William the Bastard

We have decided what we are going to do for our second batch of beer. It is the base Cream Ale kit from The Brewhouse; however, we are going to “hack” it using some guidelines found online.

To summarize these modifications we would basically be doing a small wort batch independently using some dark crystal malt and chocolate malt. We’ll add this wort to the wort from the kit. The end result is intended to produce a Northern English Brown Ale.

We’ll also be substituting the dry yeast in the kit for Wyeast 1098 – British Ale Yeast.

That being decided…we have started to think about potential names for the beer. After much thought, I have reached what I think would be the most appropriate name.

English Brown Ales are characterized by their nutty flavor. So there is always the temptation to name the beer Busted Nut Brown Ale. But that has been done before.

My vote is to call the beer William the Bastard.

William the Bastard is another name by which William the Conqueror was called. William was the first Norman King of England from Christmas, 1066 until his death. His birth was illegitimate which is what landed him his unfortunate nickname.

I see three good reasons for this name:

1. William the Bastard was from Northern England and so is our style of beer.

2. Our beer is also of “illegitimate” birth as we are arriving at Northern English Brown Ale through a base kit of Cream Ale. Cream Ale is traditionally an American pioneered beer style.

3. It sounds cool and will allow me to use the picture above (of William the Bastard) as our label!

Feel free to send me your thoughts.

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