Fjalar
;)
and his brother Galar, in Germanic mythology, were the wicked dwarfs who killed the wise man Kvasir in order to gain his magic powers. They mixed his blood with honey in a cauldron and made a mead that bestowed wisdom. But Fjalar and Galar lost the wonderful drink to Suttung, a frost giant whose parents they had also killed. Unlike dwarfs, Suttung was boastful about his acquisition and it was not long before the gods heard about the mead. Odin himself decided that he would go to Jotunheim, the land of the frost giants, and lay hold the magic drink. Disguised as evil Bolverk, he journeyed to Jotunheim and persuaded the frost giant Baugi to tunnel through a mountain to where Suttung kept the mead under the care of his daughter Gunnlod. Once the hole was drilled, Odin changed his shape from Bolverk's to a snake, and slithered downwards to the hidden treasure as quickly as he could. Reaching the secret cave, he changed himself into a handsome one-eyed giant and for three days and nights he was Gunnlod's lover. The passionate giantess let Odin drink up every drop of the mead, before he turned himself into an eagle and flew back to Asgard, the home of the gods. There he spat the mead into jars left empty for his return. Suttung gave chase as another eagle, but just failed to catch Odin.
In the account of Kvasir's death, it is clear that this is a myth about fermentation. To put the seal on their peace agreement the two branches of the gods, the Aesir and the Vanir, had spat into a jar, and it was from the spittle that Kvasir had been formed. Spittle, like yeast, causes fermentation, and so when Fjalar and Galar mixed Kvasir's blood with honey in a cauldron they created a magical mead. The connection between inspiration, poetry and wisdom and some form of potent drink occurs in several mythological traditions.