Sweet Potato ale (fall ale)

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adamjab19

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 16, 2008
Messages
488
Reaction score
6
Location
Berkley, MI
Recipe Type
All Grain
Yeast
windsor
Yeast Starter
n/a
Additional Yeast or Yeast Starter
n/a
Batch Size (Gallons)
5
Original Gravity
~1.052
Final Gravity
~1.020
Boiling Time (Minutes)
60
IBU
15
Color
14
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
3 weeks
Additional Fermentation
keg for 3 weeks
Tasting Notes
Really balanced, nice looking fall ale.
Couldn't find pumpkin at the time of brewing this so I used sweet potatoes!!! This will be my fall ale! It looks awesome in a glass and the taste is very balanced I thought. Can't taste the sweet potato just like the pumpkin in pumpkin ales but it's the thought that counts. I wouldn't add anymore spices than the 1 tbs that I did. It was a little strong at first and has mellowed very nicely though.

5lbs Maris Otter
2lbs Dark Munich Malt
2lbs Vienna Malt
.5lbs Victory Malt
.5lbs Aromatic Malt

3lbs sweet potatoes roasted at 350*F for 1 hour. Removed pulp and put into mash.

1tbs of pumpkin pie spice mix (pampered chef brand) at 10mins left of boil

1oz fuggles at 60 mins

Mash at 154 for one hour. boil for one hour.

I used windsor yeast and the attenuation was not as much as what I wanted but I think it worked well to keep this beer malty. you could use any other lower attenuating type of yeast.

Give it a try! Let me know!

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You could say that. I think it's fun and really didn't add too much labor. May have added some color and adds a little novelty to the beer too. Especially if you are sharing with friends who find it amusing.
 
I love sweet potatoes (which is why I found this recipe), but if I can't taste them in the final product - seems like a waste. I'd rather bake and eat them. :)
 
You could try upping the weight of sweet potatoes to get some more sweet potato flavor and see what happens. May run into some starch in the final product unless properly fined. Update the thread if you try it out!

I basically did this recipe out of what I had to work with and showed, I think, that sweet potatoes are interchangeable with pumpkin. BUt who knows. I'm not looking for sweet potao flavor, it could very well be there! :) I have a biased palate.
 
Fullsteam Brewery in Durham, NC has a sweet potato lager that definitely has a sweet potato flavor to it. I know that 30% of the sugars in the mash come from the yams, so if you up it enough, you should definitely be able to taste it.
 
I'm brewing a partial mash version of this.

Mine is a 2 gal test batch (in a MR. BREW!)

Yam-Bam-Thank-You-Mam

1 lb - 2 row (left overs from a previous batch)
1 lb - Medium DME
1 lb - Light DME
2 lb - Raw Sweet potato peeled, 1 inch cubes

.5 oz Fuggles @ 60
.5 oz Fuggles @ 30

Its up in a week, and if its any good I post the full recipe on Sunday
 
I'm brewing a partial mash version of this.

Mine is a 2 gal test batch (in a MR. BREW!)

Yam-Bam-Thank-You-Mam

1 lb - 2 row (left overs from a previous batch)
1 lb - Medium DME
1 lb - Light DME
2 lb - Raw Sweet potato peeled, 1 inch cubes

.5 oz Fuggles @ 60
.5 oz Fuggles @ 30

Its up in a week, and if its any good I post the full recipe on Sunday

Well how was it?
 
For better or for worse the famous last words in a lot of these threads are "I'll get back with some results...."
 
must not have been too good if he didn't want to brag about it haha

oops! Forgot to follow up on this one.

Yeah, its really good! There was a VERY subtle yam taste to it, and I paniced with the hops and doubled up at the last minute.

So I've done two more batches since then with an improved recipe.

Batch: 2.5 Gallons

2 LB Medium DME
3 LB Yams chopped

- Mash at 160 for 90 min
- Add the DME and bring to boil

0.5 Fuggles @ 60min
0.10 Casscade @ 40min
0.15 Fuggles @ 20min

6.5% ABV

I just bottled a batch 2 days ago, so I'll post a pic in 2 weeks (if I remember :cross:)
 
This beer came out great! A huge hit with guests.

It finnished a bit dryer that I had hoped so its more like 7% ABV.

I'm making another batch in a month or so, and conditioning it untill the fall. I'm going to try 1 LB of amber and 1 LB of either Medium or Lite. I'm also going to double the Yams (also use yams and not sweet potatos) and roast them.

This beer is quickly becoming an obsession, probably due to its uniquness and that it is the first beer i've made that everyone really likes.
 
Looks like a great recipe! I might try this in a couple weeks once my Pale Ale is kegged. I feel like incorporating some traditional holiday ingredients, namely brown sugar, could do this beer some serious justice. My family puts marshmallows in as well, not sure how that'd work out if used in the boil. Has anyone played with the flavoring ingredients for this recipe beyond the addition of yams? I'll post back in a month if I do.
 
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