Wassail! Wassail!
… All over the town! Our toast it is white and our ale it is brown! Our bowl it is maaade — *ahem* Sorry about that. Just getting into the holiday spirit! Because hey, it’s Christmas! Merry Christmas to those who celebrate! And to those who don’t, Happy Friday!
If you’re looking for a warming, festive buzz this evening, why don’t you try making wassail? The word wassail comes from the Middle English phrase wæs hæil, meaning “be healthy,” a toast wishing health to a person when presenting them with a drink. Pretty nice sentiment, I think!
Traditional wassail was usually mulled beer or mead, though modern renditions tend to be more like mulled cider. I went with Alton Brown’s version of wassail, a recipe that contains both beer and Madeira, a fortified Portuguese wine. I actually couldn’t find any Madeira at my local wine shop, so I used a standard port wine instead.
Since I was unsure of how this recipe would turn out, I made a 1/3 size batch. I wasn’t willing to waste 72 oz of homebrew in the event that it didn’t work out! So I cut all the ingredients listed in Alton Brown’s recipe by 1/3, and also made it in a small saucepan over low heat, instead of in a slow cooker. Here’s how it all went down.
First, core the apples (I just cut them in half to remove the cores) and stuff them with brown sugar. Place them in a baking dish with a little water in the bottom, and bake at 350° F until tender, about 45 minutes.
Pour the beer and Madeira or port wine in the saucepan or slow cooker. I used a homebrewed brown ale for the beer, but any malty beer would work. Put the whole cloves, allspice berries, and cinnamon sticks in a muslin bag (I used a hop bag, since I have plenty around the house) and place it in the pot.
Add ground ginger and ground nutmeg, and stir to combine. Slowly bring the mixture to at least 120° F, but don’t boil it.
Here’s where it gets weird. Using a hand mixer, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form… Stay with me now.
Beat egg yolks in a separate bowl until light yellow and frothy. Combine the yolks and whites and beat until combined.
Now this is important — you have to temper the eggs before adding them to the hot liquid, or else they will scramble, which will be disgusting. Do this by slowly adding a ladle full of the hot beer/wine mixture to the eggs while whisking. Repeat until you’ve added about 4 to 6 oz to the eggs. Now, remove the muslin bag of spices from the pot and whisk in the egg mixture.
By this time, the apples should be done. Add the apples and any liquid from the dish to the pot. Stir to combine.
Ladle the wassail into cups and serve!
This recipe came out great! It was probably one of the strangest drinks I’ve ever had, but it was very warming and enjoyable. I could taste the apples, spices, and a little chocolate from the brown ale. It was fruity, slightly acidic, and pleasantly frothy.
If you have a sensitive stomach, might I suggest small servings… It’s a little intense. If I made this again, I would use less wine and more beer, since I preferred the chocolate flavor over the fruity/acidic flavor. All in all, I was pleased with this little experiment. Try it tonight to enjoy with your holiday feast!
Cheers, and see you in 2010!
4 Comments to “Wassail! Wassail!”
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[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by ratebeer and topsy_top20k, RateBeer Hop Press. RateBeer Hop Press said: Fresh off the Press Wassail! Wassail! http://bit.ly/5LJTWM [...]
I made this last week with some friends. I wanted to use something like Deschutes Jubelale, but my friend wanted to stick to Alton’s recipe as closely as possible so we used Bass. We also luckily found some Madeira at the local liquor store. It was a tasty beverage!
[...] fellow HopPress writer, Steph Weber, wrote an article (Wassail! Wassail!), which appeared on Christmas Day last year, about how to make a traditional wassail. I have found [...]
[...] fellow HopPress writer, Steph Weber, wrote an article (Wassail! Wassail!), which appeared on Christmas Day last year, about how to make a traditional wassail. I have found [...]