Behind the Label:
Burdisson's Dwarven Ale

Burdisson's Dwarven Ale was created through a series of competitions known as Dwarf Brew 2010.

Story:

David Martin submitted the winning story about Boran Coalbeard's visit to the Burdisson Brewery. We had already been considering a traveling merchant of sorts to tell the different stories of our many beers to come. When we read Dave's story with a beer conosuir in place of the merchant we were hooked! Originally submitted as Burdisson's Bolder Beer, the story layed the foundation for the rest of the development.

Label Art:

Mathew Howerter's dwarf was an instant favorite, and a perfect fit for the modern and epic feel we were looking for. The slogan "We forge mighty good ale" was just icing on the cake. Matt was later comissioned for the DwarfBrew.com backdrop and wowed us all again.

Recipe:

For the recipe, we polled the community to find out what they expected a dwarven ale to taste like. We then conducted a nation wide competition bringing in 15 entries from around the country. The judging panel consisted of BJCP certified judges, beer retailers, and brewers. We then livestreamed the judging online for brwers and fans to watch. Keith Curtachio submitted the winning entry.

Burdisson's Original:

"This is a modified Southern English Brown. It is brewed with a slightly higher OG, a darker SRM and fermented with a Scottish Ale yeast to impart a smokier flavor. It is robust and flavorful."

download recipe

World Building:

We met Herwin Weilink through a world map competition held on CartographersGuild.com. We were amazed at the "rough" world map of Kirfaël he put together, and shocked as we continued working together on the Burdisson Brewery regional map.

Supporting Art:

Douglas Manzini came to us through our deviant art group and has provided fantastic supporting art throughout many of our projects. His DwarfBrew 2010 competition "logo" and T-shirt design was a focal point for the competition.