Fire Mead

Manufacturing process

There exist two levels to this process: there is the winemaking component, and for those who wish to refine their drink further, there is distilling.

Winemaking

The honey is collected at prescribed intervals, as the bee and pollinator populations are still strictly controlled. The Operations would not allow an overpopulation of these insects regardless of the Fledging Gods' decrees. They could not allow cross-contamination with the other Isly or the production continents; as such, the apiaries are managed closely by the families who own them. When the hives produce approximately twenty Gallons of honey at four month intervals, the hive is purged of any new queens to disallow any population growth without the Operations knowledge.
That honey is then watered down to a 2:1 ratio, for every two parts honey, one part water was added for the fermentation. Now, these yeast species are extremely varied, and as such, the first few years of production is always trial and error. Until a strain is found that is desired. Many households prefer to keep the taste of the honey in their mead rather than strictly alcohol production. As such, strains that are gentle on flavor, that propagate quickly, and are tolerant of 10-12% abv are preferred above all else. There exist several strains that exhibit these properties, and cultures of them are freely shared among neighbors and friends. Though for the restaurants and distilleries, if they desire, these strains offer favors in return. Or reserved rights on choice barrels in the rack houses.
The Honey ferments over the course of one to two weeks, where it is siphoned from the fermentation vessels, and the effluent is processed down to regenerate the yeast culture for the next batch. Whereas the true "waste" in the process is collected in central locations to be brought back to the Operations to be put back into the system. This product is called Raw Mead; it can be drunk now, but lacks many of the characteristics the Children prize. It by no means a horrible product, as the honey is unique to each garden, the varieties change constantly, a fine mead in its own right.
However, what is culture without tradition and care? The Families will store their mead in charred oaken casks or large glass vessels with charred wood to age the mead. Here, the Mead sits for a season in a cool, dark place, typically the basements and cellars of the family who made it. The mead mellows and picks up many of the characteristics a fine wine should have: depth in flavor, a lovely bouquet, as well as beautiful, deep amber color. Though they never stop there!
The Children of Syn enjoy their heat in all things; as such, their fire mead needs to earn its name in their eyes. At the same time, many families add their own recipes for spice in them. Jalapenos, Chilis, Cinnamon, and Allspice are common additives to the mellowing process. The charred oak takes much of the heat away, while the sugars still in the mead mature to their final form. Once the barrel or vessel is ready, it is an occasion worthy of being celebrated! As each new batch is produced from the families, fairs are held in the streets to all to try. Each family can produce a minimum of 100 gallons of wine a year; the excess is either stored for further maturing, enjoying, or for gifts. In rare instances, it is sold to the Distilleries to be brought to other Isly.

Distilling

An altogether different product in the eyes of the Faeries. That wine is boiled in stills where the alcohol is decanted from the vital fluid. This practice is no where near as common as the former, as it introduces far more waste to be dealt with, and the Operations are happy to see the cultures thrive, but they are less so eager to deal with the aftermath of those practices. Though the tails and ends of the process are used for a variety of things, ranging from disinfectants to fuel, the mash and effluent are put back into the system by various means.
This new brandy is a wild thing! As if swallowing the heat of the sun, this Firebrand is a true luxury in the Isly. Few bottles are produced a year, casks are almost entire claimed by third parties that aided the distilleries in one way shape of form. Yet, these artisanal brewhouses are some of the epicenters for Faerie life. The brandy is stored in a heavier char, and usually hickory or cherry wood casks rather than oak. As much of the sweetness remains, but it has lose it's honey touched properties. Preferring floral notes in their drink, the cherry wood casks are prized bottles to be had.
These spirits are then housed in the rack houses for anywhere between five and twelve years. Though the Operations have made it a point to build filtration systems to collect Syn’s Share, as over time the spirits do evaporate out of the barrels. The longer they sit, the more is lost. What is lost to evaporation is considered Syn’s Share of the barrel. An ever-present reminder of their lost goddess.

