Happy New Year
Have you started your mead for Pennsic yet? There's still time to get it brewing!
Kingdom 12th Night Competition
Thank you to His Excellency, Baron Jean-Phillipe for hosting, and salud to all who participated!
Photo by Elska Á Fjárfelli
Teaching Opportunities
January 31 (online)
Classes should be submitted via this Æcademy Google Form link. by January 21.
February 14-15, Johnstown, PA (Damp/discreet)
Those wish to hold a class, please get in contact with Master Ian Campbell of Glen Mor at London1075ce@gmail.com or by phone at 814-322-8742. Please no calls after 9:00pm.
February 21, Syracuse NY
The Guild has been given space for three hours of brewing-related topics!
- 11am - 12 noon: Join beekeeper (and guildmaster) Meadhbh from 11-12 to sample a wide variety of honeys from around the US. Discuss how they might work in a mead, or simply marvel at how different honey can taste from the same apiary at different times of the year.
- 12 - 1 pm: Contact Meadhbh if you would like to take part in a teaching activity for guild members!
- 1 - 2 pm: Contact Meadhbh if you would like to take part in a teaching activity for guild members!
February 28, Victor, NY (Dry site)
All those interested in holding a class should contact our Coordinators of Classes, Mistress Bronwyn nic Gregor and Baroness Elizabeta da Venezia using this Google Form link.
Upcoming Events
I would love to see more opportunities for the east and south of the Kingdom, so please get in touch if you know of any (or are willing to host a tasting table).
February 7, Philippi, WV
There is space and interest for a tasting table (or other brewing-related activity) at Hootenanny -- we just need someone to host! Contact Meadhbh if you're willing to share your love of beverages at this event.
March 28, Gowanda NY -- Brewing entries due by February 14
At this event, you can submit beverages for judging either on their own or as part of the Pentathalon. Find full information about judging, rubrics, and the event on the web site linked above.
Beverages Category
A beverage prepared for human consumption. This Category may include, but is not limited to:
- Beer
- Ale
- Wine
- Mead
- Cordials
- Non-alcoholic beverages
Æthelmearc Hospitality Request
Æthelmearc hospitality wants to offer more sekanjabin to refresh the populace at Pennsic this summer. They would like to have 15 gallons of syrup for the ten days that the Royal encampment is set up.
The Debatable Lands brewers have already offered to contribute five gallons to Hospitality. If you make sekanjabin, or know of someone who does, and would like to contribute some syrup to Æ Hospitality at Pennsic this year, please contact Muirgheal Inghean Dubhghaill for more information, and to let them know you'll participate.
Æthelmearc Brewing Challenge
Have you started your A/B challenge yet? I am working on two straight meads, one with honey from a spring harvest and one from a fall harvest!
Participate in the 2026 A/B challenge for Æethelmearc brewers! Here's what you need to do:
- Select an alcoholic beverage that you want to create (beer, mead, cordial, wine, etc).
- Make two batches at the same time. They don't have to be five gallons - a one gallon batch is fine!
- Change only one ingredient between the two batches. For example, make one mead with store-bought honey and the other with fireweed honey. Or make one ale with kveik yeast and the other with Safale-05. Any single ingredient is fine. Note that this is changing an ingredient, not adding or omitting. So a straight mead compared to a straight mead with cinnamon falls outside of the spirit of the challenge. (Making one mead with Ceylon cinnamon and another with Cassia cinnamon fits perfectly, though!)
- Do a side-by-side tasting of your creation at an event or meeting, sharing it with as many other folks who want to try it out. Here's where you should find some added enjoyment from this challenge; watch as drinkers compare one small change between the two beverages!
- Share your experiment with the Brewers Guild mailing list, Tavern Talk!
I'll scout out opportunities to showcase your creations as the season progresses. For those who need a deadline, two strong contenders will be War Practice in May and Pennsic.
Guild Chamberlain
Do you want to contribute to the guild in a supportive, meaningful way that doesn't require a ton of time? Consider stepping in as the Guild Chamberlain, the invisible power behind the Æthelmearc bar!
Find more details in the October update. If you're interested in taking on this responsibility, please email the Guildmaster! Without the vital role the Chamberlain provides, we cannot offer anything "on tap" at the Royal Bar.