3rd Alpen View Beer Festival (CLOSED. Thanks for support!)

[Romberg]

With alcohol down his throat and a good nights' sleep, plus knowledge that the stall was finally in good condition, the Count woke up in much better moods. Wearing the Rombergian style of lederhosen typical of the central mountains to symbolize Beer Day, he thys arrived to the fair grounds in fresh spirits.

The Rombergian lederhosen was similar to the Engollean, Bavarian and Austrian styles, yet there were significant departures. For starters, in terms of history, the Rombergian variant came much later than the others. Brought by Austrian colonists in the time of close association with the Austrian Empire, it thus shared fewer connections with the Engollean and Bavarian types. Indeed, while the leather breeches were standard, usually a Tyrolean hat was not part of the costume, and instead other forms of headgear were used. While it was still in shorts form, usually the socks were much higher, to that of football/soccer so as to protect the shins from cold - an important adaptation for the climate of Romberg. In addition, often the shirt worn was not plain or checkered as expected or even in formal style with a blazer and tie, but rather uses Slavic style embroidery patterns, and despite the main Slavic stock of Romberg originating from lands closely associated with Russia, Ukrainian designs were more popular. For Graf Tserdynov too, he preferred this variant, and thus it was what he wore to the fairgrounds.

"Day two, government just replied - I've just seen on my tablet. We'll be cutting prices by 25%. Subsidised as usual. Plus, do an additional 15% slash for those who've been to the Nikolian side. We've promised a cooperation as well. You all know what to do." he instructed, before heading off for something slightly more important. Apart from this message from government, there was an even more important message from the Rombergian Union - which concerns vodka.

Thus, having not woken up too long, bur surprisingly sober and devoid of a hangover despite a whole nights' worth of drinking, Graf Tserdynov walked over to the South Seas Soda stand, hoping to pass on the message to their CEO - as representative here, he had full rights to represent the Union in all commercial decisions.

"I am Graf Håkon Tserdynov von Sturmhåll, representing the Rombergian Union of Breweries. If he's free at the moment, I hope to meet your CEO, Herr Allistair, to discuss a possible cooperative opportunity." he introduced himself to a member of staff working there.

[Costa Aluria]

When the pizzas and the growlers full of Beacon Point sodas were ready, Allistair had his hands full, quite literally. He stacked the three pizza boxes atop each other, and to these he carefully attempted to balance the five growlers of soda on the flat surface above. There was little room to spare. Lifting them from the bottom box as gently as he could, it was easy to feel the combined weight of all the items. But more than this, the items were cumbersome as well. During the initial lift, the growler with the spruce beer, located at his right hand side and furthest away from Allistair's body, shifted ever so slightly towards the edge of the pizza box which had been lifted at a small angle. Maintaining his composure, Allistair quickly threw his weight to the back of his feet, dropped the weight from his right hand to the counter still underneath, and caught the growler with the same outstretched hand in one fellow swoop, a lucky grab no doubt.

"There is no way I can carry all of this at once," he quickly realized. Allistair was still in thought when a loud scrape was heard. Turning around, Allistair saw the ten foot tall replica lighthouse placed outside the booth teetering from side to side, as it had when he himself had bumped into it. Again, outside, there were a number of individuals in matching purple shirts blocking up the path. Although the three pizza boxes might have been doable, making his way through the busy crowd with even those items might have proven a bit difficult. To try to balance the growlers on top would have been quite foolhardy. But a pretty penny had been spent on these growlers, and he knew the South Seas Soda crew needed them.

Leaving the pizzas and growlers on the counter, Allistair rushed out into the crowd, and tapping the first three purple shirt clad individuals he came across, he waved his hand at them, motioning for them to follow him. There were several presumably questioning responses, all in a language Allistair couldn't recognize. He wouldn't be denied, however, continuing to motion with his hands for them to follow him. After thirty seconds of misunderstood gestures, Allistair, now in a bit of a harried state, reached out with both hands, grabbing the wrists of two of the passers-by and started literally dragging them into the Beacon Point booth. A surprised and spirited protest came from each of them, and, intrigued by the hub-bub of the incident, two other men in purple shirts who were nearby followed the previous trio into the booth to help out their friends.

Once inside the booth, having now gained the full attention of every individual present, Allistair took out his wallet, grabbed a number of indescript bills, waving them around in the air four or five times before forcing them into the hands of one of his captives. To these, he added two growlers, nearly knocking the man off his feet. Allistair continued handing items to the people until they were distributed, the individuals still uncertain how to respond. Acting with presumptive authority, Allistair once again grabbed one of them by the wrist and started to lead the man out of the booth. It was at this point that his intentions were apparently understood, and the four individuals followed him, each carrying his own amount of pizza or soda.

It wasn't incredibly far of a walk, but they made their way together toward the South Seas Soda tent. Once inside, a handful of customers were interacting with each other, and Allistair gestured for the men to place the goods on the main counter where an individual was standing speaking to Charlotte.

"Oh, Mr. Houghton, you are just in time," Charlotte stated, a bit surprised at the goings-on. "You have a visitor who was just requesting to see you."

Allistair nodded to the men he had held captive, indicating his thanks, and they soon left, not trying to hide their eagerness for counting the amount of money he had slipped in the one's hand back at the Beacon Point booth. A bit winded at the proceedings of the previous five minutes, Allistair turned to the man at the counter, and extending his hand to greet the individual he stated, "Allistair Houghton. How may I help you?"

[Nikolia]

Day 1, 22:30
One of the bartenders, Vedran Milic, a pale skinned, young tall man was sitting behind a bar and drinking Imperial Strout, a winning Strout on Alpen View Beer Festival 2014. It is not wrong to say that everyone were more than satisfied with the amazing score this strout recieved. One of his colleagues, Milos Bojovic approached him holding a pint, then started a conversation:

-"Wow, i must admit i am very amazed by how we just came and win in Strouts category... I mean, its our first time here and we won.."

