Brew Wages
Come on, this is a hundred-year-old vintage, it's worth more than what you're offering me. - Dwarf MinerAfter the Awakening, the Dwarven Mountain Kingdoms became highly unstable as traditional coinage became unreliable, with disaster leaving their kingdoms in ruin. Mines collapsed, treasuries were buried, and trade routes were shattered. In the aftermath, the Dwarves turned to something far more stable, controlled, and culturally sacred: alcohol. Thus, Brew Wages emerged, a regulated, state-backed alcohol currency used across the Mountain Kingdoms. Brewed, sealed, aged, and taxed by the Holds, Brew Wages became both a trade medium and a symbol of Dwarven resilience.
Forms of Brew Wages
Brew-Seals: The primary currency of brew wages with small, rune-sealed ceramic flasks standardized by the Holds. Each flask bears a clan forge-mark, the brew year when the alcohol was made, and a proof rune that verifies its authenticity. Breaking the seal voids its value unless you’re desperate for a drink or for a deal of some kind. Barrel Bonds: Large sealed barrels stored in hold vaults for safekeeping from theft or unforeseen destruction. Engraved stone tokens represent them, and only a Brew Hall can redeem them. The merchant and noble castes use the Brew Hall, and it is rarely moved physically. Living Brew: Illegal but revered, unsealed, evolving alcohols that continue fermenting, making it extremely valuable and dangerous to transport due to flambitly and because of being taboo to use as currency, and can be legal to drink if you survive the strength of the brew, but it is often used in black-market deals and blood pacts instead.History
Why Alcohol?
Brew wages work as currency because they are universally valued among Dwarves, making it nearly impossible to counterfeit, as recipes are clan-guarded and vary across the caste system and kingdoms. Brews that are age-enhanced become more valuable as they age and are highly durable when properly sealed, making them last for centuries or even longer. This has made it useful even if markets collapse, as alcohol is the true achievement the Dwarves have ever produced, even more so than precious metals or gems. A Dwarf with Brew Wages is never poor, only temporarily sober in their fortune. So long as they don't drink it, all their finances will be secured till the mountains themselves crumble underneath them.Minting & Regulation
The Brew Council governs Brew Wages and goes through a complex system to keep it running as much as possible. They are responsible for approving recipes for new types of brews and assigning brew years to determine their overall value. Each brew has a specific rune seal on its container that is carefully inspected to ensure that it is authentic and is not a forgery, to prevent any alteration of its value. Committing forgery with a brew wage is punished by beard branding, shame, and exile as a true Dwarf would try tampering with the true value of good liquor. There is also the Declaration of “vintage edicts”, economic policies that on how brew wages can be used and regulated to avoid any loopholes and destabilizing the fortunes of the kingdoms.Significance
Since alcohol is at the foundations of Dwarf society, it makes all the more sense to be used as a currency to pay for things. It is often seen as a mark of trust to those offering such a thing as payment, and to refuse a brew in payment is an insult upon the one bestowing the brew to make a payment. It is also used as a means to pay workers and soldiers when regular currency is not available. Allowing it to be heavily sustainable in its use in Dwarven society at any time.
Item type
Currency & Deeds
Rarity
Only inside Dwarven territories
Standard Exchange
Sip/One Shot: Minor purchases Mug/One Pint: Daily wages Cask Mark/One Gallon : Trade contracts Vault Cask/Plus Ten Gallons: Fortunes, dowriesMajor Currency Types
Gold can be stolen. Brew Wages must be earned. - Dwarven ProverbDifferent brews hold different values that can greatly affect the purchasing power; they can be categorized just on how much effort can be put into them. Mushfoam Ale: A Standard brew that is the backbone of daily trade across the kingdoms. Embermalt: A high brew that is made near volcanic vents to purify it for a stronger taste. Deepdark Stout: A very potent brew that is aged in underground caverns in The Deep. Icespirit Liquor: An extreme distilled drink that is made during the coldest winter season to add a kick to it with its rare ingredients. King’s Reserve: A Legendary brew that is never spent, only inherited by those of the noblest of bloodlines.
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