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.

How many AOCs (Appellations d’Origine Contrôlée) are there in France?

A. 1,000

B. 85

C. 450

D. 260

France’s Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC) laws date from the 1930s, and define and delimit French wine regions. Currently there are 450 AOCs in France, accounting for 53.4% of the wines made in the country. The rules of any designated AOC stipulate how producers who want to use that AOC’s name on their labels must make their product. The rules define, among many other factors, the permitted geographical location of vineyards and varieties of grapes, as well as minimum aging times and alcohol levels. Wines that do not follow AOC regulations (or are outside the delimited areas) are labeled as IGP (Indication Géographique Protégée) wines or Vins de France.

“We think of syrah as pinot noir with more structure. Syrah is for pinot noir lovers with really sophisticated palates.”

—Greg Harrington
Owner/Winemaker, Gramercy Cellars
Walla Walla, Washington

Cock Ale? Ahem.

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