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mrbubbly · 11-20-2010, 08:55 PM

i did a partial mash pumpkin ale in the past and used VERY coarse cracked grains and rice hulls for the sparge, worked like a charm...

Dr_Gordon_Freeman · 12-06-2010, 08:30 PM

If you use sweet potatoes in an extract batch, you will need to mash the potatoes at the correct temp to convert the starches. If you search this forum for "sweet potato" you'll find a paper giving the diastatic power of sweet potatoes. My batch turned out tasty, but still too starchy. (I used a crockpot to cook the shredded potatoes, 5lbs worth IIRC). I'm guessing if I would have held it at mash temperatures it would have converted better.

You may just want to buy some amylase enzyme to make it easy on yourself.

edit: here's the paper giving SP info: http://www.jbc.org/content/44/1/19.full.pdf

CrookedTail · 12-07-2010, 12:09 PM

I brewed a partial mash pumpkin ale this fall that was AMAZING (better than any commercial version, and I've tried quite a few of them.). I cut the pumpkins into chunks and roasted them in the oven for an hour or so. Then I added them to my mash for an hour at ~150 degrees.

I'd probably do something similar with sweet potatoes.

HikeNC · 10-05-2011, 08:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bcgpete

I used about 7lbs in the mash. I have a friend that worked at Lazy Magnolia and he said they used canned sweet potato in the boil. I'm more partial to fresh things, so I went with the fresh potatoes, sliced them with the slicer on my food processor, then baked them for about an hour and a half. Then I mashed them up with some amalyse enzyme and held them at 140F for another hour before adding them to the partial mash.

The beer turned out pretty awesome, however I think I'm gonna do a lot less specialty grains because they seem to take over the flavor. And more sweet potatoes. Maybe 8-10lbs for a 5gal batch.

I'm about to brew a sweet potato stout this weekend and still haven't decided how many pounds to add to the mash. I'm shooting for an OG of 1.062 with a stout around 6.3%. I've tried to keep the dark grains to a minimum so their flavor won't cover the sweet potato flavor completely. What was the ABV of your stout? I was thinking 8-10 pounds, but leaning closer to 8 just because it's my first time using a vegetable; I don't want the potato flavor to be too strong making it undrinkable. Any thoughts/suggestions?

Thanks!

bcgpete · 10-05-2011, 08:38 PM

I did 16 lbs for a 10 gal batch. My stout ended up being right at 11%. I think keeping the darker grains lower is a good idea. I did two different batches, the second with less intense grains, and it came out better. The sweet potatoes put in a great flavor, but I think if I do it again I will do more potato. I liked the effect that baking the potatoes had; I baked them until some were caramelizing on the edges and it gave a nice roasted/sweet flavor. It was nice to get that flavor from the potatoes instead of the malts. I doubt the potato flavor would be too strong with 10 lbs because sweet potatoes aren't near as starchy as white potatoes.

Hope that helps, and good luck!

DoubleRainbow · 10-05-2011, 09:29 PM

Please share your recipe for the sweet potato stout, I would love to try this one!!

HikeNC · 10-06-2011, 12:37 PM

Great, thanks! I just bought 8 lbs. yesterday at the farmers market ($4!!!) and think that'll be good enough for the abv I'm going for. I'll let you how it turns out!