-"Well, yeah... people loved it, i guess..." Vedran takes a sip then continues " Hmm i wonder if we could lower the prices"

-"As the matter of fact, i think we will do that..." As Milos said that, Manager of the site, Petar Obradovic entered behind the bar speaking on a phone with, what appears to be someone from the Ministry. "Yes, yes i will talk with the Rombergians and i will notify you about the results, yes... have a nice day!" with those words, Petar hanged up the phone and put it into the pocket.

-"What happened?" Asked Milos, then took a sip

-"It was a call from the Minister, he wants from us to reduce the prices and to talk with Rombergians if they want it too... I will be back in a moment." As he said it, Petar went to the Rombergians over a "bridge" that fuses these two tents.

As he crosses to the other side, he approached one of the workers there and asked: "Excuse me, could you invite your manager, please"

"Ah yes, Mr. Obradovich. Yes, certainly, sir." she replied, in a cheerful but obviously tired voice.

"Håkon, the guys over at the other side wants to see you."

Graf Tserdynov sighed. It was a long day and there were several setbacks. All he wanted was to rest and reflect, and drink.

"Alright..."

He quickly made himself more presentable, then walked out and held out his hand.

"Herr Obradovich. Nice to meet you again after our consultation session back home. Good to hear successes on your side. Would you like a drink?"

"Oh, sure, yes, vodka would be nice... anyways, thanks i hope your bevarages will win in some of the categories too." Petar stopped for a moment then continued. "You probably wonder why i came, well, i just spoke to our Minister back home, and he proposed us lowering the prices in order to celebrate our succession on this festival, so, i wanted to ask you, is it possible for your side to lower the prices for Nikolian guests?"

"That sounds like a good idea. I'll just get my accountant to run a few numbers to confirm how much we can do... In the meantime, enjoy a drink then."

Graf Tserdynov then gestured to the staff busily packing and the bottle originally saved up for him was brought out, as well as two shot glasses. He poured one shot for Petar, and another for himself.

"To your health, and to success in AVBF"

Petar then rose the glass and said "To the success, nazdravlye!" then took a shot, Lowering the glass back to the bar, he then said: "Oh, what a wonderful vodka, you know by the taste its from Romberg"
This drinking continued for several rounds, until a notification arrived on the Count's phone.

"I'm looking forward to your produce too. Maybe tomorrow? Oh, I guess the number guys have returned with an answer."

"Yes, of course, you're welcome whenever you want, the Rakija wont go anywhere!" he smiled

"They've said that an additional 15% would seem reasonable for those who've been at your stall.. Would that sound good? And by the way, we're already cutting existing prices by 25%"

"Oh yes, that would be fine, i apprechiate. We will do the same for Rombergians on our side"

"Sounds great. Then I propose an additional toast to celebrate this agreement. May we both have good profits this year." Graf Tserdynov then raised his shot glass once again.

"Certainly!" Petar followed the Graf, then took a shot

With the few shots of vodka and a completed agreement, Petar stood up from his chair, handshaked with the Graf then returned to Nikolian side.
After the handshake was exchanged, Graf Tserdynov too didn't stay too long he just finished overseeing the packing up of the stall for the day, and then called his driver to take him back to the hotel. Glad over reaching the agreement, and slightly buzzed by the alcohol, he was feeling slightly better after all.

This conversation was done on IRC channel with Romberg.

[Coastal Communities]

The Beacon Point tent was now abuzz with the energy of the last five minutes happenings. Ezekiel had been wiping down the makeshift counter, an unrelenting task, when he heard quite a commotion outside. It had started with a sound he had heard a half dozen times since the festival had begun—the sound wood scraping against the ground. Ezekiel looked up to see the ten foot tall replica lighthouse—his precious cargo that had created such a stir at the airport—rocking back and forth in front of the booth. When he had constructed the lighthouse, he had thought that its wider base would have prevented it doing just this. Alas, the structure itself must have been too light. "We will have to add a way to dump some sand or other weight into the base," Ezekiel thought to himself. "We have too much invested for our branding to let this piece get destroyed." It didn't help, of course, that every time he exited the booth he had to look at the gash that had come compliments of airport security. He had positioned the lighthouse so that the gash was not visible from the outside so as to not deter any customer who might happen to see it, but it was quite noticeable from the inside.

With the lighthouse teetering, a larger commotion had begun. The visitor from the South Seas Soda tent was acting uncontrollably, even to the point of violating the personal space of a few passers-by. He had even gone to the extreme of taking the individuals by the wrist and dragging them against their will into the Beacon Point booth. This was certainly not the way Ezekiel intended to bring in customers. There were quite a few loud yells, all unintelligible to the point of understanding the foreign language, but their point was certain. These men in purple tee shirts were putting up quite a protest. It seemed everybody in the booth was made aware of the antics of this seemingly crazy person.

Once the hubbub had died just a bit, Ezekiel thought that now might be a good time to take a break. He wanted to have a bit of an alibi from being associated with the recent happenings, especially given the peculiar nature of his previous guest. Should his visitor be liable for anything else, Ezekiel wanted to be as far away as possible. He motioned to a young woman removing a fresh pizza from the brick oven. "Grace, I am headed out."

He had his destination in mind from the first step. Exiting the booth he immediately went to his left toward the southeast corner of the pavilion. When Ezekiel had signed up for the festival it was certainly with the intention of winning the hearts of the judges and bringing notoriety to the Beacon Point name. But now that the festival was in full, Ezekiel wanted to shore up some potential business partnerships. With his passion for good beer, it would be a shame for some of the competitors not to be welcomed into the brewhouses back home.

One name stood out among them all. Perhaps this was because the name had been plastered every few feet around the festival grounds, perhaps it was because of the familiar name. But one thing was certain, they had placed quite well in the initial judging the night before. Within a few short moments, Ezekiel had weaved his way through the crowd to the Burgunden Breuerie booth.

It was a popular attraction indeed. Quite a few individuals were overheard ordering the offerings which had placed in the first night's judging. When his turn in the line came up, Ezekiel gave his intentions to the Burgunden attendant: "I'd like a pint of Rough Rye Ale to drink, and I was hoping to have a conversation with Mr. Toft if he is available, though I know he is likely very busy. I have a business proposition to offer him, courtesy of Beacon Point Brewhouse."

