The Royal Brewer is one of a handful of Kingdom Notables, recognized by the Crown for their accomplishments. In Atlantia, the sitting Royal Brewer hosts next year’s Royal Brewer competition at the annual Kingdom Arts and Sciences event (KASF), unless it was booked at a dry site. In that case the Royal Brewer seeks out an alternate Kingdom-level event and advertises the change heavily – certainly on the Guild email list (for now).
— List of all prior Royal Brewers —
The position of Royal Brewer can be enormously rewarding. It gives you carte blanche to do as much with it as you like. You can reach out to autocrats across the Kingdom and find out where there are planned brewing activities – they’re often not on the Kingdom Calendar, and may get added to the event schedule late – and help boost the signal by throwing your support behind them on the list or here on the website. If you find they aren’t planning a brewing activity, you can encourage them to include one, even find them someone to run a roundtable if the autocrat can find room. (You meet brewers all over the Kingdom that way.) You can publish a monthly message in the Acorn (the Kingdom newsletter) announcing any and all brewing activities at upcoming events. You can spearhead largesse activity to provide beautifully packaged and labeled brews to the Crown to give as gifts, particularly in gift baskets to other Crowns at Gulf Wars and Pennsic. You are the face, the voice, the inspiration of the Guild for one year. Make the most of it.
There are two traditional duties of the Royal Brewer. The first is to serve bar at the Atlantian party at Pennsic. The other is to run a brewing activity – usually a competition with optional round table – at the Gem Joust.
How do you get to be the Royal Brewer? Here’s what the Kingdom of Atlantia Great Book of Law says (http://law.atlantia.sca.org/Law.pdf as of 8/29/2014):
E.2. Kingdom Royal Notables
E.2.2. The Royal Brewer for excellence in making beer, ale, mead, wine, or other period alcoholic beverages. (N.B. – In addition to Royal Bard, Poeta Atlantia, Scrivener Royal, Royal Baker, Royal Archer)
E.3. Creation of a Kingdom Royal Notable
The Crown may choose to modify the list of Notables in consultation with the Great Officers of State to encourage any discipline they see fit.
E.4. Tenure of a Kingdom Royal Notable
The Kingdom Royal Notables are positions held in service to the Crown of Atlantia for the tenure of one year, except where noted otherwise.
E.5. Selection of a Kingdom Royal Notable
Kingdom Royal Notable competitions are held annually at Kingdom Level Events, unless the Crown sees need to do otherwise.
Competitions shall be run by the current Kingdom Royal Notable, as a representative of the Crown, in consultation with the appropriate Great Officer of State.
If the Kingdom Royal Notable is unable to run the competition for their successor, the Crown, in consultation with the appropriate Great Officer of State, shall designate a proxy to run the competition.
Competitions should be announced on the Kingdom Announcements List and in the Kingdom newsletter’s electronic supplement at least twice before the event where the competition takes place.
The current Kingdom Royal Notable, in conjunction with the appropriate Great Officer of State, shall set the details of the competition and judging standards. Judges should be drawn from the following:
- The Crown or their proxy
- The Heirs or their proxy
- The appropriate Great Officer of State or their proxy
- The current Royal Notable
- Additional judges may be chosen at the discretion of the Royal Notable
- In no case should there be fewer than three judges.
E.6. Removal of a Kingdom Royal Notable
The Crown may remove a Kingdom Royal Notable at Their discretion. If the Kingdom Royal Notable is unable to complete his or her term or is removed early for any reason, the Crown shall direct the appropriate Great Officer of State to hold a competition at the next convenient Kingdom Level Event, or the Crown may choose a successor.
The Kingdom Chronicler’s website displays the current Notables: http://acorn.atlantia.sca.org/notables.php. A list of all of Atlantia’s Royal Brewers will be posted here as soon as Sorcha uploads it.
Sorcha here: there is as very informal custom of the outgoing Royal Brewer giving the incoming Royal Brewer a pitcher as a sign of their position in the Kingdom. Totally up to the outgoing Royal Brewer, of course. Your Barony may let you expense it, but the Kingdom does not.