SWEET POTATO VODKA PART 1

This channel is designed to offer insight and background on the science, art and practice of making alcohol based products at home.

[@johnparrish9215]

I think this man just taught me how to make a better Sweet Potato Pie and I can't wait to try it.

[@elbrujelito2649]

George: "...because this thing is packed with all your B vitamins..." Me: "...holy shizzle..." George: "...Sweet potatoes have Alpha and Beta Amylase..." Me: "HALELUYAAHHHHH"

[@Rubberduck-tx2bh]

George, I have the same "disease." The way I think while shopping has forever changed: "I wonder what that tastes like distilled..."

[@bikesia8893]

Tell me about it! My wife thinks it always so weird when we’d go into the grocery store past the produce section, and she would hear me asking myself,”I wonder what those berries, apples, etc.. would be like in a brew”

[@kennethcounts5905]

I started a couple of sweet potatoes that had sprouted in the fridge. Well, they have gotten away from me and spread all over the yard. Now I know why. They wanted to be Vodka. Seriously though. Thanks George, I appreciate the education and I am having a blast.

[@ianrickard9480]

Super sir. I'm so engaged with the chemistry lesson. Takes me back 35 years to college. This is my first video that I've watched that really gets down to the nuts and bolts of the hobby. I'm hooked. Great explanations.

[@problemwithauthority]

George, do you know if the sweet potato has enough additional amylase to convert other starches such as corn?

[@jacobharnoy6396]

I just wanted to ask almost the same thing. 1. Can I substitute malt with sweet potato ( which is a lot cheaper). 2. If I have less enzyme can I incubate the substrate ( starch in our case) longer with the enzymes? Maybe an overnight/12 hours or full day, incubation in 65 Celsius ( in an oven for instance) to get the same effect?

[@DonIsidroYT]

i want to know the answer to this as well...

[@reshairo]

Good question, help anyone know the answer

[@MadNlGER]

Annnnnnd no ones answers ... smh. Typical

[@moonboogien8908]

Most likely not... As he stated, the amylase will be used up during conversion and will go to the starches in the mash already. Adding more will probably not give you a net gain on fermentable sugars. It would be better at that point to convert the grain starches along with the potatoes if your mixing them up. Which is weird, but have fun.

[@NashPotatoesOutdoorShow]

Cool, thanks for the help...I'm making my sweet potato mash tomorrow. Wish me luck!!

[@danthemann]

Curse you George! You got me even curiouser! I looked up the diastatic power of these things and it is huge. Any thoughts on making a whiskey by using this do convert your grains? #happydistilling

[@fourdeadinohio8303]

my great~great grand parents came from County Cork to the USA in 1852. we always joked they did that cause they ran out of potatoes to make shine...lol

[@greggholmes]

my family came from county Cork in the early 1700s. hey cousin!!

[@BeardedBored]

Dang it, George! If anybody was going to beat me to a good idea, I'm glad it was you:-)

[@heinventer7519]

Hey Bearded, try peas or legumes.

[@chuckdontknowdoya6100]

How about maple or birch sap ferment.

[@BeardedBored]

@@chuckdontknowdoya6100 Hmmmmmmm, How about YES! Great idea chuck:-)

[@BeardedBored]

@@heinventer7519 I'll have to see if there is a type that has more carbs than protein. Thanks:-)

[@chuckdontknowdoya6100]

@@BeardedBored Thanks B.B. BTW even you should be able to grow sweet potatoes the hardest part is keeping them from taking over.

[@aloisnirol6027]

Thank you George 😊 From where I come from, we grow a lot of sweet potatoes and as a Food Technology student, your videos are very informative and helpful to me.👍

[@thunderdog201]

Gorge you surprise me, you helped me with the building of my still with the electrical components to the understanding of the mash, thank you keep on brewing.

[@rogerphillips8060]

Guys, I followed George's process regarding the processing of the tatties and the water heating steps, and I could not hit 1.060-70 as he did, I got 1.030 on my hydrometer, I was dissapointed with the result. I have not added any additional sugar, I just left it be. As the mash was pretty hot in the brew bucket I left it over night to cool, lol, next morning to my astonishment it was fermenting, I added no yeast, or any nutrient, it,s now 3 days gone by and the gravity is now 1.015 and the ferment is slowing close to stopped now, I have added some wine yeast to assist. And some nutrient, ph is good so I am hoping I get a restart otherwise I will only have a brew of 3% which frankly isn't worth distilling, have any of you folks had a similar experience, ?.? If I can ferment it out it should give me 5% ABV worth firing my still for otherwise it's a massive fail.