[Neu Engollon]

The day had gone well for most involved, and the booths of most of the beverage entrants were doing brisk business. Some of that business was based on the results of last night's judging, some on curiosity, and some on pure thirst. Burgunden Breuerie's tent heard the large bell rung quite a few times that day as kegs were tapped out. Some of the visiting breweries from further afield were in danger of running out of beer as they didn't have the means to rush kegs to the tent as quickly as BB. Fact of the matter was that BB was excelling in sales almost certainly due to the fact that they had trucks coming in straight from the brewery at all hours to bring in fresh brewed kegs. As well, they had fresh staff on hand to rotate out fairly regularly, while many of the other breweries' potential relief staff was thousands of miles away in other regions or the far corners of Astyria. As for scarcity at BB, they were rationing out some of their rarer batches such as Granpappy's Gruit in order to have some left for the final day.

One patron ordered as most would, but then came to the real point of his visit,
"I'd like a pint of Rough Rye Ale to drink, and I was hoping to have a conversation with Mr. Toft if he is available, though I know he is likely very busy. I have a business proposition to offer him, courtesy of Beacon Point Brewhouse."

Mercinda, the head server, happened to be the one taking the order. She craned her neck back to the staffer that was working the taps at that time:
"Rouge Rye, pint...So, Beacon Point, huh? You guys are doing pretty well, we see. Mr. Toft isn't here right now, but hang tight. I'll try to call him over on one of our radios or his cell. He's usually doing a circuit of the grounds." She got on the radio 'walkie-talkie',
"David? David, do you copy? It's Mercinda." She spoke into it as she looked at Ezekiel.

"Yeah, what's up, Mercinda?" Toft's voice came back over the channel.

"Mister....Beacon Point wants to talk to you. He's here at our tent." She said, not remembering if the Coastal Communities man had given his name or not.

"Oh, yeah, great. Have him hang by. I'm on my way. Not far actually."
Sure enough, four minutes later David Toft walked up and smiled.
"Mr. Solomon, how are things? I hope there's no problems over there. There weren't any last time I walked past your tent." Toft thought about the mini lighthouse issues and mentally winced. Then he fought the urge to look at the CCTV app on his phone to check on the whereabouts of Hoppy Jensen, who was the cause of most current problems in his life.
"What can I do for you?"

---

The bands were in full blaze tonight and this was the most thrilling lineup night of the whole Festival.

The musical and performance acts had started with the Smertolinan Serene Serene Orchestra and Ballet Company, who had held the decent sized audience captive as they practically floated across the Arklay Main Stage.

Next up was the pomp and pride of New Zepuha, the Imperial Navy Band, who roused the crowd from their glazed contentedness to martial march strains both boisterous and melancholy.

A break was definitely needed inbetween as the next up was the surfy garage rock of the Servonaris who, while equally adept at their instruments, were nowhere near the same vein as the Imperial Navy Band. An old NEDM veteran wearing his tan field cap with medals pinned to it, stood solemnly in his own world as he felt the strains of the Imperial Navy Band.

There was a short take down/set up break on the stage, which saw a younger crowd start to encroach on the Arklay Stage and see the older folk wander off to find a tent to sit in or a portable potty to use.

Once again, the Podunkers took the stage much as they did last night, and this time they relished every moment as they were able to open for influential heroes of theirs.
Taking a breather mid-set, Matti took a minute to intro them,
"So...Thanks for coming out, ya...ya...Love ya too. So, Velociraptor Rex...What can we say? 'Burgunden Bastard'! Right? I grew up on that shit. We've covered it before, and I'd love to do it again, but we got the originals coming right up to do it. These guys are legends, man! Give them all yer attention! Such a huge band, all the way from Nouvel Ecosse, and a dream to finally open for them. We're gonna jam out a couple more songs then they'll be up next..."

Jam they did. Pieter bobbed as he worked the bass, while Jean shredded on the guitar and Sal pounded away furiously on the skins. While they loved doing original material from their 8 albums, they enjoyed ripping out covers of favorite bands just as much. They ended with a cover of the Dead Boys 'Down In Flames', Substituting 'Vee Rex' for 'Dead Boys' in the lyrics.

Then a brief DJ interlude and Velociraptor Rex were up next.

[Coastal Communities]

Ezekiel had had a few sips from his rough rye ale as the attendant called for Mr. Toft on the radio. He had ordered the rough rye since it was a bit different from the typical fare he was accustomed to brewing for Beacon Point. With the passion he had for good ales, his learning curve had still been a bit steep prior to entering the field, with no prior experience. Now that Beacon Point had made their appearance at the festival, Ezekiel was as much doing field research for possible future Beacon Point selections as he was market research for Beacon Point. The rough rye did not disappoint.

For the moment, he was content to just be in the moment, taking in a bit of a different scene than the one he had recently encountered at the Beacon Point booth. The Burgunden Breuerie booth had a wonderful atmosphere cast. While it was quite busy, neither the attendants nor the customers seemed all too frenzied. "Oh, the benefits of being the local brewery," he thought to himself.

Solomon was cherishing the opportunity, a bit lost in thought, when Mr. Toft had entered the booth and addressed Ezekiel, saying, "Mr. Solomon, how are things? I hope there's no problems over there. There weren't any last time I walked past your tent." What can I do for you?"

"Mr. Toft, so glad to catch up to you--I'm sure you have kept very busy around the grounds. No, no problems at the Beacon Point booth, at least none that shouldn't be expected of a few rowdy individuals, certainly a common sight at any festival where there is lively drinking happening." He paused for a moment, reliving in his mind the recent incident with Mr. Houghton from the South Seas Soda tent. But Ezekiel had come with specific intent, and to weigh down Mr. Toft with details of this incident and thus divide his attention could prove counterproductive.

