It seems like making a Pumpkin Ale is all the rage this time of year. I can’t say that it is a type of beer that I really enjoy. 
But I have tried a couple of versions that impressed me. It’s just that I didn’t think I would want to make 20 liters of it. But you never know until you try. So last week I was in search of a pumpkin to use in my next home brew. I failed. So I decided to give sweet potatoes a go. Why not? They have a similar texture and they have more sweetness. I can use the same spices I would use to make a Pumpkin Ale. “Perfect.” So I guess this blog entry should be titled “Sweet Potato Ale.” However my feeling is that you can easily substitute the vegetable.
My ingredients:
- 2 large Sweet Potatoes
- 1 lb. Pale Ale Malt (crushed)
- 1 Coopers Real Ale beer kit
- 500 g (1 1/2 lb.) Dry Malt Extract
- 300 g (1/2 lb.) Dextrose
- 1/4 tspn ground cinnamon (or use a cinnamon stick)
- 1/4 tspn allspice
- 1/4 tspn nutmeg
- 1/4 tspn ground ginger (or use fresh ginger)
- Kit yeast or other ale yeast strain
Procedures:
Bake the Sweet Potatoes at 425 F for 1 1/4 hours. Remove the skin from the potatoes and cut and mash. Add 1 gallon of water to a stock pot. Heat the water to a temperature between 155 and 160 F. 
Add the mashed sweet potatoes and crushed pale ale malt to the stock pot. Keep mixture at 155 F for 1 hour. Strain the liquid to a new pot. Add the dry malt extract, dextrose and spices to the mixture. Bring to a boil. Boil for 10 minutes. Strain to your fermenter. Add Coopers Real Ale beer kit. Top up with cool water for 20 liters or so. Add Coopers yeast when temperature is at 75 F. I tossed in a extra sachet of yeast for good measure. Bring fermentation temperature down between 65 and 70 F if possible.
