Cap'n Jewbeard
Well-Known Member
Hey gang...
Okay, so here's where we stand. I was reading the "Thanksgiving Ale" thread, where the initial poster made an off-hand, joke-y reference to a sweet potato ale.
So I thought (and here I quote): "Wha-wha? Well... why not?"
So I've done a little research on a partial mash recipe. My hope is that it will come out tasting a little like the pumpkin ale, but maybe somewhat sweeter. The biggest challenge, and what I need the most help with, is figuring out what the sweet potatos will add as far as fermentable sugars/starches, and how to extract them.
Apparently one already exists in Japan, called Imo, I think.
This is a recipe I found for a regular potato brew, using (I think) all-grain plus extract... (I know that's a contradiction, bear with me).
Meister Potato Brau (for 5 gallons)
5 pounds 6-row domestic barley malt, crushed
2.5 pound grade A Idaho potatoes (washed and grated)
3 pounds M&F pale unhopped malt extract
1/3 oz Burton salts
1 tsp. Irish Moss
1.25 oz Hallertauer leaf hops
1 oz Cascade leaf hops
ale yeast
sugar (or whatever) for priming
Her notes (some of them, anyway): "The grains I prepare by submitting them to a protein rest at about 122 F for 45 minutes. During this time I boil the shredded potatoes in a second pot. This boiling serves to gelatinize the starches in the potatoes, maaking them easily converted to sugars by the active enzymes in the barley grains. As I noted above, potato starch is easily gelatinized; it is not necessary to boil the potatoes prior to adding them to the mash. However, by adding the boiling potato soup (this is what your kitchen will smell like at first) to the mash, you can conviently raise the temperature of your mash up to 155 F, an ideal temperature for converting the starches to sugars."
"Maintain the temperature of the mash using whatever methods you currently use until all of the starches have been converted to sugars. Lately this has taken me between 30 and 45 minutes. Use an iodine test to determine when this conversion is complete. Sparge as you would do with any other all grain beer, discarding the spent potatoes, no matter how strong an urge for cooked, shredded potato you develop during the mashing procedure."
Again, my goal is to alter the recipe to make it more hearty, more sweet-potato friendly, and make it doable on an electric stove top. (I'm not ready for an AG setup yet). I might also add in some specialty grains, to give it some more character.
I am seeking advice and consent- maybe this could be the Big New Thing for HBT.
Okay, so here's where we stand. I was reading the "Thanksgiving Ale" thread, where the initial poster made an off-hand, joke-y reference to a sweet potato ale.
So I thought (and here I quote): "Wha-wha? Well... why not?"
So I've done a little research on a partial mash recipe. My hope is that it will come out tasting a little like the pumpkin ale, but maybe somewhat sweeter. The biggest challenge, and what I need the most help with, is figuring out what the sweet potatos will add as far as fermentable sugars/starches, and how to extract them.
Apparently one already exists in Japan, called Imo, I think.
This is a recipe I found for a regular potato brew, using (I think) all-grain plus extract... (I know that's a contradiction, bear with me).
Meister Potato Brau (for 5 gallons)
5 pounds 6-row domestic barley malt, crushed
2.5 pound grade A Idaho potatoes (washed and grated)
3 pounds M&F pale unhopped malt extract
1/3 oz Burton salts
1 tsp. Irish Moss
1.25 oz Hallertauer leaf hops
1 oz Cascade leaf hops
ale yeast
sugar (or whatever) for priming
Her notes (some of them, anyway): "The grains I prepare by submitting them to a protein rest at about 122 F for 45 minutes. During this time I boil the shredded potatoes in a second pot. This boiling serves to gelatinize the starches in the potatoes, maaking them easily converted to sugars by the active enzymes in the barley grains. As I noted above, potato starch is easily gelatinized; it is not necessary to boil the potatoes prior to adding them to the mash. However, by adding the boiling potato soup (this is what your kitchen will smell like at first) to the mash, you can conviently raise the temperature of your mash up to 155 F, an ideal temperature for converting the starches to sugars."
"Maintain the temperature of the mash using whatever methods you currently use until all of the starches have been converted to sugars. Lately this has taken me between 30 and 45 minutes. Use an iodine test to determine when this conversion is complete. Sparge as you would do with any other all grain beer, discarding the spent potatoes, no matter how strong an urge for cooked, shredded potato you develop during the mashing procedure."
Again, my goal is to alter the recipe to make it more hearty, more sweet-potato friendly, and make it doable on an electric stove top. (I'm not ready for an AG setup yet). I might also add in some specialty grains, to give it some more character.
I am seeking advice and consent- maybe this could be the Big New Thing for HBT.