Unusual Wine and Ale - Part
1
by Verdistan Helipon
I was given a challenge by
some of my colleagues to
find just one good wine
made from a basic
ingredient that we would
all agree was essentially
inedible. It turns out
that I was able to meet
| this challenge in a
surprising fashion. Not
only did I discover several
such wines, I found a
number of beers and ales as
well. Even more shocking
was that these drinks were
very good, in an unusual
way. These drinks were
interesting enough to
warrant a short document
about them for the library.
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So herein I present to
you, Unusual Wine and Ale.
Aldo's Bitter Ale
I met Aldo at his home. He
is obviously a lover of
alcohol and his slurred
speech made it difficult to
discover the ingredients of
his bitter ale. Usually
| grass isn't that odd of a
brewing ingredient, and
this drink is mentioned
here mostly to display a
more complete sample of
Aldo's unusual drinks.
Straggle grass itself looks
relatively innocuous, but
its flavor is staggeringly
bitter. It does, however,
make a nice compliment to
the dark ale that Aldo
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prefers.
Straggle Grass
Barley
Malt
Cask
Water Flask
Extra Dry Ale
A simple name for an
unusual drink. Stone Beans
| are very poorly named.
They are not beans at all,
but a tuber. It gets its
name from its small,
rounded shape and hard grey
skin. If you were to
encounter this plant
sitting on the ground you
might think of it as a
stone. Were you to kick
it, the plant would bounce
and roll just like a stone.
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This is, I assume, the
method that it has
developed to protect it
from predators. The inside
looks as unpleasant as the
outside. The meat is grey,
but moist, and looks like
mud. The ale made from it,
however, takes on an almost
ethereal quality. As it
touches your mouth it seems
to turn to air, strongly
| flavored air with a bit of
an earthy taste. For
flavor this is not my
favorite drink, but it is a
worthwhile experience.
Stone Beans
Malt
Yeast
Water Flask
Barley
Bottle
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|
Cork
Bee Beer
The Black Bees used in this
drink are not actually
bees, from what I can tell.
They seem to be more like
flies. They are parasites
that live on or in other
creatures. They land or
nest in any soft exterior
| folds of skin, such as
ears, and even inside some
creatures. The story is
that one day someone was
brewing a simple batch of
beer and the still was
infested with flies. They
claim that patrons thought
the buzzing sounds coming
from the bottles was some
form of novelty magic and
that they liked the flavor
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so much that they kept
drinking the stuff even
after they learned the
ingredients. I suspect
that this is just another
case of drunkards making
alcohol. I could not force
myself to drink Bee Beer,
so I can not offer an
opinion about its flavor.
Black Bees
| Malt
Yeast
Water Flask
Barley
Bottle
Cork
Stonewood Ale
The Stonewood Tree unusual
in that is keeps its seeds
in its roots. It disperses
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them through the ground by
extending its roots
dramatically during the
blooming season. It
appears that the trick to
using these roots is to
gather them just before the
seeds are released. This
ale is pale with a strong
woody flavor. It is by far
the least audacious of the
drinks I present here, and
| I must admit that it is
included only because the
ogre that taught me the
recipe insisted that I do
so.
Stonewood Root
Malt
Yeast
Water Flask
Barley
Bottle
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|
Cork
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