View source for Ottos Cock-Ale I By Digby

{{EKBG Panel
| recipe_name = To make Cock-Ale
| recipe_source = The Closet of Sir Kenelm Digby Knight Opened, By Kenelm Digby
| brewer = Otto Gottlieb
| location = Brew U
| date = March 31, 2012
| score = 80
| period = Renaissance
| division = Division 1: Ales, Beer, Braggot, Lambic, Stout
| origin = English
}}

[[Image:OttosCockAleILabel.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Art by Rob Raymond, comic book artist.]]

==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 a
pound 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 chicken
*1 750 ml bottle of sweet mead

==Process and Notes==

For ale, I used Lord Tofi Kerthjalfadsson [https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~pwp/tofi/medieval_english_ale.html 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 a 2 lb 3 oz., free-range, organic chicken from Sunnyside Farm, Linneus, Maine 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 Shalom Orchard Winery in downeast Maine. 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.  

*Original Gravity: 1.092
*Final Gravity: 1.030
*ABV: 8% + amount from the mead

*Timeline: Brewed ale on March 4, 2011
*Racked &added additional ingredients March 8. Bottled March 11, 2011.

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

This was one of my first ales paneled by the EKBG.  I saved the chicken and spices and reheated them in a Crock-Pot and served them to the judges when paneling (because, why not?).  It tasted much better than you would expect!


[[Image:OttosCockAleIProcess.jpg|400px|center|thumb|Photos by Otto Gottlieb.]]

==References==

[[Category:Proceedings of the East Kingdom Brewers' Guild]] <!-- Keep this category -->

<!-- Keep only the correct time period category, delete the others -->

[[Category:Renaissance Brewing]]

<!-- Keep only the correct division category, delete the others -->
[[Category:Division 1: Ales, Beer, Braggot, Lambic, Stout]]

<!-- Keep only the correct country/culture category, delete the others; if you don't see one that's pertinent, add a new one. -->

[[Category:English Brewing]]

<!-- Add your person brewing category.  Usually in the form of [[Category:Persona Name Brews]] -->
[[Category:Otto Gottlieb Brews]]