[3][4] Ossetian brewing culture can be traced back to descriptions to be found in the Nart sagas, which contain an aetiological legend recounting the discovery of beer.
According to the legend "a warchief saw a bird in the forest that ate some hops and immediately fainted.
The chief took the hops home and told his wife, the wise matriarch Shatana, what had happened.
She mixed the hops with ground malt, and added water to brew the first ever batch of Ossetian beer.
[3] During the festival, the beers which are brewed by the locals are tested by the judges choosing the best brewer.