Yam-Tastic Oil Change Porter

Over the winter holiday, I discovered that yams have a particular sweetness that I really felt must be included into a beer somehow. I started looking for yam ale recipes, but none gripped me. Then I stumbled upon a porter recipe for pumpkin, and simply decided to substitute yams for pumpkin and adjusted the batch for my experience and what grains were available to me.

My recipe:

5 gallon partial-mash

First Brewed December 14, 2014; Bottled January 10, 2015
SG 1.048; FG 1.020

Ingredients

Fermentables:

Liquid Malt Extract

• 3.3 lbs Cooper’s amber malt

Dry Malt Extract

• 1 lb Munton’s amber
• 7 oz Munton’s light
• 6 oz Munton’s wheat

Specialty grains

• 8 oz Munton’s black patent
• 8 oz Munton’s caramalt crystal/caramel malt 10-15 L

Bittering

• 1oz Fuggles Hops
• 1oz Kent Golding Hops

Yeast

• 2 packets Muntons Active Brewing yeast

Adjuncts and additives

• 1/4 cup flaked oatmeal
• 12 whole cloves
• 8 oz honey
• 3 lbs Yams
• 1 tsp Irish Moss

Boil yams until soft, then mash. Place in muslin bag.

Mmmmmmmm. Yams. #brewing pic.twitter.com/5QGTDIYejX

— Penny Higgins (@paleololigo) December 14, 2014

//platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsIn a second muslin bag, place specialty grains, cloves, and oatmeal. Heat 2.5 gallons of water to 165 degrees F. Add honey. Steep contents of both muslin bags for approximately one hour.

Steeping yams and specialty grains. #brewing pic.twitter.com/6bCLqsyaga

— Penny Higgins (@paleololigo) December 14, 2014

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After steeping, bring water to a boil for 60 minutes.
At 60 minutes, add extracts and 1 oz Fuggles hops
At 30 minutes, add 0.5 oz Kent Golding hops
At 15 minutes, add 1 tsp Irish Moss
At 10 minutes, add 0.5 oz Kent Golding hops.

Cool to 70 degrees F immediately after flame out.

Transfer to primary fermenter and top off to 5 gallons.

Pitch 2 packets of Munton’s ‘Active Brewing’ yeast.

Tentatively called the “yam-tastic oil change porter.” #brewing pic.twitter.com/ePYpgYnCoA

— Penny Higgins (@paleololigo) December 15, 2014

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Completed, this porter is quite yummy, with a smoky flavor. Unfortunately, you can’t really taste the yams.

Based off of a pumpkin porter recipe posted at Gambrinus’ Mug by Kurt Engelmann