Planning for the Brewmaster title in advance
by Allison Robert 
Sep 20th 2008 at 7:00PM
The new boss, Coren Direbrew, is pretty cool and I'm happy to see older content being made relevant again (especially when it's an instance as cool as BRD), but as far as I can tell from the forums and various data sites, the drop rate on the mounts is...less than spectacular. I'm seeing estimates that range from as little as 1% to as much as 15%. Blue poster Kisirani pops up to say it's "much, much easier" to get a Brewfest mount drop than it was to get the Sinister Squashling off the Headless Horseman. Wowhead lists the Squashling as a 2% drop, so maybe the 15% figure for the Brewfest mounts is more accurate.
The mount might be a crapshoot, but you can cover the other bases on an upcoming Achievement and title by planning ahead:
While the Brewmaster Achievement and title won't become available until Brewfest 2009, one of the needed sub-Achievements is Brew of the Year, which requires you to obtain and drink each of the 12 Brew of the Month Club beers. You become a member of the club by forking over 200 Brewfest Prize Tokens, and you'll need to get it now in order to have all those brewskies under your belt in time for Brewfest 2009. You'll also need to have 3 pieces of Brewfest clothing squirrelled away so you can get drunk and make a pest of yourself /dancing in Dalaran for Disturbing the Peace once Wrath hits.So, if you're doing Brewfest this year with an eye toward the Brewmaster title and Achievement, make sure you've gotten the following:
Brew of the Month Club: 200 tokens
Brewfest Dress/Regalia: 200 tokens
Brewfest Boots/Slippers: 100 tokens
Brewfest Hat: 50 tokens
Wolpertinger pet: 50s (if you don't have one from last year as a quest reward)
The total comes to 550 tokens plus 50 silver. All of the other sub-Achievements are things that have to be done while Brewfest is on (you can't buy stuff like Succulent Sausage in advance as its 2-day duration guarantees it won't be around by the time Wrath comes) and are also considerably easier, so you don't have to worry about it until Brewfest 2009.
The catch? You still need a Brewfest mount (Have Keg, Will Travel) to complete the full Achievement, so if you don't have a Ram from last year, keep running the BRD event and pray the mount drops (although it's certainly possible that Blizzard will change how you get the mount again next year, so don't go nuts if you don't get a drop). The Brewmaster Achievement itself is part of the even larger Achievement What A Long, Strange Trip It's Been, so good luck, and start saving those tokens!
**Edit: I probably didn't make this clear, but I don't advocate saving tokens from this year for next year; as commenters have observed, the tokens this year expire after 21 days so there's no point to doing that. What I do suggest is that, if you're keen on getting as much of the Brewmaster Achievement done as early as you can, these are the tokens and items you'll need to get at this year's Brewfest. Either way you'll need to get the Brew of the Month Club Achievement started now to be finished in time for Brewfest 2009.**
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Wrath of the Lich King, Mounts, Guides, Bosses, Expansions, Instances, News items, Events, Tips, Achievements
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Keyra Sep 20th 2008 7:06PM
They did away with the tickets, too. They're tokens now, and there's no saving them until next year - they're only good for 21 days.
Allison Robert Sep 20th 2008 7:43PM
Good catch, thank you, I don't think I made it clear that it's the items you'll need and not the tickets. Editing the post to add that.
Zarq Sep 20th 2008 10:48PM
Alliance can perform a ticket exchange at the Brewfest vendor (Belbi Quikswitch). I'm guessing it's a 1:1 trade but don't know for sure as I don't have any of last years tickets.
Just speak with her and choose the "Ticket Exchange" option.
Hazerduz Sep 20th 2008 10:50PM
It is a 1:1 exchange just did it, had 189 from last year, now I have the Brew of the month club, the mount and pet from last year, only need the clothes, and it's only the first day. |-)
yomama Sep 20th 2008 7:11PM
Farqin BS!!!!!!!
F-U Blizzard... I friggin HATE you!!!!!!
Frank Smith Sep 20th 2008 8:48PM
I WISH I WAS NEVER BORN!!1!
Veras Gunn Sep 20th 2008 7:12PM
Just a theory, but I remember last christmas I stuck a bunch of those items from winter veil with a time limit in my bank. Long after they were done I could still take them out and use them. What I've done is bought all of the beer, and food I need, stuck them in my bank, and hopefully they'll last until the patch comes out. Not sure if it'll actually work, but no harm in trying it.
Allison Robert Sep 20th 2008 7:43PM
I wish I had the bank space to try it, but I don't. :( I might if 3.02 hits early enough for me to get rid of all the space now occupied by mounts and pets, but I think I'll also try mailing it to alts. Ten to one Blizz has fixed it though - but I guess we'll see.
Jp Sep 20th 2008 9:18PM
Of course, the problem there Allison - if 3.02 hits before Brewfest is over, then it won't matter, since you'll be able to just eat the foods/drink the beers, and get the achievements right away, anyway.
ypeels40 Sep 21st 2008 6:56PM
you can just mail yourself the food /beer and keep it in the mail so it doesnt waste duration
Amaxe Sep 20th 2008 7:13PM
Remember the tokens expire though... you won't be saving them for next year
Michael Sep 20th 2008 7:26PM
The Ram dropped twice for us on my first try, not once on the second. Not sure what that means, except that I don't believe it's 1%.
Iwanttobeasleep Sep 21st 2008 12:22AM
Even a 1% drop rate can show up the first try--or twice in a row.
Solid Squall Sep 21st 2008 5:15AM
I have killed the boss 32 times now. The mount hasn't dropped for me a single time. A person in my guild got the kodo on their first kill.
This is frustrating.
BenMS Sep 21st 2008 7:42AM
Random numbers are Random.
dcwdvl Sep 20th 2008 7:34PM
I've done it 5 times, seen a Ram drop once, and the Remote Teleporter drop once. I've seen numerous people with the Kodo already, and that's only half the mounts in less than a day. I'd say the % drop was pretty high. On another note, it's possible (and maybe even likely) 3.0 comes out before Brewfest ends, allowing the achievements to be attained now (instead of next year for those applicable).
Allison Robert Sep 20th 2008 7:47PM
I really wish we had more data on the exact drop rate, but so far the boss is so new that none of the info sites (Wowhead, Thottbot, etc.) have hard numbers on it. I've run the boss seven times now and not seen the mount or transporter drop, which was a big disappointment to my group. I've seen a couple of people on my realm with the kodo, but not so many that it made a convincing case for a high drop rate. Time will tell, I guess. At this point I'm willing to go with a 15-20% drop rate based on what I've seen (which for all I know is still inaccurate), but it's still hard luck on anyone who never got a ram last year, and dicey for anyone with a ram who'd like a kodo.
bigdaddyjay Sep 20th 2008 8:02PM
One reeason you see alot of people on Kodo's is that there is a vendor that sells something called goblin hop's or something, and when you "use" the item it makes your mount look like a kodo. There are 2 other types of hops, that make your mount look like a ram and something else(which i'm not sure of). the costs are 2 tokens, 5 tokens (kodo), and 20 tokens(ram). the enhancements go away after you dismount i believe.
Keyra Sep 21st 2008 1:12AM
The "Preserved Hops" is 20 tokens and made my mount into the kodo, but it was gone the moment I dismounted :-(
zigmond Sep 20th 2008 7:41PM
I haven't tested it but i hear if you sent yourself the food in the mail it will not use it's two day timer. so you can send an alt the food and he will automatically return it when the 30 days are up. you'll then have 30 day to open the mail. Seeing how wrath is two months away and the patch with achievements is before that you can get that part of the achievement done if you wanted.