The Assignment

Writers: AmajoS, Yvonne
Date Posted: 16th May 2019

Characters: Gallid, Tou
Description: An important assignment gives an apprentice the chance to shine.
Location: Vintner Hall
Date: month 10, day 7 of Turn 9

"And so to recap, for those who might not have been paying
attention..." Journeyman Tou paused for effect, "This is a major test,
gentlemen, but more than that, it is a chance to hone your skill _and_
flex your creativity. Anyone can brew bad beer but a Brewmaster's beer
is best for a reason, and that reason is rigor and practice. Your
batch of beer will be judged not only on how it tastes, but how well
you document the steps and demonstrate your craft. You will be
responsible for sourcing the appropriate amount of barley, malt, water
and yeast. For hops I'd recommend East Agate or Emerald Valley, but
it's up to you. Choice of adjuncts is also up to you: rye or wheat,
the varietal is up to you but make sure you document the amount and
explain your choice when you turn in your notebook. The final batch
must be bottled and ready to taste by when?"

"Five sevendays," the apprentices droned dutifully.

"Correct! Five sevendays from today and not a day later than that, so
I would strongly advise you to decide on your recipe, gather your
ingredients and start cooking your mash within the next two days. Sign
up for your time in the kitchen today so that you're not scrambling to
find a kettle and fermentor at the last moment. Any questions?"

Gallid glanced around the room, wondering if anyone was going to ask a
question. He was eager to get started. He had a recipe in mind, one
his grandfather had told him about once and he thought that it would
be just the thing. He didn't want to make the same old boring beer
everyone else was going to be making and that the Journeyman had
tasted time and again. He was nearly old enough to advance to Senior
Apprentice and his grades were nearly good enough as well. If he did
well on this project, it might put him over the top.

"Can we get our ingredients from _anywhere_?" one of the other
apprentices asked.

Journeyman Tou nodded. "Use the best you can get. And take good notes.
Anyone else?" He paused for a heartbeat. "If something occurs to you
later, seek me out and ask. Otherwise, you're free to get started."

Gallid gathered up his things and headed toward the door, along with
most of his classmates. On the way to the door, he paused, a thought
occurring to him. He looked over to where Jouneyman Tou was gathering
his own things, and changed direction.

"Journeyman? I was wondering, could we make two versions of the same
recipe? Like, follow a recipe exactly and then do it again with a
twist? And bring both for comparison?"

Tou smiled. "Absolutely!" He couldn't say no to initiative. Far too
few apprentices showed it. "My advice would be to do your cooking
stages at the same time to help control for other variables. And make
sure that you have the time for it. What were you thinking?"

"There's a family recipe I want to try, but I also think it might be
good with some citrus, so I was thinking of adding orange rinds."
Well, he thought it would either be really good or really bad. But
that's what experimenting was all about wasn't it?

Citrus beers were difficult, but Tou didn't want to discourage Gallid.
"I think that's a great idea. Fresh or dried?"

"Would I be able to get fresh this time of year?" He thought fresh
would make a stronger flavor, but it was just the beginning of Spring
and he was just an apprentice.

"Maybe, depends on what the kitchens might have. Sometimes they get in
a crate of citrus from elsewhere on the continent." Tou shrugged, then
leaned in a bit. "Citrus beers can be tricky, which is why we usually
cover them with the Senior Apprentices. My advice to you is to pay
attention to balancing your acids and sugars as well as adding the
citrus. I'd also suggest adding the peels instead of a juice or
concentrate since you'll find the juices will ferment along with the
beer-- if you can find fresh citrus, that is. Dried citrus peel works
just as well as fresh. But it's up to you-- and your family recipe."
He smiled. "I look forward to trying it."

Gallid nodded, glad for the advice. He'd been planning on using the
peel, but he would try to get fresh now. Plus, he hadn't thought about
needing to balance the acid.

"Thank you, journeyman!"

"You're welcome." Tou suppressed his smile until Gallid left the room.
Trust him to be the one to take the initiative, and to try something
new. **That kid's going somewhere,** he thought as he tucked his notes
under his arm. **I'll look forward to his brew.**

Last updated on the May 17th 2019

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The Assignment