Beverages and drinks

In most Dalethian taverns, the list of beverages can be pretty long.
The barkeepers can mix the beverages in the most exotic ways on demand. In some cases, herbs are mixed in too. Popular are drinks where the herb is still intact and not really mixed in, but can be used as a straw.
Cooled drinks are not common throughout the land. Ice in drinks is very expensive because ice is so difficult to keep good. Luxury taverns might store several beverages in a ice cellar for a while to keep them cool.

For an example of a price list, see the price list of the "Bow and Arrow" (PDF, 48 kB), one of the guesthouses under Imperial Law. Similar price lists are used throughout Daleth.

Water

Water is the cheapest beverage in Daleth. Water is usually for free (if it wasn't people would steal it from the well, take it from the fountain, or just get it out of the brooks). However, the service of giving a glass and cleaning must be paid, which gives water in any amount the astonishing price of 2 Kintus at most taverns (it might be more in the larger towns).
Cooked and cooled down water, sold as Wateins, is less cheap with a price of 5 Kintus per tankard.
Finally, there is water known as Awahs that should have healing abilities. It tastes of metal or salt, and sometimes has bubbles ("Vivid Awahs") in it. It comes in bottles from the sources, of which Lazulameir is the best known, and is expensive. A bottle would cost 5 Assar or more.

Tea

Tea, basically cooked water, has the same price as the Wateins plus the extra costs, according to the herbs that are put in the tea. A price of 3 Kintus for a cup of "home tea" with common herbs from the region to 5 Assar for a cup of tea with imported, rare herbs is normal.
Honey in the tea to sweeten the somewhat bitter taste of some herbs costs 1 Kintus extra.

Akraneins

A bottle of pure Akraneins would cost 2 to 5 Assar, rather expensive. The drink, actually the pure juice of one or more kinds of fruit or berries, is usually mixed with a lot of water, which makes it cheaper to drink the sweet, non-alcoholic beverage.

Milk

The different kinds of milk are sold at day price. Cow milk and goat milk are common and cost about 2,5 Kintus per cup; hot milk costs 2 Kintus extra and herbal milk (hot milk spiced with one or more herbs) costs 5 Kintus per cup.
There will not be much milk in store at most taverns for it does not keep fresh for that long. Some guesthouses will have their own goat or cow to take really fresh milk from. Please note that milk has to be boiled before use. The boiling process allows the cook to take the cream from the milk. Therefore, really fresh milk is seldom served.

Beer

Beer must be the most popular beverage in Daleth. Wheat, water and herbs are common and so are breweries. Almost every settlement of more than 100 inhabitants has its own brewery. The larger breweries, especially the ones who have to compete with another brewery in the same town, make special beers.
Taverns usually have three kinds of beer:

the beer from the nearest brewery or "home brew" beer (5 Kintus for a tankard)
another beer from the same town that is different in taste from "home brew" beer (7 Kintus for a tankard)
imported beer from another town that has "something special" (10 Kintus for a tankard).

Taverns might have more flavours in stock.
Famous are the beers from the Gouden Velden (Angrazn, Dernëv) with it heavy, dark taste and the small village Gelwakrs near Razn'Oth, that is lighter with a more herbal taste.

Kez

Kez or Ghez is a sometimes slightly alcoholic beverage made of boiled bread, honey, water, spices and herbs. It is usually a really traditionally home brew product, although some beer breweries might make Kez as well. The drink is very nutritious and lots of people take a bottle with them on the road.
A tankard of kez costs in taverns about 7 Kintus. Individuals might sell good Kez for the thirsty traveller for less.

Amizatr

The Amizatr is a "bubble wine" made of apples and cheap Awahs. It tastes fresh, and not always of apples. There is "Amizatr Skeima" which tastes more like apple, and has a low percentage of alcohol, and "Amizatr Wizon", which is darker, contains more alcohol and tastes more bitter - the drink of the tough guys with too much style to drink the common beer.
The Skeima costs 8 Kintus a chalice, the Wizon 1 Assar.

Leithu

The Leithu is a real ladies drink. It is wine made of red fruit, and thus somewhat sweeter than wine. There is not much alcohol in it, but enough to get a little light in the head on a sunny afternoon. The Leithu is served cooled and costs about 8 Assar per chalice.

Midus and Militheins

Militheins is the famous honey wine or mead. There are two different kinds: the wine made of honey (Militheins) and the wine mixed with honey (Midus). The quality of the Midus depends on the kind of wine that has been used. Usually it is cheap white wine with inferior honey. With Militheins, it is the kind of honey that has been used. And the kind of honey depends on the kind of plant the bees encountered. The taste of Militheins can differ per region. So do the prices. Most Midus and Militheins are priced as normal wine. The Militheins form the Overveer Hoogvlakte is the most expensive and does a Skilliggs for a bottle.

Wine

Wine can be bought from about half an Assar per chalice. That is the cheapest wine around. Better wines have higher prices. A wine with a price of 3 Assar per chalice should be good, one Skilliggs per chalice is expensive wine.
Wine bought in shops can be much cheaper: a bottle of cheap wine for 2 Assar, normal wine 10 Assar, or casks of normal wine for a price of 8 to 10 Skilliggs. The bottle will costs an additional 2 Assar, the cask will cost 1 Skilliggs extra.

[More information on wine]

Gudismairth

The velvet taste of this dark wine is the smear for the salons. Served before dinner, it is the hors d'œvre for the conversation. The Gudismairth is made in Razn'Oth, and has a alcohol percentage of 15-20%. It is sold for 1 Assar per chalice.

Fireberrywine or Tundeins

The Tundeins is an invention from the Naglani. The "wine" is made of berries found in De Taycha, commonly known as "fireberrywineberries". The wine has an alcohol percentage of 40% or more. Tradition has it that the Naglani got a cup of it as they returned home from the cold plains. Thus, Fireberrywine is still sold per cup (for about 1 Assar per cup). The wines tastes bittersour, but is light on the tongue like smoke.
The Tundeins is the same as fireberrywine, but traditionally made by the Naglani with berries gathered in De Taycha. The Fireberrywine might be made anywhere with specially grown berries.

Tuijon

The legendary Tuijon has some infamous brothers and sisters. A good Tuijon costs 1 Skilliggs per chalice. Anything with the word Tuijon on it sold for a lower price has to be fake or a Tuijon of inferior quality - these are also called Splinter Breakers because the herbs in it might affect the mental health in a very bad way. Health workers day it is pure poison.

[More on Tuijon]

Ansts

Ansts, or sometimes Phyarx Ansts, is a highly alcoholic drink (60%-70%) that burns the throat. It is made of wheat but no one would ever taste that. Sometimes distilled honey and strong tasting herbs are added.
The word Ansts means "Mercy" in Tuggs, and mercy it is for the paupers who search for a way out of their situation. The Ansts, which is rather cheap at a price of 2 Kintus for a sip, warms the body, revives the tongue and eases the mind. And a sip is enough to get very drunk.
However, the mercy often ends in death. The warmth of the body is only on the inside, and limbs might freeze off. The veins in the head can also freeze. Too much Ansts at a time might cause severe liver damage, too much Ansts during a longer time causes severe brain damage. If the drinker hasn't already died of an incident, like drowning in the city pond, falling down the stairs, setting himself alight.
Because the popularity under the large, poor masses, the making of Ansts is cheap and quick without minding the quality of the product. Sometimes, the Ansts is put in unwashed bottles, spoiled or rotten wheat is used, and so on. Ansts is a major treat to health in the slums of Daleth. Official distilleries don't sell it, but in many Kungsfelthian shed the smell of fresh made Ansts can be smelled daily.