He continued,"Mr. Toft, I was just enjoying a rough rye ale, and I must say my first formal encounter with Burgunden Breuerie has lived up to the playbill expectations. It would be an honor to enjoy more of your brews. I know you are a busy man, so I won't beat around the bush. As you may be aware, Beacon Point has recently expanded our market to a global level. As such, we are receiving quite a bit of customer feedback in our new markets that is centered around our beer offerings. While people enjoy our brews—and they, along with our pizza, form the backbone of our company—they don't yet enjoy the broader recognition of other breweries. Simply put, we are seeking to expand our brew selection, and the Burgunden Breuerie name is one on a very short list that we have been targeting for some time. Your name recognition is top notch, and I now have first hand experience that your beers live up to their reputation."

And then, with a brief pause for dramatic effect, Solomon came to true inquiry. "I've been impressed with everything I have seen so far from Burgunden Breuerie. Now, I easily could have sent you a message after the festival, but I felt this was much better discussed in person. How would you feel about a partnership with Beacon Point to serve all of your beers alongside our selections at our Brewhouses?"

[Neu Engollon]

BURGUNDEN BREUERIE TENT

David nodded and pulled out a water bottle to take a sip. He was pacing himself. He'd also taken some pouches of live yeast and downed them at the start of the day, which was a preemptive way to kill a hangover that all the insider brew industry pros knew.

Toft ran his other hand along the smooth wood plank of the booth counter as he put the water bottle down. Then he finally spoke softly but firmly, showing why the Tofts were such a powerhouse financial family.
"We definitely have seen you expand lately, it's hard to miss, Mr. Solomon. First assumption would have been that it was a slick veneer without much substance underneath, to be honest. Bandwagon brewpub marketing. Now, you know that we have quite an operation and we probably do our homework to stay on top. We keep growing into a beverage giant for good reason and with good foundation and we have no plans on hitting unnecessary speed bumps if we don't have to...
We checked you out and discovered it wasn't all hype. You have great brews, good food...a solid product all around. So, that being said...
Of course we would be honored to have you carry our beers, all our brands. We likewise would want to bring in some of yours. We like having such a range of the best brews around. We tend to stock all the gold and silver winners of every AVBF and then some, anyway. So, that's really not even an issue. I think what we should also talk about is some mutual distribution deals down the line. When you figure it out, start getting out there and getting your product on shelves, or even just on other folks' taps. We already have Jory Jory Bottling on board for a partnership, we snapped up Gertner's Cider and Golden Cross here domestically to boost our brands. I promise you, we will be adding other brands as things move along. International brands ...and if you feel like selling at some point...You let me know. I'm sure you won't want that at the moment, and I'm not trying to insult you, it's totally a compliment of respect...but just keep it in mind for the future. I promise you though, in the meantime, if you want to fast track your distribution without all the growing pains, we're the people to talk to."

David Toft stopped speaking and nodded again, to show that he gave the proverbial floor over. He'd considered correcting Solomon about the Rouge Rye Ale being called the 'rough rye', but let it go. The Franco word for 'red' was not a common word outside of Haguenau or Terre Des Gaules, so the lingual confusion was common.
He raised the water bottle to his lips again, while one of the bands in the background was firing up on the main stage and the murmur became a low roar. Still, one was able to hear conversation quite clearly from this end of the Park, while still hearing the music if they focused on that. Toft had been comfortable enough to talk tiger as the crowds had thinned considerably on this end to make their way over to the stage area, making for less eavesdroppers near their side of the booth. A few hangers on were talking at the other end of the tent and leaning on the counter corner, while every couple minutes a patron came up with Helveti, NS Dollars or plastic in hand to make an order. With the slacking off in volume, some of the servers were in the back of tent sitting and a few others had taken their official breaks to try to catch the legendary Velociraptor Rex on the stage.

[Neu Engollon]

The Judging has been completed for the second set of categories. This was the final set of beer categories, to be followed tomorrow by the spirits categories.
Congratulations to the winners and runner-ups!

Abbeys/Dark Malts:

1 Manastirsko (Carigradska) 14.475
2 St Fenzels Abbey Ale (Omholts) 14.375


Belgians/Farm Ales/Saisons:

1 Ferme Terre Saison (Burgunden) 15.475
2 Alpha Male Strong Golden (Lion) 13.850
3 Triglavsko (Carigradska) 12.775


Pilsners/Lights:

1 Chateaux (Burgunden) 15.300
2 Shadow Valley Pilsner (Iron Eagle) 15.000
3 Krieg Kolsch (Burgunden) 14.800
4 Dunavsko (Carigradska) 14.275

Pale Ales:

1 Rombergian Ale (Rombergian) 14.900
2 Hunter's Pale (Lion) 14.825
3 Carigradsko Jako (Carigradska) 14.225
Seacliff Pale Ale (Beacon Point) 14.225
5 Omholt's Pale (Omholts) 13.450


Wheats:

1 Coast Range Raspberry Wheat (Beacon Point) 16.075
2 Breadhead (Brewvarian) 14.750
3 Harvest White (Lion) 14.650
4 Risin Moon (Brewvarian) 14.350
5 Cape Fouweather Hefeweizen (Beacon Point) 14.300
6 Moravsko Belo (Carigradska) 13.725


IPAs/ESBs:

1 Mariner CPA (Beacon Point) 15.600
2 81 Ale (Burgunden) 15.125
3 Century Crudlick (Brewvarian) 14.925
4 Grizzled IPA (Lion) 14.875
5 Wicked Wizman (Brewvarian) 14.425
6 Andrana IPA (Dukedom) 14.375


Lagers:

1 Walrus Lager (Atticos) 15.550
2 Lion Lager (Lion) 15.500
3 Reiff Golden (Reiff) 14.800
4 Volamena Lager (Dukedom) 14.725
5 Golden Cross (Burgunden) 14.150
6 Imperial Lager (Rombergian) 14.100
7 Badlander Beer (Atticos) 13.750


Ambers/Reds/Ryes:

1 Blood of the Invader (Iron Eagle) 15.825
2 Rouge Rye Ale (Burgunden) 15.175
3 Red Rider #1 (Brewvarian) 14.750
4 Beacon Point Amber (Beacon Point) 14.650
5 Omholt's Amber (Omholts) 14.600
6 Rampant Red Ale (Lion) 14.225

Once again, big thanks to Woodstead for the images used for the AVBF, including the medals. Great showing and great RP, beer brethren and sisters. On to the spirits judging.

