Assassin's Creed Valhalla Case of the Missing Ale - how to find the secret brew

Assassin's Creed Valhalla
(Image credit: Ubisoft)

If you're stuck at the Assassin's Creed Valhalla Case of the Missing Ale quest and need answers, either on how to find the secret brew or work around a glitch, you've come to the right place. 

The Case of the Missing Ale is a seasonal quest and part of the Assassin's Creed Valhalla Yule Festival. There are games to play, brawls to win, and of course plenty of ale to chug - though some of it's gone missing, which is why we're all here. Wondering how to find the secret ale, save the holidays, and make the world right again? Read on for a step-by-step on how to beat the glitches and complete the Case of the Missing Ale quest in Assassin's Creed Valhalla.

AC Valhalla Case of the Missing Ale Yule quest: How to find the secret brew

Assassin's Creed Valhalla Case of the Missing Ale quest

(Image credit: Ubisoft)

You can start the Case of the Missing Ale quest by heading to the brewery in your settlement. If you haven't given Ravensthorpe its brewery yet, you'll need to do that before you can find do the secret brew quest.

Once you've got your brewery, you'll learn from Alwin that its first day of business isn't going so well. Tekla left the place to her apprentice, Ake, who decided to steal a barrel of ale and run off to get wasted somewhere. Of course, since Alwin is "startlingly drunk," it's on you to find Ake and recover the missing ale.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla

(Image credit: Ubisoft)

Luckily, Alwin traveled to the future, bought a GPS tracker, went back in time and strapped it to Ake's ankle before he took the ale. The bad news is he made it pretty far with the ale. Just follow the tracker and eventually you'll find a very drunken Ake on a cliffside in Grantebridgescire, northwest of Utbech. Ake explains that it was actually a group of Saxon bandits that raided your brewery and took your ale, and that he's going to make them pay for it. You'll tell him he's too drunk to fight anything, and then you'll prove your point by kicking his ass. Now it's up to you to track down the bandits and get back your ale once and for all.

Since there's no quest marker to tell you this, you're probably wandering around all over the place trying to find those bandits. Just head to nearby Utbech, where you'll find the bandit camp. Kill the bandits or sneak around them and take the barrel of ale from a round hut atop some staircases.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla

(Image credit: Ubisoft)

AC Valhalla Case of the Missing Ale glitch

Assassin's Creed Valhalla

(Image credit: Ubisoft (via Hold to Reset))

A lot of folks are reporting bugs and glitches in the Case of the Missing Ale quest, so here's how to work around them and complete the quest. I personally experienced a glitch where I had to drop the barrel temporarily to fight off some goons, but when I went to pick it back up again it had disappeared. Apparently, if you go back to the round hut where you originally found the ale, it'll reappear. But I didn't know that at the time, so I just reloaded my most recent save.

If your marker is taking you all around the map and you can't find the secret brew, it's probably because a glitch is causing the marker to display incorrectly. If that's the case, disregard the marker and head west of Utbech until you reach the huge river connecting the Nene river and the Great Ouse river. That's where you'll find Ake and his boat. Just drop the barrel of ale near the boat and voila! Quest complete. Enjoy your 140 Yule Tokens. Also, Ake is now an available opponent at the Yule Braw, so be sure to give him another chance when he isn't drunk.


Check out our complete guide on Assassin's Creed Valhalla for everything else you need to know to see Eivor's quest for revenge through to the end.

Jordan Gerblick

After scoring a degree in English from ASU, I worked as a copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. Now, as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer, I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my apartment, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.