Lowther
Apprentice Bjorn Bassason
Apprentice Otillia Simion
Apprentice Isolda Daye
The current Ranked Membership is listed on the website.
I have seen more than one instance of confusion with Rankings this past year. I will discuss some discrepancies in our documentation below, but here I would simply like to highlight the utility of getting your paperwork sorted at each and every Guild competition and meeting.
If you are presenting a brew, I encourage you to have it tasted by Members of the appropriate Rank corresponding to your next Rank, and if it is found of sufficient quality have that section of your paperwork filled out then and there. Then digitise that form as soon as is convenient. Take it home or scan it, or even take it aside at the event and take a photo.
Don’t wait until you have submitted enough brews at enough events to start filling out the paperwork. If you submit a Journeyman Ranking on three different slips of paper, for example, I will most certainly still accept it.
I still intend to have copies of Ranking paperwork available at every event I attend. Please do not be shy!
UPCOMING EVENTS
Competition
Rhythm & Brews | 8th Feb | Barony of Mordenvale
Popular acclaim
The traditional brewing competition of Rhythm & Brews is by popular acclaim.
There is an alcoholic and non-alcoholic category.
Meeting
Canterbury Faire | 20 Jan | Barony of Southron Gaard
Meeting & Competition
Rowany Festival | 16-21 April | Barony of Rowany
“The favourite I keep making”
I hope this will give people a chance to present a recipe they are practiced at, and know how to make well. It does not have to be made specifically for the competition if they already have it available and ready to drink. Do tell us when it was made.
My thanks to Lord Dauid de Cochrane for organising the Guild Meeting at Canterbury Faire. I unfortunately will not be in attendance, but I look forward to hearing how the meeting goes.
At Rowany Festival, we will again hold the Guild’s Annual Meeting. I will call for nominations for Clerk a month in advance.
ROWANY FESTIVAL
Speaking of Rowany Festival, there is some significant enthusiasm for the Guild to take responsibility for the tavern this year. I am wholeheartedly behind this idea and have been fleshing it out some, investigating the particulars with regards to legal requirements, responsible practices, and logistics.
The tavern would not require a license, as it would not sell alcohol. Rather, the Guild would contribute equipment and service to dispense alcohol provided to the Tavern. Service would be conducted by volunteers with current RSA, following responsible practices with due regard to the principles outlined in the Liquor Act.
A detailed proposal is available here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BrDreavMsaFRzaPFzIREQtiIpB35UPw8dHlvfv29mfE/edit?usp=sharing
I invite members of the Guild to review it and contribute constructive feedback. Included in this proposal is ideas for fundraising to support this endeavour, in a similar vein as the Banco don Julio’s support of The Potable-Adventurers Companie. See https://webcentre.co.nz/kk/banco.htm#gsc.tab=0
I will be personally quite content to fill up my kegs, hang out with a couple of friends at the bar in the evenings and pour beers for the populace from my couple of pluto gun taps and that be the extent of this endeavour. If more people were to get involved, however, it would make for a grand addition to the community at Rowany Festival.
If you have an RSA and would be willing to serve during the event, please let me know.
If you have equipment that you would be willing to lend the Guild for the event, especially if you are in NSW/ACT, please let me know
If you would like to brew something for the tavern, please let me know what kegs you have. I currently have ball lock disconnects and an A-Type Coupler, but we may be able to source other equipment.
If you have kegs you’d be willing to lend, but mightn’t have time/capacity to brew OR if you would be willing to brew something, but don’t have kegs, please let me know.
So far I’ve had offers from a half dozen brewers to contribute brews for the occasion, so I’m optimistic.
I have contacted the Stewards about the prospect of the Guild taking responsibility for the Tavern and am awaiting their response.
ADMINISTRATION
There are a few items to raise as concerns the administration of the guild. These will be items of business at the General Meeting at Rowany Festival, but
1. Journeyman brewing standard
There is a discrepancy between the descriptor used in the Ranking system documentation, and the Ranking form for the standard of beverage to be submitted for Journeyman Ranking. The Ranking system has “brewed to a high standard”, whereas the form has “palatable”. Consider that Apprentice Rank requires a submitted beverage to be “drinkable”, and Craftsman Rank requires submitted beverages to be “of particular merit”. Consider also this passage on the Rankings webpage:
“The level of skill expected for each rank is roughly that of the medieval guilds where an Apprentice is a beginner showing potential and interest, a Journeyman is someone who knows the trade well enough to potentially earn a living, and a Craftsman is sufficiently skilled to excel in the trade and to teach others. Those judging for rank advancement should keep these levels in mind.”
I am minded to amend the form to conform to the Ranking system as currently rendered (i.e. “to a high standard”), but I would like to hear if any members of the Guild have thoughts either way.
2. Brew judging
There is also an inclusion in that same form that allows for Journeyman Rankings to be judged by Laurels in the course of a Kingdom Arts & Sciences Competition. This is not presently reflected in the Ranking system. Mistress Rohesia has clarified that the addition was an attempt to remedy the lack of Ranking advancement in the Guild. It seems that the addition was never ratified. That is an easy fix, but I have reservations about this measure as a balanced solution.
My thoughts on the matter are extensive, so I will write on it separately. This missive is already very long.
3. Other considerations for Journeymen
Master James Douglas has put to me a suggestion of the inclusion of Service to the Guild as a component of Journeyman Ranking. JD has suggested that such a component, being supporting the guild by organising events or tastings, or by holding Office in the Guild, might be added as an optional alternative to one of the brews being made to a period recipe. Looking through the archives of the Mailing List, Mistress Rohesia some 10.5 years ago proposed that Journeyman Ranking, in addition to the current requirements, require the Member to have “either organised a workshop or competition, taught a class or published an article on brewing.”
I find the inclusion of service in this manner to be appealing, considering the effect of further facilitating the proliferation of such occasions as the fraternity of brewers, for which the Guild doth exist, may coalesce. I can see an obvious reservation that some might have to having such a component be an optional replacement for period brewing. A fundament of the Guild is not merely any kind of brewing, but explicitly that of Medieval and Renaissance periods. I for one am a strong supporter of many good things across the vast spectrum of historical authenticity, but as a Guild of the Society perhaps it is of import to elevate period brewing in this manner.
What do you think?
I would ask the Guild to proceed in deliberation of these matters and any other that concern the Ordinances of the Guild in advance of the General Meeting so as to avoid packing out the meeting with discussion that can easily become lengthy and abstract. If you have any thoughts on these matters, or any other considerations you would like the Guild to consider in advance of the General meeting, it may behove you to start a new thread, whether on the mailing list or FB group, considering the length of this missive.
For now, I remain your loyal servant. Of the season gone and the relaxed nature that many in these lands take to much of this month, I wish you all merry tidings. May you be surrounded by peace and enjoy the fruits of the Noble Art in good company.
Yours in Service to the Lochac Brewers, Vintners, and Imbibers Guild of Lochac
ᛓᛁᚭᚱᚿᛓᛁᛆᚱᚿᚢᛚᛧᛓᛆᛌᛆᛌᚭᚿᚢᚱᛓᛁᛆᚱᚿᚢᛁᚢ
Virðuligr Drottin Bjorn Bjarnylr Bassason ór Bjarneyu
Clerk