Chương 107: 106: Beer and Vodka

4th of Merlotus The next morning after breakfast I sat down with Bryce and Jac, who got along wonderfully.

"Alright you two," I said.

"I know we got some supplies for both of you already, but what kind of scale are you looking to achieve?"

"Whaddya mean?" Bryce asked.

"Well, are you imagining yourself just brewing for the homestead? Or do you want to sell to Weston, or even large scale out here if we grow into a town?"

"Ah," Bryce said, stroking his beard.

"Well, I'll need proper facilities if we're lookin' at brewin' on a larger scale. I certainly can, mind, but it's not really my area o' focus."

"Oh yeah, I don't even know what the Brewer subclasses are," I said. Bryce said, "There's Industrial, which is what your innkeeper friend is, no doubt. Then there's Home Brewer, their bonuses are in improvin' nutritional value an' controllin' the alcohol content, mind. An' then you've got Field Brewer."

"I'm guessing that Field Brewer is military related, not agriculture," I said with a grin. Bryce huffed out a laugh, then said, "Correct. I was my regiment's brewer, mind. The military's required t'provide a certain amount o' beer or spirits while on campaign. I know we've got them fancy water filters on our well pumps, an' they've got 'em out in the field as well, but beer provides some much-needed nutrition."

"Don't forget that gin can as well," Jac said with a smile.

"Oh, aye, but it'll get you a might bit drunker than my ale," Bryce responded with a smile of his own.

"Well what kinds of beers did you make in the army?" I asked.

"I made a lot o' spruce beer, mind. It's simple enough. Though without hops, some'd say it's not even a proper beer. You probably won't see it at the inn."

"I've never even heard of it," I answered, intrigued. Bryce looked surprised.

"Aye, it's eight parts water t'one part sugar, mind. Some say t'use maple syrup or molasses, but I reckon they can be a bit too strong. I prefer cane syrup. Then a couple o' ounces o' spruce oil per batch, same again wi' brewer's yeast. Cook it for about an hour, then let it ferment for about a week."

"Sounds intriguing," I said.

"Aye," Bryce said.

"An' it'll keep the scurvy away, mind. One o' my focuses is improvin' nutritional value as well. Tha's where it overlaps wi' Home Brewer. My other focus is keepin' ingredients stable, even when the conditions isn't ideal."

"I'm definitely interested in trying some new beers, but that still doesn't answer my question," I said, looking at the man.

"Why don't I just focus on puttin' together a few small batches for now? Since you said you'll provide the ingredients, I'll try a few new recipes, an' we can see how it all goes before we get too ambitious, mind."

"That'll work," I said. Turning towards Jac, I asked him the same question. Jac looked at me thoughtfully, then said, "First off, you mentioned a new ingredient that you want me to try out?"

"Ah yes," I said.

"Potatoes. Have you ever made vodka?" He nodded, but looked intrigued.

"I have. Mostly from rye." I hadn't realized vodka was made from rye, but I knew it was most commonly made from corn.

"Would making good vodka from potatoes instead be something that you'd be interested in?" I asked.

"Potatoes are far too expensive to use for making liquor." He said incredulously. His normally slow and measured way of speaking out the window.

"I apologize. I normally greet new guests with a nice potato dinner, but we're basically out until our next crop comes in," I said.

"But the reason you're here, and the emperor and the bishop are protecting me is because I brought a variety of potatoes from my world that grow well here. I grew thousands of bushels last year, and even without the big bonus, I'll grow thousands more this year." The two men were in shock.

"Just what were you told about needing to come out here?" I asked, curious. Jac, the veteran of a hundred years of combat that he was, broke out of his state of shock first, so he said, "Just that you were an important farmer, and an Outworlder. They also told me about Laeth. His father might be a right bastard, but he's a good commander, and I wanted to check on his boy." Bryce said, "The Order simply told me they'd make sure I wasn't to be pressed back into service if I came out.

Said it'd probably be a safe place t'brew my beer, mind." I laughed at them in a good-natured way.

"I'm important because of my potatoes. Well that and my tractor. You two haven't even asked about it yet." Bryce barked out a laugh.

"I'm a soldier, mind, not one o' them fancy special operations types like Jac here. I marched where I was told, when I was told. I know you were busy wi' alchemy yesterday. Reckoned you'd tell us all about it." That made me laugh.

"Yes, well, my tractor and my potatoes came over from a world with no magic, but tech that is a couple hundred years ahead of here. Well. This is where we were around that long ago. My tractor is super fancy, and I got a new class because of it." I stopped, then remembered, "Well I got the class because of the potatoes. They gave me so much XP, but the tractor is important. I also used it to kill the hill trolls last year." That caused both men to show surprise.

"Follow me," I said, turning to walk to the nearest field.

"I'll give you a proper tour of the place, we can look at the tractor too." Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. As we walked towards the potato field, I looked around and smiled. The Farmhands and I had gotten all the kinks worked out of the new fields. The irrigation was working smoothly. We'd had a wet early spring, even delaying the planting by a week or two, but it'd warmed right up in April, so I'd decided to water the potatoes once already.

I'd also flood-watered the plots that were used for Brendan's cows. Aiden was really staying on top of rotating the cows who were resting here while they were rotated out of the milking rotation. I smiled as I caught the faintest whiff of cow manure as the breeze came in from the northwest. The smell of grass-fed cow manure had always smelled pleasant to me. I probably wouldn't get any hay from those three plots, but I had plans to grow some alfalfa when I expanded.

