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Mor'du Scottish Ale

Brewed: 04/10/2016   Kegged: 04/23/2016


bear.jpgAs I've mentioned before, when the 2015 BJCP Style Guidelines came out, there were suddenly new style categories which I had not brewed.

One of these was Category 14, Scottish Ales.

So, in the Spring of 2016, I decided to tackle a Scottish Heavy to satisfy this Category.

The beer is low in alcohol with big caramel malt additions and nice darkish amber color. 

Hops are over-shadowed by the malt flavor and only provide enough bitterness to balance out the sweetness a bit. 

There are a little bit of English esters in the beer, but not really enough to notice unless you are looking for them.

The beer is medium-heavy in body and has a thick, rich beautiful head. 

This is a gorgeous session beer.

The name of this beer comes from the Pixar movie Brave. 

Mor'du is the 13-foot-tall "Demon bear" that used to be a man and terrorizes the people in the film.

There is nothing really "Demon bear" about this beer, but Brave did take place in the Scottish Highlands, so it is likely the bear drank its share of Scottish Heavies.


For more about the Beers I'm brewing to fill out representation of the Style Guidelines, see Sheppy's Blog: BJCP Goal.

For more about this beer, see Sheppy's Blog: Mordu.


Mordu_Small.jpg

Mor'du Scottish Ale --- Batch 1

Style Scottish Heavy Batch Size 5.50 gal
Type All Grain Boil Size   7.76 gal
Brewhouse Efficiency   75.00   Boil Time   90 minutes

Recipe Characteristics

Recipe Gravity 1.039 SG Estimated FG 1.012 SG
Recipe Bitterness 15.7 IBUs (Rager) Alcohol by Volume 3.5 %
BU : GU   0.405        
Recipe Color 14.8 SRM
Color
   
Measured OG:   1.041    Measured FG:   1.012 
ADF:   70   Measured ABV:   3.8%

Ingredients

Ingredients
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
3.00 g Chalk (Mash 60.0 mins) Water Agent 1 -
5 lbs 8.0 oz Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 2 71.5 %
14.0 oz Crystal, Medium (Simpsons) (55.0 SRM) Grain 3 11.4 %
6.0 oz Honey Malt (25.0 SRM) Grain 4 4.9 %
6.0 oz Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 5 4.9 %
4.0 oz Crystal, Dark (Simpsons) (80.0 SRM) Grain 6 3.3 %
4.0 oz Pale Chocolate Malt (200.0 SRM) Grain 7 3.3 %
1.0 oz Blackprinz (500.0 SRM) Grain 8 0.8 %
0.250 oz Magnum [12.70 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 9 12.4 IBUs
1.00 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 mins) Fining 10 -
0.250 oz Magnum [12.70 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 11 3.3 IBUs
1.00 tsp Yeast Nutrient (Boil 15.0 mins) Other 12 -
1.0 pkg SafAle English Ale (DCL/Fermentis #S-04) [23.66 ml] Yeast 13 -

Mash Profile

Mash Steps
Name Description Step Temperature Step Time
Mash In Add 9.61 qt of water at 168.2 F 156.0 F 45 min


Batch sparge with 2 steps (2.40gal, 3.88gal) of 168.0 F water

Recipe Notes
3g chalk in the mash water. This should bring Denver water profile (as defined by BeerSmith) to
Ca=67,Mg=8,Na=21,SO4=50,Cl=23,HCO3=157
Mash, sparge, and boil as directed.
Pitch as close to 60 F as possible. Keep temp below 65 for 2 days, then let it warm up to room temp (but lower than 72)
Ferment about 2 weeks.
Force carbonate to 2.5 volumes. Condition to taste.

Brewing Record

Brew Date:  4/10 Strike Temp:   170
Mash Temps:  156 to 154
Pre-boil OG   (1.032 SG)   Pre-boil Vol   (7.76 gal)
Actual Mash Efficiency   Pitch Temp   62 
Fermentation            
Day 1: Going strong 62
Day 2: Kraussen starting to fall 66  
Day ... 

 
Brewing Notes:
04/08/2016 esheppy
Bought ingredients today. Will brew Sunday most likely
04/12/2016 esheppy
Brewed Sunday. Racked into one of my 5-gallon fermentors plus about 3/4 gallons in a smaller glass jar. Fermentation was well under way early on Monday. Was thinking I might get blow-off, but today it looks like the kraussen is falling, so I don't expect I'll need a blow-off tube now.
04/13/2016 esheppy
Took sample. Nice red beer with awesome clarity already. 1.014 gravity. Caramel and toffee. A bit of raisin. Some biscuit undertones. Pretty sweet. Pretty smooth.
04/23/2016 esheppy
Kegging today. Sample was a couple points lower at 1.012. This tastes much better than it did. Those two points make it taste drier and less sweet. Still caramel and toffee, just not as sweet. Gorgeous color. Nice and clear. I think the beer model will like this one too.
04/24/2016 esheppy
Decided to try a pint. Delicious. Yummy. Needs carbonation and the first pour certainly was not as clear as it will be. I am pleased with this beer, though.
05/01/2016 esheppy
Finally bottled up the extra. Got 4 bombers. Tasted about the same as going into keg. Didn't take FG reading so I'm assuming it ended at the same gravity.
05/01/2016 esheppy
Melting Steam keg blew tonight, so Mor'du went into the keggerator. Pressure at around 14. Did take a sample. Still needs carbonation, but flavor is exactly what I expected from this beer.
05/03/2016 esheppy
Holy cow this is good. Discovered I had forgotten to turn keggerator back on Sunday after cleaning the lines, but this beer is very good at this temperature. Very thick creamy head. Wonderful ruby-red color. Tastes like what I think a Scottish ale should taste like.
05/15/2016 esheppy
Nice an malty. Easy drinking. Love this beer.
05/25/2016 esheppy
Nice and pleasant. Caramelly but not too sweet. Beautiful session beer.
06/12/2016 esheppy
Really tasting awesome. This is exactly what I thin a Scottish Ale should taste like.
06/25/2016 esheppy
The keg kicked. Great beer while it lasted, but I do need this keg for another beer. Still have some bombers.
05/25/2017 esheppy
Finally finished last bottle. This was so,much better on tap. Going to have to brew again.
Comments:
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