Beer
Beer, to the dwarves, is more than just a staple drink; it is a way of life. A love of beer is at the heart of their very culture, flowing as steadily as molten metal through the veins of their great forges. Nothing unites them like a tankard of foaming liquid gold, raised in high cheer. In their deep mountain halls, echoing with the rhythm of hammer and song, beer is both companion and catalyst; fuel for laughter, solace for sorrow, and the mortar between the stones of clan and kin...
“Now, what'll you drink, dear travellers? I highly recommend the beer; humans may sip their wines and the elves toy with their meads, but nothing compares to the brew that roars like a forge and sits in the belly like gold in the vaults. Never will you taste something more magical than the shimmer of crystals and deep, iron-rich bitterness of dwarven ale.”
Origin
Legend says it was the goddess Velterra who gifted the dwarves the magic of fermentation in return for their devotion. When Omen, their creator, waged war upon the world, their halls trembled and discourse was sown. Should they side with their creator, God of Land, but who defied all values they now stood for? Or be loyal to the Land from which they were hewn, and all its peaceful bounty? Velterra, a minor goddess Goddess of Grain and Stone, was steadfast in her loyalty to Esvelen, divine Creator of all, and the natural order and cycles of the Land. In their time of need, Velterra protected the dwarves from the wrath Omen, furious that his people should betray them. To demonstrate their devotion and thanks, the dwarves forged from mithril and silver a crown for her, and in return she gifted them one of the greatest secrets of the grain; the magic of fermentation.
Types of Dwarven Beer
There are many different types of beer, especially considering the many variables in the production process. Every clan over the years has developed their own signature style and preference, and defend it proudly. However, these beers can for the most part be divided into common categories. The main two types of dwarven beer are ale and larger, although ale is the general preference. The main difference between these two types are the tempreture of the fermentation process. Lagers are generally cleaner and crisper, fermented for longer at cool tempretures. Often, brewers have some form of built in ventilation or cooling system, employing channels of ice water in the floors and walls of brewing chambers to ensure the perfect temperature. In comparison, ale requires a warmer temperature, roaring fireplaces or lava channels employed to achieve the required warmth in their cool halls.
Common ales
Pale Ale
Pale ale is one of the most common dwarven beers, especially due to popularity in human kingdoms, making it one of Kendohr's main exports and a large source of trade. As a lighter ale, it is traditionally the first drink served at any dwarven event, occasion or banquet, served to guests as soon as they step over threshold (it is considered great disrespect not to offer your guests a drink upon arrival). It is cool and refreshing, perfect after a long day working in the mines and to soften the edge of a growling dwarven stomach, although is usually a stepping stone before the harder stuff comes out. As the name suggests, this ale is a pale gold, and commonly shimmers with infused quartz from the mashing process. Rarely is anything added to a pale ale, known for its crisp simplicity. One clan which specialises in pale ale is the Hammerlight Clan, the popularity of their signature product reaching beyond borders; a favourite of human taverns, mostly due to its accessibility compared to the heartier brews dwarves are renowned for.
Brown Ale
Another common beer, slightly darker and heavier than pale ale, is brown ale. This is the favoured mealtime beer of many clans, not as lightweight as pale ale, but easier on the throat than some of the heavier stuff. This is served commonly alongside feasts and banquets, as its toasted, earthy tones complement the hearty flavours of roasted meat and rich stews quite perfectly. This is an ale complemented well by cave mosses and herbs, said to taste like the mountains heart. Smooth and mellow, it leaves a lingering taste of cool stone and petrichor, like water trickling over ancient rock.
Stout
This is the darkest of dwarven ales, a gold so dark it resembles the blackstone in which its brewed. This hearty ale is favourite comfort beer, a common choice dwarven men as an post-shift pint or a quiet night by a roaring hearth after long days in the mines, as dark and profound as the tunnels in which they delve. The Durhzagar mushroom (or 'Shadowspore' in the common tongue) is a common additive, known for its deep, umami flavour, faint mineral glow, and smoky undertone reminiscent of ancient forges. The beer is fiery and one of the strongest beers brewed, favoured for its comforting heaviness, said to sit in ones stomach like boulders in a mine. It is an ale favoured by the Darkforge Clan, their take renowed for its lava-like warmth.
