How to find the secret brew in Assassin's Creed Valhalla

AC Valhalla Case of the Missing Ale
(Image credit: Ubisoft)

Wondering how to complete the Assassin's Creed Valhalla Case of the Missing Ale quest? Added during the recent 1.1.0 update—which improves game performance and stability, but also fixes a load of bugs—this quest comes as part of a patch that gives your Assassin's Creed Valhalla settlement of Ravensthorpe a seasonally snowy twist.

If you've hopped back into 9th century England to enjoy the festivities over the holiday season, you've probably noticed that something's amiss over at the brewery—I mean, that's assuming you've built one yet. If you're here because you're stuck trying to find the elusive ale, read on to find out how to find the Valhalla secret brew.

AC Valhalla Case of the Missing Ale: How to complete the seasonal quest

First things first, you'll need to have a brewery at your settlement to start this quest. If you haven't already built one, you can do so now—it's located on the far right side of your settlement, just south of the longhouse and east of the Hunter's Hut. It will cost you 600 supplies and 45 raw materials.

Once the brewery is up and running, you'll receive the Case of the Missing Ale quest. So head inside and speak to Alwin who seems more than a little drunk. The brewery has been ransacked and Ake has run off with a barrel of ale so Eivor is tasked with tracking it down.

Head to the quest marker in Grantebridgescire, located northwest of Utbech. Then, find and speak to Ake: You'll find him sitting on the edge of a cliff and, like Alwin, he's been at the ale. He tells Eivor that Saxon bandits stole the booze and he was planning to get it back. When Eivor challenges him that he's in no state to do that, a fistfight takes place. Once he's been soundly beaten, Eivor will be tasked with 'finding the secret brew'.

AC Valhalla secret brew location

This time, there's no quest marker to tell you where to find it, but if you were paying attention to the conversation, Ake talks about a bandit camp—so head east to Utbech. It's up to you how you approach this, but I had no problems just walking in and fighting off enemies as they came at me. The barrel is located in a round hut, so head there to pick it up. 

The barrel doesn't just go straight into your inventory, though: You'll need to carry it back to Ake's boat, but again, there's no quest marker on the map to show you where that is. Head west away from Utbech until you reach a road, then follow the road south until you reach the river. Ake and his boat will be waiting for you here. Unfortunately, you can't mount up with your barrel, so you'll have to make your way there on foot. It doesn't take too long.

Put the barrel down next to the boat and the quest will complete, awarding you 140 Yule Tokens and Ake will be available as an opponent in the brawling event.

Sarah James
Guides Writer

Sarah started as a freelance writer in 2018, writing for PCGamesN, TechRadar, GamingBible, Red Bull Gaming and more. In 2021, she was offered a full-time position on the PC Gamer team where she takes every possible opportunity to talk about World of Warcraft and Elden Ring. When not writing guides, most of her spare time is spent in Azeroth—though she's quite partial to JRPGs too. One of her fondest hopes is to one day play through the ending of Final Fantasy X without breaking down into a sobbing heap. She probably has more wolves in Valheim than you.