[@wldtrky38]

I've never cared much for Vodka, especially after 1 particular night back in 1982, lol. But made with sweet taters??? Interesting 😉 #HAPPYDISTILLING George 👍👍

[@Kihidokid]

Extremely similar to shochu

[@wldtrky38]

@@Kihidokid I've never tasted that ? Actually, I've never heard of it, lol. I have 2 or 3 experimental runs in line already, but may have to give the sweet potatoes a try ! If it goes bad I can always do multiple runs and just make a high % neutral to use in the Apple Pie Shine I make for my wife.

[@oddjobbobb]

hahahah, I should have known you would include the science. Thank you George. Probably no need to even read the following drivel. This is really informative! Thank you, George for taking the time to explain this. For reading I have done about nutrition all foods with carbohydrates actually, usually, contain more than one “-ose” item. Glucose and fructose are the most common. Glucose has a much less “sweet” taste than fructose. In our bodies glucose is broken down in the mouth and stomach. Fructose, on the other hand, has to be processed by the liver. My question is, in the fermentation process is either glucose or fructose a better “fermenter”? In addition, what about some of the others? Such as maltose, galactose (I think honey has a fair amount of galactose), lactose (milk is its usual source). If you could point me to a source on this I will be happy to read whatever you suggest. Thank you for sharing your genius with us!

[@jamest5750]

How come you try to get around 13 percent abv or less is it for flavor my first run of corn meal mash turned out super smooth at 77 % my sugar wash turned out strong at 85%

[@tonywitherspoon6844]

What about Sugar Beets can you use. Them to make spirits ?

[@norriswebber3790]

Just watched this entire series. Great videos. If the mash was run once on a pot still would it hold more sweet potato taste?

[@nickpower9165]

I wonder how white Jamaican sweet potato vodka would be

[@naturalbeautyshop2517]

How long does it take potato pulp to fermente

[@ElderRaven]

Fun fact even though both the potato and sweet potato originated from Central and South America, they are actually not related. They come from different families, with the potato coming from the nightshade and the sweet potato from the morning glory family.

[@flatfish561]

your the best.

[@flatfish561]

you are the man

[@aliciamicolo4721]

I thought we needed some special mystery enzyme to break down the sugars into alcohol... you saved my sanity. We make shine (totally organic shine) so we wanted to make totally organic shine/booze with sweet potatoes. I was under the impression we needed some mystery enzyme that goes beyond what we already do for our shine.

[@smrettpecca]

Happy destilling George! thanks for your Advice WITH the 551 Solution. It worked great. " Question " ever destilled fruits with Cores, like Plums for example? in the stills around here They use copperkatalysators to filter out the Hydrogen Cyanide, wich Comes from the cores. is it a theme to discuss?

[@chucknaturale307]

Easier for us to just cut the stones out in the beginning you will get a very bitter taste if you try to ferment on the stone with peaches plums cherries and nectarines and apricots

[@vhmccray3705]

George you are the man. I am always telling folks about raising temp slowly and holding at a cook temp for an extended period. I always knew it works, But I never did the research to find out why. But my family is from the south. weather its meat or desserts. You can't beat that down home slow cooking. Now I know why! Now I just gotta get my wife to watch this video! 😅 I have several friends that I've turned onto making wine. So I sent all of them this link. This year will be the first time I try distilling. But I've been hooked on your channel for about 3 years. I found you when I was putting together a PID for my maple syrup cooker. Thanks for all the great advise, tips and personality that goes into all you do! Happy Distilling!

[@COYO-T]

I know this adds a step in the beginning but removes one later down the line ,minus the barley. I am diabetic and trying things I can still eat without getting the bad (unhealthy for diabetics) out of it. Been experimenting with potatoes by juicing them in a juicer to remove the starch (which turns to sugar in the body) to make eating potatoes not so negative. You can fry the mash into potato pancakes which still taste like potato's but wanted to come up with something to do with the juice and making potato vodka sounds like a idea. I figure a juicer removes about 95-98% of the starch/juice from the potato's. Have you ever thought about trying this when making potato vodka and do you think it would change the taste a lot good or bad? I suppose if would work also with sweet potato's too.

