Why do Dwarves drink Whiskey or Ale?

[Hussar]

The bit on the front of ENworld about the Beginners Guide to Drinking got me to thinking.

The stereotype is dwarves sitting around the mead hall quaffing ale or mead into their beards.

But, hang on. Dwarves live underground. They don't farm wheat or barley, or at least, they're not known for it. Where does all that beer come from? I mean, the idea of dwarven spirits has been around for a long time, but, if you don't grow grain, you can't make whiskey.

So, what's really in dwarven spirits and who sells them their beer?

 

[Treebore]

It helps their hair/beards grow!! Everyone knows that!

 

[Heathen72]

They drink stout (preferably short and in a little teapot)

 

[Treebore]

I'm positive I don't want to know what molds/lichens/fungus/etc... the Dwarves make their alcoholic beverages from.

 

[Wik]

Well, I've always figured dwarves kept landed settlements on the surface of their mountains - little thorps that are used as basic farms and grazing lands. You can grow crops like barley and corn on poor soil - the mesopotamians lived off barley simply because it was the only crop that survived the high soil salinity of their land, and the inca preferred corn because they could grow it in a wide range of locations. And, of course, both of those make whisky (not GREAT whisky, in my opinion... if you want good whisky, you need Rye).

If you want to stretch things a little bit, introduce the potato - it grows ANYWHERE, with little to no encouragement. Case in point: we set up a garden in our backyard about six, seven years ago, and planted some potatoes, peas, and carrots. After two years, we found we didn't have the time to devote to the garden, so we just let it sit. Every year, potatoes keep springing up, so we're constantly picking new ones. They just keep growing, even though the garden is practically overgrown with weeds.

The dwarves wouldn't be drinking whisky if they were growing potatoes, but it's pretty easy to come up with a nice name for dwarven vodka - I personally like "Helfram's Medicinal Elixir", but that's just me.

 

[DiamondB]

They use mineral spirits

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

XRP actually has a great PDF about food/drink for fantasy races that addresses this. Yes, they would brew more underground-reasonable brews (potatoes and roots are the basis of lots of hard liquor), but they'd likely prize beer because it would be a luxurious drink they could only make via trade. (Although I think dwarves and gnomes having farms in nigh-inaccessible glacial valleys also makes a lot of sense.)

 

[Ilium]

Dwarves eat and drink pretty much what everybody else does as far as I know. Bread, vegetables, fruit and meat (which is where a lot of your produce goes, of course: feeding the meat animals). They would have to have farmland or trade for everything. Given the vagaries of transportation in a low-tech setting they must have farmland. Maybe they just pay the gnomes to work it.

 

[Moon-Lancer]

to cover up their bad breath....

 

[Imperialus]

This is an excerpt from a rather lengthy writeup on dwarves that I did for my own campaign. Explains where dwarves food comes from at least.

Dwarven cities are typically old mines that have been converted into living quarters, kitchens, bathhouses, armouries, and all the other essential facilities for day to day living. They grow organically usually expanding from a large central cavern, which serves as a natural hub containing the city’s markets, public buildings, meeting areas, and inns. This is as far as most outsiders get in a dwarven city since the remainder of the caves and tunnels are the property of individual clans.

The clans whose territories bring them close to the surface oftentimes engage in a form of terrace farming providing most of the agricultural goods consumed by the city. Dwarven farmers also raise goats and sheep, animals that more closely resemble mountain goats and bighorn sheep than human versions of the same domesticates. Dwarves have bred a short stocky breed of pony that they use as a beast of burden both in the mines and on their farms. One unique aspect of the ponies bred by the dwarves is that they have evolved darkvision to 60 feet due to the centuries that they have spent underground. Dwarven farmers are typically some of the least prestigious members of dwarven society but the food they provide is nonetheless essential.

****

Travelers seeking food and shelter can find it at a number of inns owned by clans. These vary in quality and reputation like inns anywhere but the best ones are usually owned by the surface clans since they have access to the best fresh produce and also have the most contact with outsiders making cultural misunderstandings much less likely. Dwarven food is typically simple but hearty; stews, hard breads, racks of mutton, goat meat and roast vegetables making up the majority of their diets. The food keeps well since a cold pantry is simply a room without a fire in it and despite the fact that other than salt spices are a luxury few dwarves ever see a good dwarven cook can create some incredibly delicious meals.