[Coastal Communities]

At the Beacon Point booth, Ezekiel was having a hard time holding attention to the needs of the booth. There were quite a number of customers making initial and repeat appearances at the booth, no doubt spurned on by some good placings in last night's second round of judging. In addition to the seemingly normal festival goers hanging out in the tent, there was now a small handfull of individuals milling around, clad in the now characteristic matching purple tee shirts. Before, they had been a bit of a nuisance to Ezekiel, starting from the moment the Beacon Point crew had disembarked in the airport. They always seemed to be clogging up the lanes outside the booth; in reality the sheer number of them probably made them more visible than they really had been, especially as they were always seen in numbers. A pack mentality, one might suppose. Now, however, they were herding up in the Beacon Point booth, sampling many of the previous two night's brews which had placed in the judging.

At current, a peculiarly dressed man was at the counter. The juxtaposition of his entirely too formal suit with his entirely eccentric headwear made him stand out from the crowd, that is for sure. With an intent stare, the man remained silent as he ordered, instead pointing at the brew menu with one hand and holding up one finger with the other. He was pointing at the Coast Range Raspberry Wheat, one of countless individuals who had ordered a pint of this particualr brew today. It was by far the best selling Beacon Point beer today, and many people had commented that they just had to try the beer that had scored the highest of any category at the festival, and the only one to score above a 16. It was a bit of an unexpected turn, and supplies were running incredibly thin. It was a good thing that this was the last day of the festival, though Ezekiel doubted that supplies on this particular brew would last to the end of the day.

On Ezekiel's mind was the conversation with Mr. Toft of Burgunden Breuerie the night before. Ezekiel had found it a good time to request a formal partnership with the Breuerie, offering to serve their beers alongside the Beacon Point offerings at the brewhouse restaurants. Not only had his request been accepted right away, Mr. Toft had some very good compliments for the Beacon Point brand, at one point even offering to purchase the Beacon Point name. That, of course, was out of the question for now; Ezekiel was still relatively young after all, and had not lost one iota of the passion that brought him into the business twenty years ago. The biggest surprise of the evening, however, came when Toft had expressed interest in Burgunden offering to add some of the Beacon Point brews to their lineup.

When Solomon had signed up for the festival, it was with the intent of bringing some international notoriety to the Beacon Point brews. Now, with some excellent judging decisions in favor of Beacon Point already achieved, it seemed that Beacon Point might get even more international recognition than Solomon had originally planned. With recognition from the folks at Burgunden, Beacon Point's time might be even more up and coming. It was with great enthusiasm, then, that Ezekiel agreed to Toft's request, and further agreed to consider mutual distribution deals.

In fact, Solomon and Cyrano had been discussing the potential intermittently through this day's business. Not only could adding Burgunden's beers to the Beacon Point brew menu mean a greater fan base for the restaurants in its own regard, but receiving recognition with the Burgunden options would increase the restaurants appeal as well.

"Cyrano," Ezekiel stated during a brief lull in activity at the booth, "I think you should take a quick trip to the Burgunden booth. It is time for some more research on our new partnership." The smile on Ezekiel's face was quite reassuring.

"Do you recommend a particular brew?"

"I think you should get whatever excites you the most," Ezekiel responded. "You might want to try the Rough Rye Ale."

[Neu Engollon]

EARLIER IN THE FESTIVAL
AVBF DAY ONE

David_Toft was walking by the Arklay Air/Air Londsdale tent when he heard his name. He looked at the woman, and recognition kicked in. They'd had one video conference and he knew her picture from business mag articles.
"Yes! Ms. Ashcroft. How may I help you?"

"Mr Toft! Just the man I wanted to see."

"Is there a problem, Ms Ashcroft?"

Natasha Ashcroft crossed her arms
"Yes. How come we weren't informed that my attendants were replacing people?"

David Toft sighed.
"Yes, well...I'm very sorry. That slipped through the cracks. I should have told you and your people. Not to worry, I did handle it. I knew there might be difficulties, but not a near mutiny....merd!
Many of our servers return year after year, you see..."

"Yes, they made that quite clear a few minutes ago."
She still seemed annoyed.

David kept an even, interested tone,
"Oh? They came here to talk to you?"

"More like I called them in. One of them approached me and told me he was upset rather clearly, so I invited him inside."

"I see." David had a creeping feeling of frustration, but not towards Natasha...

"I lent him an ear along with his friends."

"Interesting. Did they tell you we already had a similar...um...talk?
They cornered me in my office earlier. Yesterday, in fact."

"Yes. It wasn't the money that bothered them, though."

"Oh?"

She continued,
"It was the sudden change of plans that set them off. You should have seen them angrily looking at my people. I had half a mind to pull them out when I sensed the hostility. Thank heavens that didn't happen."

Still neutral toned: "Yes, we are all grateful for that. I got a different sense from them, but I would still like to hear all that you can tell me first."

Natasha motioned,
"Come join me inside then."

David followed Natasha Ashcroft inside her tent area.
"Accorzu, yes?"

Natasha gracefully walked into her company's tent. Within a few steps, the noise outside had died down to a humming noise,
replaced by the airy, soft music playing inside.

"I must commend you on your folks set up here. It is done up very nicely." David nodded admiringly.

"Thank you. And 'accorzu'? I haven't encountered that word yet."

"Oh, my mistake. Um, 'accorzu' is a carry over from Frandit, our other language besides English. It is sort of a catch all word that can mean okay, right, sure...depending on intonation. You will hear it a lot, it's pretty tight in our vernacular."

"Sounds like a useful expression. I'll take note of that. Anyway, back to the matter at hand..."

"Yes, go on..." David prompted.

"Your people felt they were pushed out of their place unfairly. I have personally felt that before and it's something you just can't shake off..."

"Well, yes. They were a bit, but I also had a meeting with them where I explained that it had to do with good business
relations with your company. And in this subsequent meeting, they sure made it seem that it was about money to me. I promised them a nice bonus on their checks, the ones that would have had the upper Pavilion assignments, anyway."