[@mical3788]

Great idea😮

[@rezganger]

does amylase get "used up"? or is it just a matter of time? -how long it takes,i mean. im so impressed what george knows!

[@toddellner5283]

Wondering what high-sugar veggies like carrots, tomatoes, and snap peas would be like.

[@thepoorguitarist7494]

I can see the argument now. Wife: "I said you could make V8..." Me: distilling alcohol from vegetables "Technically..."

[@mattkrier5856]

I've definitely seen vodka made from tomatoes

[@gmonkman]

they arn't high sugar. Make a tomato sauce out of good tomatoes. Sucrose is 50p a kilo and is 100% sucrose. Good tomatoes are £6 a kilo and are 3% sugar (reading my tin of tomatoes nutritional info). So you'd need 33kg of tomatoes, for a kilo of sugar, or for a 25 litre wash 198 kilos. If im out by and order of magnitude, call it 20 kilos. 20*6 is £120. So just go out and buy 2 litres of a really really good whiskey and save yourself the time.

[@simonskidmore2998]

Thanks George. Very interesting and informative. Especially the chemistry. You broke that down really simply.

[@jasoncollins4088]

Ok, so has anyone else tried this? I did and I can't imagine how he got 1.07x starting gravity. Mine was more like 1.025.

[@forddealer4]

I did this today and got 1.044 with 5lbs per gal. So something is wrong in this video series. His potatoe lbs changed three times over 2 videos so you knew something was off. I think the processes are backwards in the video. Alpha amylase needs to be first to cleave the starches into sugars @ 155-160 degrees then you leverage beta amylase to make those sugars smaller @ 140-149 degrees It’s the same process as an all grain mash. It works, but the video may have been edited poorly.

[@pommyminipomdenness6242]

Awesome video, been deep into brewing for a little while now, never had amylase explained so well! Thank you!!

[@BarleyandHopsBrewing]

Glad it was helpful!

[@KansaiSamurai]

In Japan, sweet potato vodka is called shochu. It got a bad reputation after WWII, but the modern stuff is fairly neutral and makes a good mixer for various fruit flavored cocktails known as chuhai. The sweetness of chuhai can fool you, as it did to me when a bunch of my wife's friends had me teaching them English and kept my glass filled with various chuhai flavors. Next morning, I was begging God to take me now!

[@sentimentalbloke7586]

The preferred spirit in Korea is soju ... sweet potato vodka

[@Harleyfpv357]

1st I want to say Thank You for making these videos. I've learned a lot And my 1st ever run was a success thanks you your method with cracked corn. keep up the good work. my confidence went through the roof and now my favorite vegetable.

[@glleon80517]

Amazing video! I never heard the chemistry of the sugar bonds described like this. I just bought some sweet potatoes at the market and will compare the cost per pound to malted barley. Can’t wait for the follow-up videos. Thanks George!

[@sentimentalbloke7586]

If you want to speed up the cutting up process I generally use a garden mulcher that I keep for apples pears and sweet potatoes. but a food processor will work for small batches.

[@GarnettM]

A french fry press would be great for cutting them up .

[@hotkarlwithakay]

Salad shooter!

[@PoppaLongroach]

a smorgesboard of fermentable item.... i love it lol

[@marvinwebb7214]

Sgt major. Where have you been. Give'em hell.

[@BarleyandHopsBrewing]

Hey there. Glad to hear from you. How have you been?

[@MexFoody]

Thank you George. Would it be more effective to grate all those sweet potatoes? I think they may come to the desired temperatures faster as well as facilitate the pureeing process.

[@datilman9146]

George I'm definitely digging the sweet potato idea. Let's say someone did not want a virgin sweet potato vodka what would you recommend for sweet potato to sugar ratio? One more question, do you think your induction cooktop burn will hold a 10 gallon pot?

[@moretimethanmoney8611]

I'm here because I just learned my garden sweet potatoes have amylase. Weee!

[@terrellb5717]

Darn it George, what a coincidence, I just did sweet potato vodka and I used an Amylase, I didn't know sweet potatoes had them in there already.

