What’s in a name?
One of the most asked questions I get is “what does Artifice mean?” Or something along those lines. People are curious. If you’re reading this blog post you’re curious too. I’ll do my best to answer, but if this post leaves you wanting more, drop a comment down below.
Merriam-Webster defines Artifice as:
- 1a: clever or artful skill : INGENUITY
- 1b: an ingenious device or expedient
That’s what first drove me to like this name. That, and the fact it starts with the letter A, which has advantages on lists of things that go in alphabetical order. It has an old timey feel to it too that fits the light-hearted steampunk vibe in our branding. But the definition doesn’t stop there, and this seems to be what people focus on the most:
- 2a: an artful stratagem : TRICK
- 2b: false or insincere behavior
When you look at the list of synonyms it may leave one scratching their heads as to why we’d pick something like this…it seems like an awful lot of negative attributes one wouldn’t want their business associated with.
Synonyms: device, dodge, fetch, flimflam, gambit, gimmick, jig, juggle, knack, play, ploy, ruse, scheme, shenanigan, sleight, stratagem, trick, wile.
However, if you read deeper into the definition of Artifice, you’ll see that it isn’t necessarily speaking to negative actions one may take, but rather to the craft, intelligence, planning, and execution in a skillful manner. This is where we, the creators and makers of Team Artifice, shine brightly.
Our Beer and Mead focus is stylistic. We alter the water chemistry for every Beer we make to mimick the exact water profiles from the places of origin for the Beer in question. Munich, Dublin, London, etc… They all have specific water chemistry that makes their iconic Beer styles distinct, and many of you can tell the difference while imbibing, even if you can’t put your finger on exactly why they’re different.
We set out to craft our Beer and Mead recipes by keeping within style parameters as much as possible, only straying from that when we want to highlight a specific ingredient or perhaps a type of Honey. There’s a lot of work and research behind the scenes trying to source ingredients from specific geographic locations as well. These high standards we hold ourselves to make our beverages stand out from the field.
The Food Menu is equally bold with our choices and seasonings. We want to inject as much interesting character and international influence as we can, while not forgetting the desires of our local community at large. We have weekly features that show off the skill of our kitchen, yet remain approachable to our guests. The menu will change several times a year, but we’ll always keep some popular favorites, like our delicious Burgers.
We want to take your taste buds on an adventure. Leave the lovely town of Manheim behind for a short time and take a trip with us to Korea, or Europe, or other points on the globe. This is the essence of why we embrace both sides of the name Artifice. We are trying to trick your taste buds with our craft.
We’ll see you in the taproom soon!