BFR-02: Drinking Culture
You may have heard of dwarves and their legendary drinking culture, but did you know this is actually a double meaning? Within Buried Forge and the rest of dwarvendom, there is both a drinking culture and a drinking culture.
All dwarves possess a water allergy to some degree, yet are still beings of flesh and blood. They must still quench their thirsts like the rest of us. How? The answer is simple: beer. Dwarvish beer.
Unlike other areas of dwarvish history, the origin of dwarvish beer is muddled. Many accounts exist—alleged records, justifying legends, and fanciful myths—on the who, the when, and the where. Some even believe that dwarvish coffee or tea was invented first.
No matter what you believe, the fundamental secret is the same. It’s all in the barley. Iron barley. Long before the rise of their imperial civilization, dwarves cultivated fields of this special type of barley, one accustomed to conditions in vast underground caverns. Supposedly, iron barley grows by the light emitted by bioluminescent mushrooms, or lava, or perhaps both. Not just any cave will do—the temperature, humidity, and soil must be just right. Forget about growing it above ground.
More importantly, when iron barley is brewed, it produces beer that is drinkable for dwarves. Is it something about the plant itself, or something absorbed from the soil? Or does the process extract the blessing, protection, and essence of the deepworld, as the more religious dwarves claim?
Whatever it is, it has an earthy, nutty taste.
Over many centuries, this brewing process was improved and refined—and so too did dwarven civilization. Many Lorekeepers argue dwarvish brewing was the keystone that unlocked and built a dwarven empire. But I would take it one step further: as dwarven civilization expanded across the deepworld, it discovered more plants that could be brewed for safe drinks. Notably, special types coffee beans and tea leaves. That, more than anything else, fed the empire, but that is a story for another time.
Today, most dwarves—including children—drink all three of the major brews. They take for coffee for breakfast, pair a cup of tea with lunch, and wash down their dinner with beer. Even the children. There are countless varieties, flavors, and preparation methods for every type of brew. A true drinking culture.
You must understand, though, that while these drinks are incredibly strong to humans—one dwarvish brew is comparable to three made above ground—their side effects are noticeably muted within the dwarvish body. For example, a child may drink a pint of dwarvish beer without so much a hiccup. If a miner had a long day and needs a kick in the head, he or she will drink five pints of beer instead of two.
Surface dwellers take one look at all this and see a drinking culture. Of course, there is plenty of that, too. It makes Buried Forge all a more wondrous place, to visit, whether you are there for the drinking or the culture.