Common lagers
Amber Lager
Amber lager is of similar tone and depth to brown ale, but in contrast to the hearty, earthy tones of brown ale, amber lager is much cleaner and crisper. Its amber colour and warm undertones are reminiscent of glowing forges: light fiery. This is the classic everyday pint, easy to drink and served generously in taverns and social gatherings. Not being too strong, dwarves are known to guzzle gallons of the stuff. When this beer flows generously, it isn't long before dwarves will burst into song or merry dance, tankards sloshing and beards dripping the liquid gold. If you were to imagine dwarven beer, a pint of frothy amber larger is likely the first image to surface in your mind. Usually additives are avoided in favour of its clean crispness, but clans like the Shimmerdeep Clan are renowned for their crystal-infused variety, which shimmers magically and flows down the throat like a tinkling waterfall.
Dark Lager
Dark lager is another common drinking beer, the preferred choice for more seasoned drinkers or later in the night. It is a dark treacle brown in colour, but retains the smooth crispness of amber lager: lighter than stout but robust enough to put steel in your spine and lava in your veins. Clan Shadowvein's dark larger is brewed in deep caverns, as black and shimmering as the veins of obsidian that weave through their ancestral halls. Again, additives are uncommon, but the Rusthammer Clan have made their mark infusing iron oxide for a strong, metallic kick that strengthens the blood.
Bock
This lager is reserved purely for ceremonial and celebratory purposes. After a victory on the battlefield, or to toast the opening of a new clan forge, a keg of bock fermented for centuries may be cracked open, and a prayer to Velterra spoken over it before any sip is taken. It is the drink of honour and achievement, served in ornate silver tankards engraved with clan symbols and mythic runes. Its flows like spilled ink, smooth and darker than any coal or obsidian, a black so deep it seems to hold the secrets of the earth itself. It is bitter, and yet strangely comforting, leaving the residual warmth of the last dying forge-coals at the back of your throat. It is brewed only by Kendohr's oldest clan, the Hearthstone clan, a lineage of famed kings and mighty warriors, by master brewers, the secret of its crafting passed down for centuries in shadowed whispers. Every brewer, upon learning the secret of its crafting, must swear an oath of silence, never to share this sacred truth with another living soul beyond the brewery's walls.
Politics and Clashing Cultures
As mentioned, there is much tension between the surface dwelling and cave dwelling dwarves. The cave dwellers are very much traditionalists. They are highly religious- while they don't serve Omen, they are devote to Velterra and the other minor gods of earth and stone. Used to their ceilings of stone and small, dark mineshafts, it is no wonder that they should be nervous to step above ground, many having never even seen the sun or felt its warmth upon their backs. As a superstitious folk, they are distrustful of the surface dwellers, not just due to their shunning of tradition and culture, but also due to their slight fear of falling into the sky... (many fear concept of gravity is merely mythical propaganda: they dare not leave their halls of stone incase they tumble skywards into the void above).
On the other hand, surface dwellers are adventurous and free-spirit folk, most of them having migrated from their underground halls, away from oppressive religion and traditions, in favour of mountain air and warm sunlight. But, one thing all dwarves share is a profound love for beer. While cave dwellers may scoff and scorn at the brewing methods and preferences of surface dwelling folk, after a few rounds any qualms are forgotten, and soon, whether in halls of stone or taverns of wood and thatch, the air will be ringing with the sound of joyous laughter and mirthful song. When the beer flows free, no grudge lingers long in dwarven hearts.
One surface-settlement takes this love of beer to another level. Such is their devotion to product and craft that they devised an ingenious plumbing system: not only do they have taps for hot and cold water, rare enough as it is, but also a third tap especially for beer. Separated by a swift river, this settlement is technically two towns, which the locals will proudly and standoffishly remind you. Their people are wary of each other, quick to judge and quicker to blame. But spanning the divide is a large stone bridge, lined by shops and stalls, and at its centre a tavern proudly stands. There is a door on either side, and here, prejudice and pride is forgotten, the people of Hippington and Axington united as one on neutral ground. It built as a symbol of peace and new alliance, and became known as the Truce of Tavern-Bridge, its construction marking the end of a violent feud between the towns. Here, in the warm glow of firelight, old grudges fade and laughter flows as freely as the ale, proving once more beer builds bridges even where suspicion once stood.