History

As The Pocket was coming into its age of stability, where the forces of nature were well under the control of the Children. When all the clouds were at the beck and call of the Fae, when the rains followed the command of the Faeries, when the wind listened to the mournful songs of the Giants, there was much left to be desired. Yes, the Children had succeeded in their efforts to create a sanctuary from The Shadows. It was a barren and lifeless place.
Bereft of luxury, vacant in the music and cultures of the lives they had lived before. The working tunes from the lips of those who toiled their fingers to the bone for Queen and Country were the only joyful notes to be heard dancing through the air. From the Operations to the Tower of Alnya did the Children venture, a home yet to be made.
The Faeries had laid claim to one of the ten floating continents inside the Elsewhere, their true reward for the sacrifices that their Arch Valkyrie Anlyth, First Son of Syn had made in his efforts to aid the Queen of the Fae. A land that was a perfect recreation of a place once so loved. The City Grande Sol seemingly lifted from the earth of Soltuaire, only now, without the grand city that sat atop the peak and summit.
The first few things that the Faeries did while they connected their Isle to the greater network of the Operations were to seed this sun-kissed valley of meadows with innumerable species of flowers. The Operations at first wished to utilize them for production, that was before the Fledgling Gods issued a decree forbidding the exploitation of the Isly by the Operations. Though they were given a number of insect and avian species that would serve as pollinators for their now vast garden. The Operations quickly reviving species from their genetics data banks, as well engineering new ones that would serve their purposes.
As for Isly Syn, a Shrine to their fallen Goddess was erected where the old palace would have once sat. Villages quickly popped up around these pleasant meadows as the Faeries began to appreciate the fields of flowers. Preferring their native species on Soltuaire, poppies, Sun Flowers, Marigolds, and other flowers that conjured beauty to the mind. The Children wished for this Isle to become their home and to make it their own. The architecture and style of the homes in the region matching their homes they once held in the high alpine slopes of their countryside's.
One staple many of these homes maintained was an apiary. The Children of Syn had always been fond of sweets, and they exploited their fields to the hilt for honey production. One might think this hypocritical of the Faeries to demand free use of this land instead of aiding the Elsewhere as a whole, yet, all the Isly had similar practices so long as their wasn't any form of waste in their processes. They still wished to ease Alnya's burden to maintain this realm, as well as not to tax Anlyth for his slowly recovering strength. The Faeries simply wished to start an age old tradition they held in their homeland. Winemaking,
While yes, vineyards do drape themselves across the villas of the Anlyth and his Commanders, grape wine never took off in popularity as did the sheer amount of honey production. Each family holds their own recipes, and every household holds different notes in the drink they made. As restaurants and distilleries began popping up in each of the growing villages, one could hardly be blamed for being overwhelmed by the variety on offer.
Though the mead was the simplest and easiest to produce, it certainly had the intended effect the Faeries wished it to have. A semblance of normalcy, a return to their culture. While the mead was not the be all end all for their culture, it certainly opened the door for the rest of their heritage to begin bubbling back to the surface. Wherever there is a table to sit and watch the world move about oneself, sits nearby a bottle of the water of the sun. Every meal accompanied by this sweet delight, every celebration kicked off with the uncorking of the spirit.

Significance

This sweet and fiery wine brought some of the life back into the demoralized Children. After nearly a decade of every single hand at work, all hours of the day and night, ceaselessly toiling to stabilize their Sanctuary, the Faeries made a return to form by reigniting one of their most ancient traditions. The art of winemaking and all its nuances to rediscover, for like many things, the children had to sacrifice to survive The War of the Shadows, their culture was left behind for the greater good. For the Children of Syn to be given this measure of freedom again, it was a gratitude few could have found words for. The winemaking was only the beginning, as their heritage began to surface in all its former glory.

Cultural Staple:

Current Location

Isly Syn

Base Price

The Elsewhere has no currency, all bottles and barrels traded for favors or gifts.