Peers and students, my opinions..

[Stephen Pursley]

> Good Morning,
> 
>   I'm glad to see this actually got a new topic started (which is why I
>   brought it up *now*), and would like to put a little bit more onto why
>   I asked it again and why it keeps coming up in my mind. (I asked it a
>   couple years ago when there were a lot less folks here and I was a lot
>   less mature all the way around.)
> 
>   I have often wondered if having a formal teacher-student relationship
>   would actually benefit me or if I could continue on my own with the
>   progress I want. Because of my nature and what I like to do, I see
>   myself eventually becoming a Laurel and/or Pelican in the *very* distant
>   future. (I have no where near the abilities nor service experience for
>   either and can't see these happening for quite some time. Then again,
>   I don't think I deserve any of the awards I've gotten so far.)

I am a brewer and mead maker.  My Laurer, Finn Kelly is not.  Then
again, there are no brewing Laurels in Ansteorra (there was one, Baron
Bjorn, but he has passed on).  I appprenticed to Finn not to learn
brewing from him, but to have him speak for me in the Laurels circle. 
He took me as an apprentice to "make me (him) look good".

snip

> 
>   In the area of competitions, I plan on never entering one. On the
>   other hand, I will, when I feel my skills are high enough, do displays,
>   but I don't feel comfortable with the idea of saying this thing is
>   better than that thing. Even at Steppes, mead was judged against
>   calligrahy and sewing. These are not the same types of things to be
>   able to judge against. They are things you can put together for people
>   to look at and admire though.

I agree.  I have in my 16 years in the SCA and 12 years of brewing only
entered 5 competitions.  It is rather hard to judge beer against leather
work.

However, several groups now have annual brewing competitions.  The ones
I am aware of are:

Namron Protectorate (I run this one with the rest of my guild)

Loch Solair (probaly selled that one wrong)  Unfortunately they have
moved their main event to the same weekend as Protectorate.

Elfsea (run by Lord Alexander Ravenshaw, a fellow member of the guild I
belong to: The Honorable Brotherhood of Brewers and Vintners).

If there are others, I hope the populace out there will let us know.

   Barat