Rowany Festival AGM, Competition and Tastings

My Dear and Fellow Brewers, Greetings!

Firstly, I apologise for the delay in this missive, as I have been distracted by the press of business at my estate.

Item, at Rowany Festival recent was held the Guild’s Annual General Meeting, where the sole order of business was the election of the Guild Clerk.  I am pleased to say that the Guild now has a new Clerk in James Douglass, Baron of the Court of Lochac and Master of the Pelican.

Item, after the election was held the tastings for the Guild competition for Rowany Festival, being for a gruit.  As the sole entrant, I appear to have “won” this competition.  As victor, I would like to announce that the competition for next Festival shall be for a dark ale or beer, to whatever recipe or redaction the entrant favours so long as it come from grain.

Item, after the Competition came the open Tastings.  The meeting attendance varied over the course of the meeting, due to the press of other business at Festival for many, thus some of the most-approved beverages in each section had 11 plusses, others 8.  Recorded attendees were: Padraig, Rosalind, Mont Joye, Constantine, Yast, Bjorn B, Henecoc, Ianto, Al’Attar, Tim, Bjorn P, James, Maximillian and Sigvaldr.  The beverages presented  were as follows:
Ales and beers: Padraig’s rosemary gruit, James’s Stout, Henecoc’s kit honey wheat beer, Bjorn P’s buckwheat scotch heavy, Henecoc’s kit ginger beer.  The most approved was Henecoc’s kit honey wheat beer, followed by James’s stout.
Wines and ciders: Rosalind’s cider, Bjorn B’s perry, Ianto’s elderflower, Bjorn B’s plum wine, Al’Attar’s Bloody Mary Brew, Bjorn B’s beetroot wine, Padraig’s Cider water, Ianto’s 16 yr old kit Cab Sav.  The most approved was a tie, between Ianto’s elderflower and his kit Cab Sav; mention should be made of Bjorn B’s beetroot wine, as the consensus was that it would make an excellent ingredient or base for borscht or other similar stew.
Meads and melomels: Bjorn P’s Casual Profanity, Padraig’s pomegranate and citron melomel, Ianto’s 2015 blackcurrant melomel and Ianto’s 2016 blackcurrant melomel.  The most approved was Bjorn P’s Casual Profanity, underscoring why he is having success with his brews outside of the SCA, followed closely by Padraig’s pomegranate and citron melomel.
Spirits and liqueurs: Kotek’s blackcurrant brandy, Bjorn B’s cherry liqueur and Bjorn B’s butterscotch liqueur.  There was a tie between Kotek’s brandy and Bjorn B’s cherry liqueur for the most approvals.

I would like to thank all the Brewers, Vintners and Imbibers who made my tenure as Clerk such a joy, and look forward to the tenure of James.

Yours in Service,

Padraig, Journeyman of the Guild
At Innilgard on the Feast of St Petronax the Benedictine, Tailtiu and Rowland being Crown.

Rowany Festival AS LI: Guild AGM, Tasting, Competition and New Rankings

My Dear and Fellow Brewers, Greetings!

This past Festival was a busy and eventful one, especially for the Guild.  This missive is to serve as a recitation of the business conducted at Festival, so that all in the Guild may know of these Happenings.

Primus, there was held after the Laurel Prize Tournament the Guild AGM, wherein the only formal piece of business was the election of the Clerk of the Guild for the coming year.  As the only candidate, your humble Author was returned to the Clerkship, for which I can only offer my humble thanks to the Guild for their confidence.