(all article images created using Chatgpt. Header from unsplash.com)
The Brewing Process
The brewing process is one dwarves take extremely seriously. Over centuries, if not millennia, dwarven clans have fine-tuned the art, using precise and specific tools and processes to ensure the best end product possible. These secrets are well guarded, passed down for generations, making dwarven beer truly unique. Different clans have strong views on the perfect way to make beer, and each have developed their own signature style with a unique combination of stones and ingredients infused in their process. But, general process of beermaking no matter the clan remains similar, following six main steps, from field to market.
1. Malting
Dwarven grain is unlike any grain found elsewhere on the continent. Unlike the humans who use wheat, dwarven grain is more similar to barley. However, it grows where no surface-growing plant would ever delve its roots, deep underground in huge caverns hewn by the dwarves. It does not need sunlight, growing in light of softly glowing crystals, and needs not soil but draws its nutrients straight from the stone of the mountain. Once grown, it is harvested and taken to the brewery, where it is soaked in mineral-rich water pumped from deep underground lakes. Then, it is slowly roasted in special furnaces to form the necessary malt.
2. Mashing
Firstly, the malt is crushed in huge stone mill, the rollers cranked by hand by the brewers. Then, rather than the traditional steel mash tuns employed by the humans, dwarven brewers mix the malt with water in mash turns carved straight from the stone. Depending on type of stone, it can have a significant affect on the taste of the final beer. Common choices are obsidian, known to produce a dark, bitter ale, granite, known for its clean, clear taste, or even basalt, known for its fiery warmth. Often these tuns are carved with magic runes said to ensure even heating and prevent scorching. Dwarves also mix the liquid with ancestral paddles, said to be blessed by the goddess Velterra herself.
3. Boiling
The mixture is then brought to a rolling boil, and any special ingredients are added to infuse for the next hour before straining. There is much discourse around the practice of incorporating additives, with many believing any additions spoil the natural purity of the beer. However, some believe that certain ingredients not only enhance the flavour of the beer, but also tie it to the very spirit of the mountain. Common additions are ingredients like ground crystals, said to make the beer shimmer with magic, rare cave mosses and lichen known to infuse ales with earthy, comforting tones, and mineral salts renowned for the clear, fresh edge they give to rich beers. Surface dwellers more often use spices like cinnamon or ginger, known for the fiery kick they produce, but if crystals and cave moss was considered controversial, this practice is considered downright archaic. Dwarven beer is as sacred as their mountain kingdoms themselves, and represent the harmony between them and the stone in which they delve. To spoil the elixir of their alliance, to misuse their practice and secrets in such a way, is viewed by many as a disgrace to Velterra herself.
5. Fermentation
Fermentation is where the true magic happens, the secret of this magic as old as the mountains themselves: no one, not even the master dwarven brewers truly understand this process. Once the mixture has been cooled and strained, brewers add the final, mythical ingredient. The dwarves call it 'Azkuhr', which translates in the common tongue to 'Awakener', but to humans it is known as 'yeast'. Somehow this magical, living power transforms the sweet liquid into a bubbling golden elixir, brought to life by the spirit of the mountain. Within vessels of stone, the liquid ferments, transforming and evolving at Velterra's command. These stone vessels are usually made of slate or granite and carved with runes around the lids, said to seal them from air and evil spirits alike. For special occasions, saved for coronations and royal weddings, brewers may use ornate quartz or marble vessels, said to sparkle with the magic the ancient ones.
6. Conditioning & Bottling
Within their stone vessels, most beers are fermented for 5 to 10 years (dwarves scoff in distate and the rushed two weeks of human brewers) to ensure the deep and hearty quality dwarven beers are renowed for. But royal beers in their marble vessels are brewed for far longer, often times for decades if not centuries. The oldest beer to ever be tasted was fermented for over a millennia, and it was said one drop of this elixir would stir the heart of the mountain itself. Then, the beer is poured from the brewing vessels into wooden barrels from taps in their base for ease of transport and vending. Sometimes, the beer is left to age further to absorb the woody tannins of these barrels, but this is a practice usually employed by human vendor: it isn't to dwarven taste.
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