Fining and technique suggestions for a potato-based GF ale, please.

[MuddyCreek]

Hey everyone. I've never made a GF beer and I'd like to put something together for St. Patricks day. Given the Irish connection with both the holiday and potoatos, I'd like to combine the two.

Does anybody have any flavoring and/or fining suggestions as well as some technique pointers for a GF beer based on potatos? I have read that 1/3 of the potatos should be peeled and the rest left with peels and the entire bunch should be pressure-cooked into a lovely gelatinous goo. Does anybody have some other or more specific technique pointers I could shamelessly "borrow"?

Thank you.

 

[igliashon]

What have you read, exactly? You will need a source of enzymes to turn the starch into something fermentable. EC Krause Diatase might do the job, but I don't really know. I've done sweet potatoes before, but only in a small amount, and they didn't really mush up so I don't think I got much out of them. I honestly can't imagine a potato-based beer will taste like much, but then I've never been one to discourage experimentation!

In any case, I'd say bake 'em till the skin is crispy, chop 'em, throw 'em into some water at near-boiling and stir until the water is nice and starchy. Cool it to 150°F and add enzymes per instructions, hold temp for an hour while stirring frequently, and then taste the resulting mixture. Is it sweet? Cool, it worked. Get a fine-mesh nylon grain bag and a f***-ton of rice hulls. Mix the rice hulls into the potato-wort, then pour through the grain-bag into a second vessel. Take a sample, check the gravity (after chilling sample to close to calibration temp of your hydrometer), calculate compensation for boil-off, figure out how much additional fermentables you need to hit desired OG. Add whatever fermentables you want to make up for the gravity deficit, then start the boil, and add whatever hops you want and proceed as normal.

No idea if that'll work, but it worked for me with sweet potatoes and produced a mild but tasty beer. Good luck!

 

[C-Rider]

What have you read, exactly? You will need a source of enzymes to turn the starch into something fermentable. EC Krause Diatase might do the job, but I don't really know. I've done sweet potatoes before, but only in a small amount, and they didn't really mush up so I don't think I got much out of them. I honestly can't imagine a potato-based beer will taste like much, but then I've never been one to discourage experimentation!

In any case, I'd say bake 'em till the skin is crispy, chop 'em, throw 'em into some water at near-boiling and stir until the water is nice and starchy. Cool it to 150°F and add enzymes per instructions, hold temp for an hour while stirring frequently, and then taste the resulting mixture. Is it sweet? Cool, it worked. Get a fine-mesh nylon grain bag and a f***-ton of rice hulls. Mix the rice hulls into the potato-wort, then pour through the grain-bag into a second vessel. Take a sample, check the gravity (after chilling sample to close to calibration temp of your hydrometer), calculate compensation for boil-off, figure out how much additional fermentables you need to hit desired OG. Add whatever fermentables you want to make up for the gravity deficit, then start the boil, and add whatever hops you want and proceed as normal.

No idea if that'll work, but it worked for me with sweet potatoes and produced a mild but tasty beer. Good luck!

Have you posted the sweet potato recipe?