[@debonpanton3366]

I see a smorgasbord of fermentable ingredients.....sweet potatoes contain more of the enzymes needed to create our unique elixir. I love this. Ha ha haaaaaaaaaaaa. By the way I agree with you. CHEERS

[@cliffstrobel1198]

Thankyou George. Cant wait for the other videos. Then I am definitely going to give this recipe a whirl. Cheers.

[@handyandy7706]

This is a hard choice but I'm going to say this is your best video series yet. Thank you

[@obssroberts1411]

i just watch your rice revideo .. so if you took 2/3 rice mash 1/3 sweet potato mash could you skip said issues in conversion of rice starch by mixing said mashes or 2/3 sweet potato 1/3 rice ...?CONVERTING RICE USING AMYLASE since sweet potato has both AMYLASE?

[@jimjohnston7042]

Thanks George, looking forward to the following episodes. Great topic. #happydistilling

[@ekaos5099]

Would shredding create a more fuller fermentation or is that a moot point?

[@desertweasel6965]

George doesn't seem like much of a drinker which I totally get. I barely drink once a year and I LOVE fermenting and distilling. Just got started and made my first run yesterday. I scorched it by getting small particulates in my wash. My thump keg also failed and my make shift rod fell off mid run. Got one quart of 100 proof and half a cloudy quart of 50 proof 😂😂😂 it's definitely a learning experience.

[@junjieyu1796]

“A smorgasbord of fermentable products” love it🤣🤣🤣

[@isisa.1348]

Sharing with all my friends!! Thank you!!! 🙌🏼

[@Turts_McGurts]

amazing george! THANKS FOR EVERYTHING! i sent you an email about a PID a couple days ago. have you received it ?

[@joeae6297]

Wow wow Sir, thank you v much. I have learned a lot from watching your video. Great works sir. We pray you get strength to continue doing such great works.

[@Poelie]

Sweet potatoes, despite their name, aren't actually potatoes; they are more akin to a root. Therefore, comparing them to regular potatoes is not an "apples-to-apples" comparison.

[@daranjones5545]

My mum keeps giving me sweet potato from her garden that I never really knew what to do with. Thank you so much, God bless you.

[@dankrich2153]

So good to see you back, George just got my small distiller license. And around the pID I got from you. And had a pretty flawless first run may have run it a little fast. Came off the still at one eighty six plate Four inch column

[@joemccarthywascorrect6240]

If you intend to do this regularly, I would suggest investing in a commercial French Fry Cutter. Use the larger cutting grid and cut them into about 1-1/2” to 2” long pieces, since sweet potatoes are harder than white potatoes. But you will get consistent pieces for cooking with a lot less stress on the wrist!

[@mical3788]

Good topic. I have a surplus of breadfruit, I Intend to mix sweet potato and breadfruit using what you have explained and attempt a mash, don't have a still so I will have to make one though Great info

[@bikesia8893]

Love your videos, George! I’ve been brewing for a couple years now. And it’s only recently I’ve decided to finally step into distilling. You definitely deserve more likes and subs! I may have to give this sweet potato vodka a try. You’re very informative.

[@readingdestination9025]

Regular potatoes are a nightshade plant, which means if you have an inflammatory issue than you will want to avoid nightshades…I know this video is older, but, it’s still viewable.

[@beneehayah4401]

Yes. You could have cut it up differently by saving some time using a french fry cutter. Harbor Freight sells French Fry cutters.

[@btdtagain]

I hope my girlfriend will watch this, we spend way too much on store bought.. thanks Mr. George

[@stephanimbeault2140]

One of your best videos so far. Suggestion, bake them in the over with the skin on and bake it by steps, when done, pass them under cold water quickly and the skin comes right off

[@CapnBubbaa]

Sweet Potatoes white or Red is their a difference as they are really Yams.. unless you growthem yourself.. the one in the stores are usually both yams red & White (Yellowish Green)

[@oxfordweddingpiper]

I wish my science teacher was as enthusiastic as you about his subject I would have passed O level chemistry if so brilliant content keep up the very good work best wishes

[@radsmolinski924]

Russians do not make vodka out of potatoes, they make it out of winter rye and various grains. The Poles make vodka out of potatoes.

