Cock Ale

July 15, 2014

Ingredients

SERVINGS: 5 gallons
  • 9 pounds Maris Otter malt
  • 1 pound crystal rye malt
  • ½ pound Carapils malt
  • ½ pound white wheat malt
  • ¼ pound debittered black malt
  • 1 ounce Fuggle hops
  • White Labs London Ale Yeast
  • 1 quart oloroso sherry
  • 1½ pounds raisins
  • ½ pound dates, chopped
  • 2 nutmegs, cracked
  • 4 whole blades of mace
  • 1 roasting hen

Instructions

Mash grains in 3½ gallons of 166°F. water for 1 hour. Sparge grains with 3½ gallons of 170°F. water for an hour. Bring to a boil and add Fuggle hops. Boil for 45 minutes, then add a clarifying agent (1 Whirlfloc tablet) and yeast nutrient (1 BrewVint capsule) and boil 15 minutes more.

Take the pot off heat and cool the wort to room temperature, then siphon into a sanitized carboy, put an airlock on it, and shake vigorously for a few minutes to oxygenate the wort. Add yeast, then lock again and let it rest.

After 2 weeks, rack to another sanitized carboy, and add the dried fruit and spices in a muslin drawstring bag. Add the sherry and freshly roasted chicken. Let it all steep for a week before bottling.

Written by Nathan Carter, adapted from The Closet of Sir Kenelm Digby

Related Stories & Recipes

DIY Diary: Nathan Carter, Historical Brewer

An English brown ale cools in Nathan Carter’s Uptown apartment, a malty and fullbodied brew that most would be happy to bottle as is. But Carter is a historical brewer, and so he’s following a recipe ...

Ingredients

SERVINGS: 5 gallons
  • 9 pounds Maris Otter malt
  • 1 pound crystal rye malt
  • ½ pound Carapils malt
  • ½ pound white wheat malt
  • ¼ pound debittered black malt
  • 1 ounce Fuggle hops
  • White Labs London Ale Yeast
  • 1 quart oloroso sherry
  • 1½ pounds raisins
  • ½ pound dates, chopped
  • 2 nutmegs, cracked
  • 4 whole blades of mace
  • 1 roasting hen