Mor'du Scottish Ale
Brewed: 4/10/2016 Kegged: 4/23/2016
As 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.
| 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 |
|
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| Measured OG: | 1.041 | Measured FG: | 1.012 | ||||
| ADF: | 70 | Measured ABV: | 3.8% |
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
| 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
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
4/8/2016 Bought ingredients today. Will brew Sunday most likely
4/12/2016 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.
4/13/2016 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.
4/23/2016 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.
4/24/2016 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.
5/1/2016 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.
5/1/2016 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.
5/3/2016 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.
5/15/2016 Nice an malty. Easy drinking. Love this beer.
5/25/2016 Nice and pleasant. Caramelly but not too sweet. Beautiful session beer.
6/12/2016 Really tasting awesome. This is exactly what I thin a Scottish Ale should taste like.
6/25/2016 The keg kicked. Great beer while it lasted, but I do need this keg for another beer. Still have some bombers.
5/25/2017 Finally finished last bottle. This was so,much better on tap. Going to have to brew again.
4/8/2016 Bought ingredients today. Will brew Sunday most likely
4/12/2016 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.
4/13/2016 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.
4/23/2016 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.
4/24/2016 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.
5/1/2016 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.
5/1/2016 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.
5/3/2016 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.
5/15/2016 Nice an malty. Easy drinking. Love this beer.
5/25/2016 Nice and pleasant. Caramelly but not too sweet. Beautiful session beer.
6/12/2016 Really tasting awesome. This is exactly what I thin a Scottish Ale should taste like.
6/25/2016 The keg kicked. Great beer while it lasted, but I do need this keg for another beer. Still have some bombers.
5/25/2017 Finally finished last bottle. This was so,much better on tap. Going to have to brew again.