William Harrison's Ale Recipe

[Alan Petrillo]

Several years ago someone on this group published a modern reduction of
William Harrison's Ale, from 1577. I thought I'd kept it somewhere I
could find it, but that was 3 laptops ago, and I can't find it.

The original can be found here:
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1577harrison-england.html#Chapter%20VI
but I'm not good enough with Elizabethan weights, measures, and
terminology to reduce it to a modern 5 gallon batch.

AP

[T.J. Higgins]

The original RCB thread from 2002 can be found at
<http://tinyurl.com/y952s5w>

--
TJH

tjhiggin.at.hiwaay.dot.net

[Alan Petrillo]

Excellent! Thanks!

AP

[Bill O'Meally]

All in all, I appreciate the effort Ben W. went into transcribing the
recipe, and adapting it for a five gallon batch. I find it curious as
to why, once another poster made him aware that "arris" was likely
orris root, that he did not amend the recipe to include it. Especially
so when the proportion is four times as much as the "bayberry" (which
he states was likely juniper). A bit of Googling reveals that orris
root is used in certain gins, perfumes and Middle Eastern spice
blends, and is described as "flowery, heady and woody". I think I
would add it were I to try to brew this beer (and I think I just
might!).

Also, rather than making a sort of tincture with a bit of the boiled
wort then adding it back, I think I would simply add these spices to
the secondary.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orris_root

http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/bulkherb/o.php

--
Bill
"Wise fool."
Gandalf _The Two Towers_
(The Wise will remove 'se' to reach me. The Foolish will not!)