Jeb went back to his brewing barn and considered the Headmistress’ words. As far as he could see, there were a few different variables that he could explore.
He immediately discarded the idea of testing different yeasts. He knew that yeast could have a variety of effects on the end result of a Brew. However, Jeb was completely unsure where he could find another strain of yeast, let alone what other flavor profiles he would be interested in exploring.
After a few more moments of conversation, Jeb also discarded the idea of testing different grains or sugar sources. Even though he was interested in the different flavor profiles that different sugars could add, Jeb knew that he still had far too much to explore with barley. And, after his past few terms in the Academy, Jeb was far more aware that it was easier to experiment when there were fewer variables.
Even without yeast or other grains, there were still a number of beers that Jeb could make. He felt as though he had a fairly decent understanding on the effects that roasting the malt to a greater or lesser extent would have. Jeb was equally sure that he knew what different amounts of grain would do, as well. He was willing to experiment with different amounts as he started Brewing, but he was almost entirely focused on the final variable he had.
Now that he had been given explicit permission to work on his Brewing, Jeb was excited to find out what different Alchemical ingredients might do to the beer. Having never tasted Managrass, Jeb was unsure whether it would work for Brewing. If it did, however, then Jeb wondered whether that might work to also make Firebeer. Regardless, Jeb was excited for the different flavors that different ingredients could produce.
As he stared at some potential recipes, Jeb realized that he was at a crossroads. He enjoyed making Firebeer, it was true, and a part of him was excited to see what other Magical effects he could effect with his Brewing. The other part of him wanted to draw a sharp line between his Academy work and his hobbies. Brewing non Magical beers would also let Jeb see how his craft was improving. After all, plenty of people would be willing to drink something subpar if it came with a fantastic Magical effect. Without one, however, Jeb would be judged entirely on his Brewing ability.
In the end, Jeb decided that he would start with non Alchemcial Brews. Once he felt confident with his abilities, he would consider Brewing Firebeer and other Magical beers. As he made the decision, Jeb felt something shift in the world. He could not place it, exactly, but there was absolutely something different. His Brewing Barn suddenly felt more real, and the halls as he walked back to his dormitory felt even less real.
Dean Aquam, Catherine, and Declan were all waiting for Jeb at breakfast the next day. None of them seemed to be in a rush, so Jeb took his time gathering a plate of food. When he made it to the table, the small amount of conversation that the table had ceased, and all three of them turned to him.
“Oh, sorry,” Jeb said, standing back up, “I thought that you were signalling me to sit here. Do you not want me to?”
Dean Aquam let out a small laugh. “No, Jeb, please sit down.”
Jeb did. He began eating as the other three members of the table started looking at each other.
“Jeb,” Catherine began, “I’ll be frank. Do you still want Declan and I to be involved with the Emporium?” “Sure!” Jeb replied happily. “I’m more than glad not to have to deal with pricing or collecting.” Dean Aquam nodded. “Given that you now have explicit permission to operate your Brewery, you should formalize the business.” He pulled out a few contracts, which Jeb read through, remembering the lessons he had been taught in Remedial Civics.
There was nothing in it that seemed particularly off. Jeb, Declan and Catherine would split the money the Emporium made that wasn’t spent on Brewing or expanding the business. The contract the Dean gave him had Jeb taking four parts of the profits, and Declan and Catherine would each take three.
“This seems reasonable to me,” Jeb said, signing the form.
Declan and Catherine both had a few more questions, but they were resolved quickly. After some more negotiation, the split changed to two parts of the profit to Jeb and one each to Declan and Catherine. Jeb was more than a little confused why the two of them had negotiated their own share of the profit lower, but he hadn’t been paying enough attention to remember.
“And, finally,” Dean Aquam said, rolling the signed papers up, “I assume that it goes without saying, but the expenses and income for this venture now must be logged appropriately, as the money will be stored with the Academy.”
Jeb started fidgeting in his seat. He trusted the three of them to know the best way to handle the finances, and the conversation about the Emporium reminded him of all the experiments that he wanted to try. The other three clearly noticed, because Dean Aquam let out a small chuckle and told him that he was welcome to head out if he wanted. Jeb scarfed down the rest of his meal and sprinted to his nascent brewery.
Do I need to give this a name? Jeb wondered, looking at the plain barn. That thought led to another, “do we need to rename the Emporium? I’m planning on selling far more than just Firebeer, and I’m not sure if I even want to sell Firebeer for a bit.”
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Jeb mulled the thought over as he started preparing some barley to malt. While the Emporium had been first active, he’d found a few Enchantments that helped the sprouting to go more quickly. He had noted it down as something to send back home whenever he had a chance.
When the barley malt was ready, he started kilning it. The scent of sugar started to fill the small room as Jeb Created Fire and spun the barrel. As soon as his nose told him that the malt was ready to be stored, he poured about half of the barrel out. The amount he had spread to cool should be good for at least a few barrels of experimentation.
