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Ottos CockAle II By Digby

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Panel Information

Brewer: Otto Gottlieb

Recipe Source: The Closet of the Eminently Learned Sir Kenelme Digby Kt. Opened, 1677

Recipe Name: To make Cock-Ale (Batch #2)

Category: Ale

Time/Place Paneled: 7/14/12, GNEW

Panel Score: 81.1%

Original Recipe

Take eight gallons of Ale, take a Cock and boil him well; then take four pounds of Raisins of the Sun well stoned, two or three Nutmegs, three or four flakes of Mace, half apound of Dates; beat these all in a Mortar, and put to them two quarts of the best Sack: and when the Ale hath done working, put these in, and stop it close six or seven days, and then bottle it, and a month after you may drink it.

Redaction

The redaction of this recipe is fairly straight forward. I followed the recipe literally, but scaled it for 5 gallons.

Ingredient

  • 8 lbs., Crips two-row (UK)pale malt
  • 1 1/3 lbs., additional malt, roasted 30 min. at 225 ° F followed by 30 min. at 300 ° F.
  • 3 lbs., rolled oats
  • 5 gal., water
  • 1 pkt, Danstar brand Nottingham ale yeast
  • 1 pkt, Danstar brand Windsor ale yeast
  • 1 “Hephaestus”, a free-range, organic rooster graciously donated by Lady Sorcha Nic Aedh of Malagential
  • 750 ml bottle of sweet mead

Process and Notes

For ale, I used Lord Tofi Kerthjalfadsson redaction of the Elizabeth de Burgh Household recipe (circa 1335) in Judith Bennett's book, Ale, Beer, and Brewsters in England (1996). His work is well documented and includes several trials. I have used his most successful recipe. I boiled “Hephaestus”, a free-range, organic rooster graciously donated by Lady Sorcha Nic Aedh of Malagential in the ale wort until it reached an internal temperature of 165° Farirenheit, which took about 30 min. I continued the boil for another 30 min. The ale fermented vigorously for several days. I racked it and added the additional ingredients. For Sack I used a 750 ml bottle of semi-sweet, organic mead from Picassic Pond Meadery that was in Stonemarche.. I use ½ a lb of raisins, ¼ lb dates, 1 nutmeg, and a good pinch of mace in a food processor. The mead/spice mixture sat for a few days before racking the ale. I added the mead solution, and as much as I could pressed through a sieve, to the racked ale. The ale continued to ferment for several more days before bottling.

  • ABV: 8% + amount from the mead
  • Timeline: Brewed ale on June 9, 2012
  • Racked & added additional ingredients June 16, 2012
  • Bottled June 24, 2012.

At 8+ % ABV, this qualifies as a strong ale. My theory is that unhopped ales could achieve longer shelf life with higher alcohol content.


Photos by Otto Gottlieb.

References