Mordred was the black sheep among the knights at Arthur’s round table. As the bastard son of Arthur he was hidden from court and raised away from Camelot alongside his half brother Gawain. When Gawain’s chivalric deeds earned him a place at the round table, Mordred used this connection to gain one of the coveted seats for himself. Mordred gained a reputation among Arthur’s knights as a violent and uncouth womaniser, however this did not prevent the King from leaving him with charge of his domain when he left to campaign against the Romans. Upon Arthur’s departure Mordred attempted to seize both the kingdom and the Queen Guinevere as his own. Arthur, enraged, returned to face his errant bastard. The two did battle at Camlann and while Arthur slew Mordred in the field he received a mortal wound in return, thus marking the end of Arthur’s reign and the fall of Camelot.

Mordred is a dark table beer. We took a complex base of 7 malts including Vienna, Oats, Wheat, Rye and Roasted Malts and fermented them with a Belgian yeast strain to add beautifully integrated notes of dark fruit and spice. This was then hopped with Strata to add bright and zesty top notes of strawberry, bubblegum, grapefruit and sage. The result is a sessionable and interesting dark beer which evolves in the glass revealing myriad complexities. – Small Gods