"The tips? Yes, that's one part, but it ran deeper than that, apparently."

"Well, possibly...I'm wondering what you did for them to alleviate these deeper feelings?"

"I gave them each a free roundtrip flight to anywhere they wanted to go, courtesy of Arklay. It's the least I could do for pushing them out like that."

"Oh my..."

"'Oh my' what?"

David shook his head,
"Well, that, on top of their bonuses. I understand the pride thing, trust me I do, but financially, they have been compensated well by both of us. So there could be no complaints there...You see...It hasn't been announced yet, but I took over as CEO of BB, taking over from my father.
...And something I've learned is that these things happen, and at some point, people have to suck it up and move on.
It's business, after all. I feel a little bit like my people have taken advantage of the situation, playing both of us, so my sympathy for them
is dwindling fast."

"Hmmmm. That's a dampener for sure."
Natasha sighed yet again.
"Ah, my greatest weakness.."

David waited a beat, as she drifted off.
"Weakness?"

Natasha smiled
"As a child, I was taught to be generous and to share what I had. I've carried that resolve since then. Sometimes, it
worked, sometimes, it didn't. Hearing your side of the story now, I guess it's worked backwards this time.

"Ah, well...Listen, you did the right thing. As far as you knew, you were correcting a wrong. Nothing can be said disparaging about that. You just didn't have the full picture and they didn't give it to you. They made out like bandits, I think, and if I hear any more grumbling from them, I will be dragging them into a room and serving them with pink slips...But anyway, perhaps you and I need to communicate more, to avoid anything like this that might pop up in the next couple days."

"That sounds reasonable. I guess I should be more discerning next time. It's a miracle I haven't sent the airline into the red." She laughed.

David laughed with her.
"Oh, the travails of a CEO, eh? Well, I think your heart is in the right place, and that counts for a lot."

"Thank you. That's comforting."

David made a hand waving gesture as if to say 'Sure',
"Those that conduct business on the quality of people will keep coming back to you and the high standards that you attract, based on how you treat the lower echelons. You know what I mean?"

"Absolutely."

"That counts for a lot. So trust your instincts. Keep an ear to them, those on the bottom rungs, because they keep everything moving and are the ultimate measure of success."

"I'll toast to that."
Natasha raised her champagne glass.

David smiled, "But, look at me, giving you advice. I think you're the one that could be giving me advice. Your company is going gangbusters. Yes, indeed, let's toast!"
David grabbed a champagne flute and clinks it to Natasha's. "Provici!"

"Provici!"

David explained, "That is how we say cheers in Frandit. How is it in Londsdalian?"

"Oh just boring ol' English. Hahaha. Our native language is a mystery."

"Oh. I see. A mystery, eh? Well, I should be off, lots to get nailed down before tomorrow. Anything else I can help you with right now?
While speaking, David dug into his pocket,
"This is my card, with my direct line on there, plus the line to the secretary that is coordinating here in the box office. Anything you need, call that number, Ms. Ashcroft."

"Show me around when you can. There's so much more to see that I haven't seen yet."
Toft handed the card over to her and she accepted the card graciously.

"Oh, my pleasure. You mean in the city?"

"The city, the festival...It's all just so alluring."

David paused a moment, glancing over Natasha Ashcroft subtly and quickly, as if taking in her beauty for the first time.
"There is a lot to see here." He agreed.

Natasha takes out her own business card from her purse and hands it to David, which he accepted. He held it out to glance at it, while actually again taking in the bottom half of her figure.
"Are you here with family or a significant other, Ms. Ashcroft?"

"Me? Oh no. I've been single since college. Haha. As for family, I lost my parents early and I inherited the business."

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that, on both counts. I can't imagine how you stayed single. You've done very well for yourself."

"I didn't think I'd be able to handle what they left me, but I do have my mother's generosity and my father's sense of innovation. A good mix, if I say so myself."

"It is a good mix indeed. I went through a rather rough divorce not too long ago..."

"Oh I'm sorry to hear that. I hope things have been looking up since then." Natasha made a sympathetic sound.

"Well, yes. Sort of. As I said, I'm taking over BB from my father, Jan, which is quite a prospect. It is a big monster. We
have facilities and Breu Pubs all over the planet. That has taken much of my time, and of course taken my mind off....other things."

"Do you love what you do?"

David smiled
"I guess...Well, yes, of course. It's in my blood. The Tofts have been at the helm of Burgunden Breueries for generations. There really could be no other choice for me. Well...I tried. To do something else."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I went into Medical school for a bit. It just wasn't for me. The business, my family, the beer, it all called me back.
There's times when I feel I am a prisoner to it, and other times when I couldn't imagine life without brewcraft. I'm
sure you understand, with a family business...'

"It's an enigma and I understand completely. Arklay Airways was the project of my great grandfather and it's been passed down
the line since the beginning."

"Ya. Yes, exactly."

"Sometimes I think of passing it on to someone else, but I just can't seem to let go of it. For someone my age, I should
be living life like a normal 25-year old."

David mused, "What is normal really? Sure, at some point you have to pass the reins, and you don't have family to pass that to...but
you know that guilty feeling if you put the family business down a wrong path with the wrong people. If you don't have anyone you trust, rather, is what I meant to say.

"Very true. Well, it was a pleasure, Mr. Toft. I shan't keep you from your duties any longer."

"Yes, I should be off. Well, Ms. Ashcroft, it was a pleasure to meet you in person finally. We shall talk again."

"Come back anytime you like. I'll see you around."

"You will. I will be all over these grounds the next three days. We will arrange that tour."

"I'm looking forward to it. Thank you."

"But I encourage you to check out all the neighboring booths as soon as you can. They are all good people."

"Now seems like a good time. I think I'll do just that."

"Good. Except if you run into our brew master, Hoppy, then run! Ha ha ha."

"Haha. In these heels? Challenge accepted."

"Right. Accorzu. Good day, Ms. Ashcroft."

"Accorzu." Natasha tried out the new word.