[@DanielJAudette]

So after you use the amolise and it becomes sugars. Could you invert the sugars after to make the yeast happier?

[@martybernier9313]

Organic Chemistry 101 by George Duncan. I love it!

[@NiobedDMX]

Nice job... over in Japan, they call this Shochu and it's actually more consumed than Sake. It's supposed to be drank while eating and tastes just as good at room temperature, cold or hot. George, try steaming them. That supposedly makes them break down faster than roasting or boiling.

[@cliffstrobel1198]

Not sure if that would activate the alpha and beta amylase the same way though would it? And wouldn't wash the starch/sugars out. Just my ponderings.

[@NiobedDMX]

@Luiz Cunha actually they do a 2-stage fermentation. First they do a Koji and steamed rice, then slowly add in mashed, steamed sweet potatoes, over a 2 week period because they need the amylase from the Koji rice to break down the sweet potatoes so they usually add each portion every 2-3 days so that they don't overload the amylase with the sweet potatoes.

[@Marfoogled.Bar.Brewing]

I like how you use the White Board and show molecules, like Science Teacher

[@bittsandbobs9368]

This is great information, thanks, George. The best explanation of sugars, starches, and enzymes! I did not fall asleep, I'm going to watch this again while taking notes.

[@douglashatfield5676]

never commented but been watching this dude for a long time he makes me think of my old since teacher Mr Sipple and ya follow him in his directions ta get some sweet stuff

[@nathanielcohen9890]

I use a commercial juicer to prepare my mash. then I empty the juice and pulp into my masher. works great.

[@galenbooth447]

How can I get this recipe and your process for this distillation

[@apathyreview3964]

How did the old world people convert starches in normal potatoes without amalyse?

[@romplaz]

Can I mix sweet potato with coconut sap instead of unrefined sugar?

[@HodgyE5]

Thank you for the awesome video and details of your Process.

[@carlossantiago4843]

George, I emailed twice some questions, it probably went to spam.

[@mikemuzzell5167]

I feel like my grade 8 science teacher taught me to make vodka. Beautiful!

[@Vyral-xzh]

respects sir i am writing these comments from Laos and i think like ths is every interesting things to do at Laos because here we can get alot of sweet potato even sugarcan also so sir please help me that any change that i can learn more about making spirits atleast i can help the local farmer to have more income

[@u812green7]

I miss George's content and George 😢 I refer to your knowledge often❤

[@alangrant5278]

Yes! We see the world differently. Assess everything for potential grist to the still …

[@jsEMCsquared]

can i make a carrot whisky? i have a lot of leftover dry carrots after juicing.

[@patmancrowley8509]

I missed this episode, George. But I sure am glad to watch it now!

[@johnscott9855]

Recently found this fellow and his is addictive. So knowledgeable!

[@paulhollyfield6044]

I took organic chemistry in college. Hated it there too...

[@rogerphillips8060]

I certainly miss this chap, glad he hasn't taken his posts down

[@waltertulin7879]

you are a wealth of information. i am sticking around.

[@rokiozi]

LOOK MAN BLACK PEOP[LE ARE WATCHING GREAT JOB

[@davidmussatt1815]

Thanks as always George. If the sweet potato amylase can handle higher temps, would it make sense to cook it in the opposite manner, start at 170 and then go to 155 and finish at 149?

[@coreyblackburn9289]

No!.

[@MrRasZee]

ummm.....?🙄

[@richardnothrup324]

I'm looking to do a pumpkin pie run I haven't come up with a recipe to fermt pumpkin pie filling or just caned pumpkin. Any advice??

[@TimothyHigdonHiggs]

Dude you are great....sometimes is over my head.

[@xh757]

Yessss we talked about this about 3yrs ago and I now have a successful vodka brand from it #katspraddle sweet potato vodka. Thanks so much George!!!

[@BarleyandHopsBrewing]

That is awesome!

[@SabreCycles]

I'm late, but I'm all ears! Great channel!

[@kikiwraye9411]

Did this guy invent the sweet potato lol

[@jimfarris9671]

I'm one of those who had to turn off video I got bored

[@waynecampbell9714]

I just wanted a drink of vodka is all

[@gregludlum2239]

What is your website for stills.

[@pauldebuigne262]

Have you ever tried white sweet potatoes?