Elmus’ Berries is a small Dragonborn errand for Elmus, the brewer of Thirsk Mead Hall on Solstheim. Most of the hall’s mead was ruined while the Rieklings held the place, and the one surviving batch needs a tart, rounding note that only one ingredient can give it: juniper berries. The catch is that they do not grow on Solstheim, so you will have to think about the mainland.
It is about as gentle as Solstheim gets: no dungeon, no monsters, just a brewer with standards.
How to start
- Complete Retaking Thirsk so that the hall is back in Nord hands.
- Ask Elmus how the mead is coming along. He explains that a batch is almost ready for flavouring and asks you to bring juniper berries if you return to Skyrim.
Walkthrough
Find juniper berries
You only need a single sample. Juniper berries are common across the Reach, and alchemists sometimes stock them. If you would rather not sail back yet, there is one lone juniper tree at the end of the bridge leading to Nchardak, which is a handy exception to Elmus’ claim that they cannot be found on the island.
Deliver them
Return to Thirsk and hand the berries to Elmus. He is delighted with their ripeness, calls them just right, and pays you on the spot. There is no timer or combat involved, so you can carry the berries around until your next visit to the hall.
Rewards
- A leveled amount of gold.
- 10 bottles of Ashfire Mead.
Tips and notes
- The quest is one of the Thirsk errands that open up after Retaking Thirsk, alongside Halbarn’s Supplies and Hilund’s Spears.
- Juniper in mead is not a Thirsk invention: Vilod in Helgen brewed it the same way before the town was destroyed.
- The quest data includes a failed state, but the source does not say what triggers it.