This was a cooperative IRC RP with Londsdale

END OF THE NIGHT
AVBF DAY TWO
CONFEDERACY PARK
BURGUNDEN, NE

Taralinda Botaliccio had waited her whole life to see Vee Rex. Well, since their tour through Neu Engollon last year, anyway. They had come on a work night to Torino, and so she was unable to go to the show. Her friend Felina had sold her ticket in the parking lot. She had commiserated in her room after her shift, listening to Blood Trail, Marathon Runner and Employee of the Month over and over. Until her roommate made her shut the stereo off anyway.
Now, she had finally made it to see the band she had been practically dying to see. She watched as the roadies set up the gear, anticipating her first glimpse of JR Petroli. Between him and Franco she..

BLAM!

Stars blazed through her vision as she found herself sitting on the grass in front of the stage.
An ugly, dirty, hairy looking man with a large beard looked down at her when the stars finally started to clear up and she could focus. An odd sickly sweet fermented odor started to hit her olfactory sense at the same time.
The troll man spoke,
"What the shit cake, darlin? Ya gotta watch yerself there, wall mongah. Peepul er movin thru un' yer big can izzz in da way!"

"Asshole!" Came from one other woman nearby. Several in the crowd were gasping and trying to help Taralinda up from the ground. She was unable to speak at the moment.

Again from the indignant woman to Taralinda's left,
"Wait! I know you! You're Hoppy Jensen! I'm gonna report you to your bosses."

Jensen chortled as he continued to chop his way through the crowd and away from them.
"Whatever, lady. You do that. Don't git in ma way agin, lil' poop muffin." He directed that to Taralinda as he moved through the people like some behemoth from Lord of the Rings parting trees. They caught a last glimpse of him sending a young beer swag clad male teen flying in much the same manner that Hoppy must have clocked her.

"Watch yer gooney gullet, ya crap faced donglebiter!"

Things wound down for the evening, and word of the assaults never reached David Toft, at least not that night. Besides, Hoppy would still have to compete in the third place Flonking match versus the Iron Eagles of the Smertolinan Iron Eagle Brewing, so his job might still be safe for another day, no matter were Toft to hear of his escapades or not.

Most of the crowd that weren't directly offended by Hoppy Jensen seemed to really enjoy the evening, as evidenced by the medical tent having to cordon off more square meters outside the regular tent confines to coral young dehydrated, vomiting patrons. Sun and booze didn't usually mix as well as the advertisements would have you believe.
Others, who were there more for the music and still had some coordination left were dancing to DJ Charovnika's set that closed out the night after the incredible Velociraptor Rex set. Many stumbled their way to taxis, green hotel shuttle vans and buses, or made the couple blocks walk to the Metro stop, escorted by Burgunden police that were at intersections and directing traffic to control the outflow from the event. Some lucky patrons were within walking distance of their hotels. A handful of fools attempted to drive home in various bad states and were picked off by alert patrols. If any had slipped through the net to cause damage, it didn't make the news that next morning.

AVBF DAY THREE
CONFEDERACY PARK
BURGUNDEN, NE

The next day started much as the last two had, opening at 1100, with DJs spinning on the FBoNZ Stage and more events happening on the exhibition grounds such as jugglers and other performance artists.

The flonking matches happened and Alpen Volken Circle took the stage to do a quick set before their possibly longer set syncing the Finals flonking match between the Communadi Old Boys and Wolfman's Bar. Their quirky take on Neu Engollian and Mederano area folk music was loved by many and tolerated by a few. Overall, the last day of the festival seemed to be off to a grand start as Confederacy President Kriegman prepared to take the Arklay main stage in order to thank the attendees, performers, sponsors, beverage entrants, and myriad of other staff and involved folks in making it the best one yet...

[Neu Engollon]

DWILE FLONKING MATCHDAY THREE - AM

FINAL MATCH
Communadi 4–8 Wolfman's Bar (on Pitch 2)
(Flonking band was Vechirek)

DWILE FLONKING MATCHDAY THREE - PM

3RD PLACE MATCH
Burgunden 11–17 Iron Eagles (on Pitch 4)
(Flonking band was Zerksees Dyngus)

Congratulations to Wolfman's, Communadi and Iron Eagles for gold, silver, and bronze respectively. Commiserations to ...me.

[Costa Aluria]

At the South Seas Soda tent, the third day of the festival was progressing at a break neck speed. Currently, as predicted, the sales were progressing at a faster clip than they had the previous two days as festival goers started to run short on cash and wind down from their frenzy. Charlotte was at the counter filling orders when a festively dressed individual with long flowing blond hair and cleavage busting out of the top came to order. She was an atypical beer girl, trying to fit in, maybe, or be funny, hopefully.

"I'd like one brew of the day, the Professor Pele," the individual stated in a cracking, high pitched voice all too unnatural. "I have heard much about this festival special."

Charlotte was forced to recite what she had on a number of occassions since the morning. "I'm so sorry, right now we are all out of Professor Pele, but..." Her words were cut off mid-sentence.

"I can wait for the next brew," the woman replied. "I see that you are doing brewing demonstrations every hour. Since it is 11:55, that willl be shortly."

"I'm terribly sorry miss, but while we have been giving ongoing brew demonstrations today, none of them have been for Professor Pele. I'd be happy to get you one of our previously brewed and bottled selections, or..." Again, Charlotte's sentence was cut short by an interruption. This time, however, it came from the other side of the tent.

"Actually miss, we would love for you to be part of a taste test on a secret brew demonstration, if you would be so honored." It was Allistair's voice chiming in. "You see, the crew has been working on something extra special for the last day of the festival. Why, you'll even note Julian getting ready to add a secret ingredient right now!"

In fact, the crew had been working on a super secret set of brews all day, working feverishly around the brew kettle in the middle of tent and performing their own taste tests at various intervals, never quite satisfied with the results. Many times in the morning, Allistair had added a few ingredients to the brew kettle, waited a few moments, and then took a small spoonful of what was brewing. And each time he gave a discerning yet displeased look, and went to add a few more ingredients.

