by Widgetmaker Dreamsmith (Tribunal Server)

Brewing has been updated in the last year. The following is intended as a guide for those interested in advancing brewing skills with a minimum of begging for foraged items and running around gathering things that don't stack (like fire beetle eyes). I can recommend Qeynos as a town to learn in, but others are similar in their suitability. With decent INT., one can advance in this skill relatively quickly, just don't drink while you're brewing! (Ed: Drinking does not affect Wisdom, if your wisdom is higher than your Intelligence then that is the stat your skill increases will be based off of, so feel free to sample the goods! (Ed. Ed.: Drinking has been updated to affect Wisdom now, so don't touch until you're done brewing!))

Don't train any points in this skill unless you just have some to spare (I never did). Snake scales are too easy to come by, and Bog Juice will take you to skill 21. Here's the progression (non-bold steps can be skipped if you are willing to fail a bit more often to avoid collecting items or dealing with casks that don't stack):

• Bog Juice to 21
• Short Beer to 31 (requires casks)
• Heady Kiola to 46 (Sell this to Tailors for use in making Cured Silk Armor)
• Short Ale to 51 (requires casks)
• Fish Wine to 62
• Gnomish Spirits to 101 (requires spider legs & rat ears)
• Ol' Tujim's Fierce Brew to 135
• Faydwer Shaker to 188 (Elven Wine & Gnomish Spirits are available in various locations, requires casks)
• Minotaur Hero's Brew to > 200 (requires casks)

Note that you can easily acquire the snakes scales and fish while leveling early on. If you work Tailoring while you level, and fish during healing/medding time (yes, you can fish while medding), you can easily get to the point where your tailoring skill is just beginning to need the Heady Kiolas when you're at the skill level to start making them. Of course, if you save a stack of whatever you're brewing lately, you can keep your alcohol tolerance maxed as well. Cheers!