Back home, we'd grown several hundred acres of it, and since it was available here, I'd probably grow some next year. Hay needed lots of nitrogen, and we were about to grow several plots of beans, which would put nitrogen in the soil. I explained why I corrugated and talked about my irrigation system. Neither man questioned me about the necessity, unlike my Farmhands. Of course, they weren't going to have to take a shovel out and dig out corrugates, I thought with a smile.

I looked around at the beautiful sight of early-season wheat. The shoots were now a few inches tall and were just about at the point where it would look like a carpet of vivid green grass all around the homestead. I'd really felt like things were going to be alright last summer when the wheat had come up, and that feeling was still going strong looking at the fields today.

We would be planting our corn pretty quick, but I could only shake my head as I thought about the calf scour yellow green that this world's silage corn held. The dark red corn kernels were pretty cool, but I doubted that year 2 would make me feel any better about my corn looking sickly to me all year. When we got to the potato field, which was covered in green plants that were still a few weeks away from being large enough to bloom.

They were fine-looking plants, and had been my family's lifeblood for generations, but they weren't as beautiful as a good field of wheat. I explained to the men how my Russet Burbank potatoes grew well in this area. I even explained my backstory just a bit. I told them about the geography and history of my world, and how potatoes had spread from their historical habitat in the Andean Mountains. They were older men who appreciated a good tale.

Once we were done, I had to re-ask Jac the distilling question, "So, do you think making vodka from potatoes would work for you to maybe evolve your class?" Jac shrugged.

"It is possible. But, it is hard to say. I will give it a try this fall. Too bad that they can't help Bryce in some way though. I'm already Tier 2."

"I've never heard of potato beer. But, I'll keep enough potatoes for you to do whatever you need. I really do apologize you guys aren't getting any potato dinners. Those lucky militiamen got to eat them all winter. This fall I'll make sure to keep enough back for at least a few meals a week."

"Now," I said.

"What would you like to make in the meantime? And do you plan to make small batches, or should I get a building built that's big enough for you to make liquor to sell to the town?" Jac responded immediately, "I would like something large enough to at least sell to the tavern by next year. I will make some spirits over the summer, then we can make corn, and potato vodka this fall. I would also like to help tend your bees this summer. I find it soothing."

"Sure, I'm not a bee expert. Like I said before, I've never dealt with them at all. I want you to figure up some plans, and we can purpose build you a still. My alchemy lab should work too, correct?" Jac nodded.

"It will. As long as we keep it purified, it would work well. But, I will purchase one of my own next year if we are going to make large batches. I will need to begin aging some spirits in barrels to smooth them out."

"Works for me," I said.

"Now let's go look at my tractor." We made our way over, and as we neared it, I noticed Buck and Spot heading towards the manor. The two rabbits hadn't been out of the den at the same time for a while now. One would patrol every day, then grab meat from someone in the kitchen to take back to their den if they didn't find anything to kill. Maybe this meant that their babies were getting large enough to leave alone for a while. I whistled and yelled their names. They both stopped and looked my way.

When I knelt down and called for them again, they both made their way over to me and got their well deserved scritches while I asked them how they'd been. They didn't actually answer me, but it was good to see both of them. I told my amused tag alongs about the rabbits, then we made our way to the tractor. When we got to it, I climbed up the stairs and told them to follow me up. Jac sat down in the passenger seat, while Bryce stood on the top platform and looked in.

I turned the key on and waited for the computer to initialize while I explained things to them. Jac agreed that he certainly wouldn't want to face this in a cavalry charge when I explained it could move as fast as his horse at full charge. Bryce laughed and told Jac that at least on horseback he could probably run away from it. If he was in an infantry formation when this thing hit him, it was game over. I fired the tractor up and explained how everything worked.

I pulled up the diagnostics on the tractor using my System Diagnostics perk. I'd done this already yesterday, after we changed out the tire tread, but it was good to see that the track was still in the green. I asked about brewing and distilling, and they said the classes used the same screen that Alchemy did, but that they rarely used the screen to make their respective alcohol because it made a subpar finished product.

They got bonus XP for the quality of alcohol they made, and it wasn't like they needed a still to change things in the same way I did to refine oil. I brought up the blackberry cordial we'd made, and Jac said I'd have some XP towards Distiller if I ever bought the class. All in all, it was a fun couple of hours talking to the men. I could already tell I would enjoy having them join our little community.

As we walked back to the farm manor, I noticed Emily having an animated conversation with Cara, who looked to be trying to calm her down. Sensing trouble, we made our way over.

"What's the matter dear?" I asked when we made it to them.

"That Delyth…" Emily said through clenched teeth. I gave a concerned look, while Emily took a deep breath to calm herself. Cara, sensing it would be good to let Emily keep trying to calm herself explained.

"Delyth has already asked Emily to bring her a meal in her room several times now. She also told us that she will only be fixing clothing if she is properly compensated." Cara, used air quotes at "properly compensated." That was the first time I'd ever seen anyone use air quotes in this world. I had seen the System use quotes in some passages, so it made sense it could be a thing. I could feel myself becoming distracted, so I refocused on the conversation.

Emily spoke again, "When I told her that room and board would have to be negotiated if she needed proper compensation the woman shut the door to her room!" Emily was getting riled up again, but she was usually a very level-headed woman, and blowing off a little steam was always helpful in my book. As she continued speaking, I just listened.

"She has only been here a few days, and she is treating me as if I am her servant. I am the lady of this household. I do not treat any of my helpers as servants. Her father might have an important job in the colony, but she is not nobility." It seemed like she'd said what she wanted to say, so I asked, "Have you spoken with Baddon yet?" She shook her head.

"Well, I guess I better do so," I blew out a deep breath. The day had been going so well.