Cock Ale? Ahem.

Reading the words “Cock Ale” while finding myself in Portland recently led to a string of unintentional associations. Oregon. Craft beer. Lumberjacks. Wow, who knew? Alas, cock ale has nothing to do with Oregon or its (no doubt sexy) men. It’s literal. Cock ale is beer made with rooster meat. As reported by Gastro Obscura, cock ale was once a British mainstay and many a pub’s name is a tribute to it: The Famous Cock, The Cock and Bottle, and so on. Much appreciated in the 1600s for its medicinal properties, cock ale was made (often by women) by immersing a rooster in a batch of boiling ale along with raisins, dates, nutmeg, and Sherry. Cock ale’s medicinal and restorative properties were legend. Besides purportedly curing tuberculosis, it was considered an early form of Viagra. So: cock ale to the rescue for what ails you. Think of it as craft beer meets chicken soup. And if that doesn’t work, there’s always a cocktail.

Historically, Chinese architects have used what to create mortar for buildings?

A. Buckwheat

B. Soybeans

C. Rice

D. Bamboo shoots

For centuries, Chinese architects mixed sticky rice with lime mortar to create buildings, bridges, and city walls. Rice would first be cooked into a sticky paste, then blended with sand and lime, creating what was often referred to as “Chinese concrete.” The use of sticky rice, which is naturally water resistant, boosted the structures’ strength and protected the buildings against erosion. According to Atlas Obscura, rice was often used in construction in China by the time of the Tang Dynasty (816-907 AD).

Tertiary

If you drink only young wine, you might not have run across this word. Tertiary (TUR-she-air-ee) refers to aromas and flavors that come as a result of a wine’s long aging in the bottle—aromas and… Continue reading

Cock Ale? Ahem.

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