It was a process he and the crew had done countless times at the main soda brewery in Costa Aluria where all of the new flavors were concocted. Allistair had assembled a fine crew for this task indeed, each with a distinguished flavor palette that had been continually refined with each batch of brew. And if this were any normal soda brew, Allistair himself would have called the earlier results as pretty good, good enough to sell on tap at the last day of the festival at least. But not today.

It had started the night before. Allistair had come back from the Beacon Point booth with pizzas and sodas carried by some festival goers. When the crew had seen the pizzas, they were relieved, and even more so with the addition of the growlers. Soda brewing was hungry business after all.

Allistair had been busy right after he returned the previous night, speaking to a visitor of some importance. Meanwhile, the crew had started to dig in to the pizzas. At this Allistair quickly nodded to show his approval. But when Julian picked up the first growler, Allistair quickly waved him off from his spot with the visitor. He had not forgotten about the conversation he had had with Ezekiel Solomon, all in the name of fun competition or otherwise.

Once the conversation with the visitor to the South Seas Soda tent had finished, Houghton re-joined his crew, waiting for the band to begin playing and the crowd to dissipate. There, he let out his secret. "We need to save this soda, but rest assured, you will have plenty of chances to sample the Beacon Point soda brews tomorrow. We've got a lot of brewing to do in the morning; we will see exactly what Solomon in all his wisdom has come up with!"

[Neu Engollon]

CLOSE OF DAY THREE
CONFEDERACY PARK
BURGUNDEN, ZURICH, NE

"I want to thank all of you once again for coming out to the Alpen View Beer Festival. Whether you stuck it out the whole weekend or made it just for one day, you were a vital part of this experience and thank you for making another successful year. That of course goes especially to the beverage entrants or candidates and exhibitors, food vendors and sponsors. You have done wonderfully to expose the festival to brew and distillery culture, as well as regional and world cultures and bring us all together in one big sense of community. Lastly, on behalf of the government of the Confederacy, I want to thank you for visiting our humble nation, and hope you can take the opportunity to see more of it while you're here, or come back again on holiday to explore more of our cantons and soak up more of our culture. Thank you."

Confederacy President Jean Kriegman waved and nodded from the corner of the Pavilion box as he wrapped up his short speech. His voice had been carried over the PA system, pre-empting the music and other announcements. While some thought his position not as important and more ceremonial than the other Presidency of the Confederacy, that of the Federal Council President, he held a good deal of political power.
Additionally, the Federal Council would mostly be replaced in the next couple months by the new Coalition party that had taken power in landslide elections. Kriegman, of the opposing Alpen Democrat Party, to that of the current ruling CFP, would be one of the few to retain his job, as his appointment was by the Council with ratification by the Assembly, both of whom would see the CFP politicians flushed out from their ranks.
Garavano, the incoming Council President-Elect had promised him he would keep his position.

Franz Toft, Minister of Tourism and Culture, on the other hand, would be one of those CFP stalwarts losing his spot. He wasn't too upset by it and was looking forward to political retirement and focusing more on his duties with the BDI conglomerate. However, he had declined to make any Festival closing statements, assured that Kriegman's statement would be enough.

The whole Festival was weary, from those who had attended all three days, to the booth and beverage staff and servers, to the other various company sponsor and exhibitor staff who were ready to go home. Rather than bring in more kegs many of the brew tents let the last of them blow, except for some of the favorite standards. They were looking forward to bringing less home and BB had promised to recycle and compensate them for kegs left behind. Some remaining full kegs would be shipped on to the local Burgunden BreuPubs, who would be the first to stock this year's medal winning varieties from around the globe. More orders were being arranged to stock the rest of the BreuPubs in other markets, based on performance of the brands over the last couple days.

The entertainers kept the spirits still flying and people enjoyed the last hurrahs of the biggest party to be held in Neu Engollon each year. Velociraptor Rex would wrap up their second and final night at the festival, with mixed reactions as some debated which performance of theirs was better, the final night, or the previous one. Instead of the Podunkers opening for them, they had the wildly popular Vechirek of Smertolina on this night. Finally, as they finished a second encore and sauntered off the stage as rock star champions, some comforting beats came through the speakers as Dragon Drop started to spin to close out the night. The die hards held out, dancing, yelling and spilling as they held onto the moment as tightly as they could, not wanting the crushing weight of real life, school and business to come crashing back in.

It was these folk that a haggard and bloodshot looking Hoppy Jensen took relish in grabbing and dragging to the gates, with best intentions to help clear the grounds, he actually made security's job harder as conflicts erupted over their rough handling. On David Toft's orders, Hoppy would be one of the ones ejected into the night, but every time security showed up at his last reported sighting, he was steps ahead and somehow popping up at another gate.

Shortly before Vee Rex's second encore, the spirits categories had been announced to the delight of some and the frustration of others.

It was the last dwindling hours of darkness into the wee morning hours that the BB tent staff, along with other brewers and vendors, all got together and shared stories, jokes and toasts while they helped each other break down and clean up.
Another successful year of the AVBF came to a close.

[Neu Engollon]

The Judging has been completed for the final set of categories.
Congratulations to the winners and runner-ups!

Rums:

1 Mabaya Maharania Light (Dukedom) 15.450

Others/Experimental Liquors:

1 Opoyeny Absinty (Iron Eagle) 14.825
2 Rabid Wombat (Reiff) 13.925

Vodkas:

1 Crystal Eagle (Iron Eagle) 14.900
Pavlovo (Rombergian) 14.900
3 Ice Princess Winter Grain (Iron Eagle) 14.725

Schnapps/Fruit based liquors:

1 Orli Shlivovino (Iron Eagle) 14.350
2 Rakija (Moravska) 14.200
3 th Widdowmaakre (Hodgepodge) 13.875
4 Voaniho (Dukedom) 13.825

Whiskeys/Scotches:

1 Tsaritsa Viktorija (Moravska) 14.600
2 Reichtenberger Whiskey (Rombergian) 13.850
3 Endeavour Single Malt (Atticos) 13.700
4 Wayne Island Scotch (Atticos) 13.600

As always, big thanks to Woodstead for the images used for the AVBF, including the medals.