Ottos Another Recipe (metheglin) I By Digby

Panel Information

Brewer: Otto Gottlieb

Recipe Source: The Closet of Sir Kenelm Digby Knight Opened, By Kenelm Digby

Recipe Name: Another Recipe (metheglin)

Category: Mead, Hydomel, Melomel, Metheglins

Time/Place Paneled: 8/11/16, Pennsic

Panel Score: 85%

Original Recipe

ANOTHER RECIPE: Take to every Gallon of Fountain-water a good quart of honey. Set the water on the fire, till it be pretty warm; then take it off, and put it in your honey, and stir it till it be dissolved. Then put into every three Gallons, two handfuls of Thyme: two good handfuls of Strawberry-leaves, one handful of Organ; one handful of Fennel-roots, the heart being taken out, and one handful of Parsley-roots the heart taken out: But as for the herbs, it must be according to the constitution of them, for whom the Mead is intended. Then set the Herbs in it on the fire, to boil for half an hour, still skimming it, as the scum riseth; it must boil but half an hour; then take it off the fire, and presently strain it from the herbs, and let it stand till it be fully cold; then pour it softly off the bottom, and put it in a vessel fit for it, and put a small quantity of barm in it, and mingle it with it, and when it hath wrought up, which will be in three or four days, skim off that barm, and set on fresh: but the second barm must not be mingled with the Meath, but onely poured on the top of it. Take an Ounce of Nutmeg sliced: one Ounce of Ginger sliced: one Ounce of Cinnamon cut in pieces, and boil them a pretty while in a quart of White-wine or Sack: when this is very cold, strain it, and put the spices in a Canvas-bag to hang in your Meath, and pour in the Wine it was boiled in. This Meath will be drinkable, when it is a fortnight or three weeks old.

Redaction

Dissolve one quart of honey for each gallon of warm water. For a three gallon batch, add two handfuls of thyme, two handfuls of strawberry leaves, one handful of “organ”, one handful of fennel roots (with the heart taken out), and one handful of parsley roots (also with the hearts taken out); amounts adjusted to taste. Bring this to a boil for 30 minutes, removing the foam (or wax and bee parts) as it rises. Strain the herbs and let stand until cool. Pour, leaving sediment, into a vessel the same size as the volume and stir-in a small amount of barm (ale yeast). Once it begins to ferment in 3 to 4 days, skim off the (floating) barm and add new barm on top of the metheglin, not mixed in. Add an ounce of sliced nutmeg, ounce of sliced ginger, and an ounce of cinnamon cut into pieces to a quart of white wine or sack and boil for a “pretty while”. Let stand until cool then strain. Put the spices into a canvas bag to hang in the metheglin and pour the boiled wine into the metheglin. The metheglin will be ready to drink in two to three weeks.