A part of Jeb considered Brewing smaller test batches before he was certain that a recipe would work, but he waved the thought away. He was confident that nothing he made would be undrinkable, and letting a number of people weigh in could only be helpful to optimize the recipe. Jeb Created more Fire and started turning the barrel again.
The scent slowly shifted, growing darker and richer as the minutes ticked past. Almost on instinct, he started shrinking the flame, slowing the rate that the malt caramelized. Jeb wanted to get just to the edge of burnt, but he did not want to surpass it. As soon as the malt was ready, he dumped it out.
It was a perfectly uniform color, he was glad to see. The malt was a deep, dark brown, bordering on black. It smelled nutty and fruity and dark, all at once.
Jeb realized only then that he did not have enough barrels for the Brewing he wanted to do. He rushed back to the cafeteria, hoping that one of the three might still be there. To his relief, they were still discussing something.
“Jeb,” Dean Aquam said, turning towards him, “I had not expected you back. Is there something that you need?”
Jeb nodded. “I need a lot more barrels to figure out the right ratios for everything that I’m Brewing.”
“When you say a lot,” Catherine began.
Jeb did some quick order of magnitude calculations. “Would a hundred be outside of our budget right now?”
Declan started to cough. When he recovered, Dean Aquam cut in, “no, that would be well within your budget. How quickly do you intend to fill the barrels, however?”
Jeb shrugged. “I suppose it will depend on how quickly I’m able to make a beer taste just right.”
“If that is the case,” the Dean began, “might I suggest that you bottle your Brews once they are finished? It would allow you to transport and sell them far more easily.”
Jeb nodded. “That makes sense to me! If I’m bottling beers, I probably don’t need as many barrels either,” he said, hopping from foot to foot.
“The barrels should be in your field by tenth bell,” the Dean said, and Jeb scurried back to his project.
As he ran, the seventh bell started to toll. Is there anything else that I need to prepare? Jeb asked himself, realizing that he still had three bells before he could start Brewing in earnest.
Realizing that he only had Fireleaf and Managrass, Jeb ran to the Stacks to see what the Alchemical Brewing guide said about the flavor and scent profiles of different reagents. He started noting down potential combinations that he could try. Jeb was so engrossed in the options that he hardly noticed the tenth bell starting to ring.
He bolted out of his seat and ran back to the barn. In spite of all his research and his previous resolution to focus on regular Brewing, Jeb realized that he did not have first hand knowledge of any other bittering agent.
I guess I’ll be working with Fireleaf for now, he thought, a little wryly.
There were a dozen barrels lined up in front of the barn, and Jeb carefully rolled five of them inside. He carefully crushed the two grains, noting the smells that they let out. For his first experiment, Jeb wanted to try dialing in the strength of the beer.
He made five batches of beer with the same ratios of light to dark malt, but with steadily more in each. Jeb was almost certain that the first beer would feel wrong, given that it should have even less fermentable sugar than the Firebeer he’d been serving before. Still, it would be good to see what people thought. He debated for a moment whether it was better to use the same amount of Fireleaf in each, or if he should scale it up with the amount of malt that he was using. After briefly looking outside and considering bringing in another four barrels, he shook his head and carefully ground the same amount of Fireleaf into each wort.
Once it had steeped, Jeb transferred everything into one of the barrels, labeled it, and poured in the Alchemical. Tasting each beer, Jeb nodded. He knew what his own favorites were, but he was curious what the rest of the Academy would think.
Looking around the cramped room, Jeb let out a sigh. It was going to be a fair amount of work to bring all of the barrels back to the Emporium. After a dozen or so trips, the Emporium was once more set up.
Declan and Catherine came in as he finished tapping the last barrel. Both seemed a little confused by the fact that there were six tapped barrels.
“Jeb,” Declan said, “are you expecting a large rush?”
“No,” Jeb said, pulling two small glasses of each of the test Brews. He handed them over to his friends, who looked at the dark beers with interest.
“Are we supposed to tell you what is different about these?” Catherine asked.
Jeb shrugged. “I know what’s different. Right now I’m trying to figure out which I prefer, though. I’d like to make the best Firestout that I can, and so I would love to hear what you think of each Brew.”
Catherine and Declan nodded and started to taste each. Their objective experiences more or less lined up with what Jeb had noticed from his beers. It was more than a little surprising to Jeb that they had different preferences, though.
All of them agreed that the beers tasted progressively more as they increased in strength. Where Jeb had preferred the almost overwhelming taste of the final stout, though, Catherine and Declan both preferred one of the more intermediate Brews.
“Thank you!” Jeb said, clearing the mugs away.
Declan and Catherine started talking to each other as Jeb cleaned the mugs. “Do you think that we need to do a grand reopening?” they asked him when he came back.
“I don’t think that we will,” Jeb said, nodding to the door where a few students had just entered. He offered these students the same flight of beers. More and more students came into the Emporium, and more and more students gave their opinions on the different beers.
When Jeb left for class, none of the barrels seemed any less full, even though he was sure that he had asked at least twenty students their opinions.