Ale Houses

Ale is commonly consumed by all the so-called civilized mortals of Scarterra including humans, elves, satyrs, gnomes, and dwarves.
Ale is a very common drink in Scarterra for peasants and princes alike. There are wealthy nobles who drink wine and other drinks far more expensive ale and there are peasants who are too poor to drink ale, but ale is generally very common and widespread.

Ale is a basic alcoholic drink made from grains, often but not always barley) and water and a bit of yeast for fermentation. Ale is used for water treatment though it hardly the only way to make use of subpar water.

photo of barley by Peggychoucair

Ale is also of course used recreationally for its inebriating effects. Ale is often nicknamed "liquid bread" and lot of commoners and nobles alike get a lot of their calories from ale.
Ale is frequently made at the kitchen level for a single's family's use, usually made by the lady of the house. Normally it takes a day to make a batch of ale. Ale remains drinkable for up to four days, but common opinion holds that the line between "edible" and "tasty" ale is crossed after about 48 hours.
Scarterran families like to avoid waste. If a household ends up with more ale than they can realistically consume before it goes bad, they will commonly become an ale house, temporarily.
A broom sticking out the top of the door is the universal signal for "Ale for sale!" though some houses use written signs or pictures of ale mugs.
Neighbors and passerbys will knock on the door, and say "I want to buy some ale". Customers take their ale or home or to their place of work rather than consume the ale on the premisis.
If a household gains a reputation for making good ale, it is likely that they will sell their excess ale quickly and plan to future batches larger as a result. This can turn into a good side income for the families involved.
Sizeable towns or cities have commercial ale houses that regularly make very large batches of ale for their customers. A lot of these business have "ale boys" who's job deliver ale to customers, often in the middle of their work days. Drinking at work, living the dream.

A noble's retinue can drink a lot of ale, and castle servants often very large batches of ale for the lord and the lord's entire staff. Usually the retinue's cook makes ale in addition to all other cooking, but some very large staffs have a servant who's only job is to make ale. Sometimes, spices are added to the ale served to nobles or wealthy commoners, but many wealthy people prefer to drink basic ale.

by me with Midjourney

Whether on the move or encamped, soldiers often receive ale as part of their rations and large armies often have camp followers who's primary or sole task is to brew large batches of ale.

History

by Eron12 with Hero Forge

-Akeem of Magicland

Elves, gnomes, satyrs, and tengku all like to say that one of their kind created the first batch of ale, but we'll probably never know. It is clear that the creation of ale predates the genesis of humans. We have written proof of this, limited though it is.

Historians found only one written record from the Second Age mentioning ale It was a requistion order for a banquet at an ancient elf lord's castle and included a large quantity of ale. This means that ale existed in the Second Age, but it doesn't mean that ale was consumed as a staple food all around Scarterra.
Ale is simple to make and utilitarian enough that it is reasonable to suppose that ale was widely consumed during the Second Age the Second Age.
That said, the idea of sticking a broomstick in a door frame to signify selling ale out of one's household seems to be a human innovation post dating the destruction of Vladimir the Conqueror, but we'll probably never when or by whom the practice begun.

-Roodnat, gnome chef

It doesn't really matter who made the first batch of ale, what matters who made the best batch of ale. I like to say that gnomes make the best bread, the best stews, and the best fried fish, but the best ale seems to come from human's kitchens, especially Fumayan humans.

The best basic ale I ever had was brewed by Fumayan human women living in simple farmsteads. The best spiced ale variants I ever tasted came from the kitchens of Fumayan castles.
I'm not going to limit myself to gnomish cusine only. If I find a good ale, I'll pay the brewer to walk me through how he or she makes it. Now I make the best ales too.

Components and tools

Whether buying ale from a small househould business or a large commercial establishment, customers usually use their own containers.
Any container can do, but a pot is probably the most common container brought to a common ale house. If an ale house is delivering ale to a place of business as part of an established contact, that business probably has jugs and cups on hand set aside for that very purpose.

Participants

by me with Midjourney

Small batches of ale are usually made in family homes are usually brewed by the lady of the house, and if the house sticks a broom in the door and serves ale publicly, she probably serves the ale too and collects the money.

Large scale batches of ale such as those made for commercial distribution, noble households, or campaigning armies are usually but not always brewed by men.
Customers sometimes go directly to commercial ale houses, but ale from commercial establishments is often delivered to homes and businesses, usually "ale boys" pushing carts or driving donkeys pullilng carts.

Observance

Whether on the family level or on a larger scale, most ale makers make new batches every day or every other day.

Primary Related Location

Scarterra

Important Locations

• Penarchia
• West Colassia