Next week I'm going to use the extra day off to do the following brewing science experiment.
I'm gonna brew a 3-gallon batch with just 5 lbs each of sweet potatoes and (wet-toasted) sprouted quinoa as the *only* fermentables, but I'm going to split the mash as follows:
-2.5 lbs of quinoa mashed with 1/2-tsp Crosby & Baker amylase formula in one kettle
-2.5 lbs of quinoa mashed with 2.5 lbs of pureed sweet potato in the other kettle
I'm gonna crack and then cook the quinoa into goo first, to thoroughly gelatinize. I'm gonna let them both go for 2 hours after stepping up to 150°F, and then taste each and also test a sample of each with iodophor and see if there's a difference. Then I'm gonna mix 'em both together, add some rice hulls, and use my grain bag and bottling bucket as a makeshift lauter tun and sparge into the kettle. Oh, and the other 2.5 lbs of sweet potato I'm just gonna slow-roast in the oven while the mash is happening, and then puree and add before sparging.
And then I'm gonna make what will hopefully be a simple amber/copper ale out of the wort, with some Columbus and Willamette hops.
What I hope to learn from this is how sweet potatoes compare diastatically to amylase formula, and also see if I can make a tasty beer with just sweet potatoes and quinoa. Gonna be a PITA to toast and then cook all that quinoa, though.
I welcome any suggestions and criticisms RE: my experimental design here.
I'm gonna brew a 3-gallon batch with just 5 lbs each of sweet potatoes and (wet-toasted) sprouted quinoa as the *only* fermentables, but I'm going to split the mash as follows:
-2.5 lbs of quinoa mashed with 1/2-tsp Crosby & Baker amylase formula in one kettle
-2.5 lbs of quinoa mashed with 2.5 lbs of pureed sweet potato in the other kettle
I'm gonna crack and then cook the quinoa into goo first, to thoroughly gelatinize. I'm gonna let them both go for 2 hours after stepping up to 150°F, and then taste each and also test a sample of each with iodophor and see if there's a difference. Then I'm gonna mix 'em both together, add some rice hulls, and use my grain bag and bottling bucket as a makeshift lauter tun and sparge into the kettle. Oh, and the other 2.5 lbs of sweet potato I'm just gonna slow-roast in the oven while the mash is happening, and then puree and add before sparging.
And then I'm gonna make what will hopefully be a simple amber/copper ale out of the wort, with some Columbus and Willamette hops.
What I hope to learn from this is how sweet potatoes compare diastatically to amylase formula, and also see if I can make a tasty beer with just sweet potatoes and quinoa. Gonna be a PITA to toast and then cook all that quinoa, though.
I welcome any suggestions and criticisms RE: my experimental design here.