Item, following the Guild AGM was held the Guild tasting, which was run by Rosalind, Apprentice within the Guild, due to an unavoidable scheduling conflict on my part.  The results of this are as follows; the single entry in Fermented Soft Drinks was Rosalind Beaufort, thus she is victorious in this category.  For Beers and Ales, in order of descending approval, there was Stuart the Brewer’s German beer, then Eclen’s ginger beer, then a tie between James Douglas’ red ale and Eclen’s ginger ale, with Bjorn Bassason’s summer beer making up the numbers.  For Wines and Ciders, in order of descending approval, there was a tie for first place between James Douglas’ Yppocras and Rosalind Beaufort’s mead, then Eclen’s sparkling cherry wine, then a tie between Eclen’s blueberry wine and James Douglas’ cider, then Bjorn Bassason’s cider, then Beatrix’s mead, with Bjorn Bassason’s orange wine making up the numbers.  For Meads and Melomels, in order of descending approval, there was Bjorn Purssaspringr’s sack mead, then William Montrose’s Raisin Mead, with my own mustard mead making up the numbers.  For Spirits and their infusions, in order of descending approval, there was Bjorn Bassason’s peach liquor, then Hostilia’s butterscotch liquor, then a tie between Beatrix’s cherry liquor and Bjorn Bassason’s raspberry liquor, with two more liquors, watermelon and lychee, from Bjorn Bassason completing this section.  This Tasting counts for Advancement, and so I commend those who entered to consider their rank within the Guild and their standing in this Tasting. I would note that, similar to the Tastings undertaken at Canterbury Faire, that the press of Time’s Bootheel be on us all, and so Fellows of the Guild should be wary about the number of beverages they submit to the Tasting, especially if they submit several within the same category.

Item, this Festival the Competition was for a Cider containing one ingredient other than Apples, Yeast, Water and Yeast Nutrient if desired.  Victorious in this competition was Wolfgang Germanicus, with William Monrose placing second and my own water-cider bringing up the numbers.  I have asked Wolfgang to nominate the Category for next Festival’s competition, and he wishes it to be Unhopped Ales.  Thus, a brew primarily from malted barley, wheat, spelt or other grain commonly used for the purpose of making beer, that contains no hops but may be flavoured with other ingredients.  I look forward to this next competition, and anticipate a fine variety of gruits.

Item, a member of our Guild has, through diverse efforts, improved their Rank in the Guild.  This is Asbjorn Pederson, who through his efforts is now reckoned a Craftsman by the Guild.  Craftsman Asbjorn is the first of our number to be reckoned as such by the Masters of the Guild, and I commend his knowledge and experience to all who wish to learn of the Mysteries of our Art.

This complete my report, and so I leave you firm in the knowledge that I remain

Padraig Lowther, Clerk of the Guild
At Innilgard, on the Feast of St Winewald,
Ariston and Lilavati being Their Lochacic Majesties

Guild Competitions: Canterbury Faire, Rowany Festival and May Crown in Aneala

My Dear and Fellow Brewers, Greetings.

I write this to remind you of upcoming competitions, some of which have been previously described and one which has been mooted but not described in detail as yet.

Firstly, Canterbury Faire will be upon us in a couple of months, which will include the competition of “Mead plus One.”  The conditions of this competition can be found elsewhere, but in brief all entries are to comprise honey, yeast, one other ingredient attested to in a period source for use in mead and yeast nutrient if deemed necessary.  Entrants from outside of the Crescent Isles are reminded of import restrictions due to biocontamination and quarantine regulations, and to ensure that they have a written testament to the boiling regimen that their entry has undergone.  This competition will count towards guild rankings, and is being organised by Rohesia, Journeywoman of the Guild.

Secondly, there will be held at Rowany Festival a competition in a similar vein as to that run at Canterbury Faire, but with a different source of sugar.  This competition will be on “Cider plus One,” with the conditions being that the brew contain apple juice (pressed yourself, storebought or otherwise is fine), yeast, one other ingredient attested to in a period source for use in cider and yeast nutrient if deemed necessary.  This competition will count towards guild rankings, and will be run myself at Rowany Festival, with further details on the time and place of the judging to come closer to the event.

Thirdly, at May Crown next in Aneala, there will be a competition on Meads and Fruit Wines.  I would encourage all who are able to craft a beverage that will comply with local quarantine restrictions to submit one to Wolfgang, Apprentice of the Guild, who will have more to say as to the mechanics of the competition closer to the event.  This being an official guild competition, it will also count towards guild rankings.

Finally, I would like to wish all entrants in these competitions the best of luck, and to remind folk that we are heading towards stone-fruit season; I look forward to drinking some interesting things done with the produce of the coming months.

If you have questions, feel free to contact me, and know that in the meantime I remain

Padraig, Clerk of the Guild
At Rowany, on the Feast of St Gregory Palamas

Agenda Items for Rowany Festival

If anyone has anything they would like added to the agenda for the Festival meeting, please email them to the Guild Clerk, Rurik before 12th night.