Sweet Potato Ale
Vault Brewing Company

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From:
Vault Brewing Company
 
Pennsylvania, United States
Style:
Herb and Spice Beer
Ranked #27
ABV:
6.5%
Score:
85
Ranked #20,898
Avg:
3.76 | pDev: 11.97%
Reviews:
17
Ratings:
61
Status:
Active
Rated:
Oct 15, 2023
Added:
Oct 17, 2012
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  14
Our seasonal favorite. Brewed with roasted sweet potatoes, Mexican vanilla, saigon cinnamon, nutmeg, molasses, and milk sugar.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Rifugium:
Photo of Rifugium
Reviewed by Rifugium from North Dakota

3.31/5  rDev -12%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25
First had: on tap at Vault

Hazy, darker copper pour, with a half-finger of off-white head that stuck around for a while. Light aroma of caramel malts and candied yams. Taste pretty much agreed with the nose: bready malts, caramelized sweet potato and a dash of cinnamon and brown sugar, mildly earthy, mildly sweet. The flavor wasn't bad, but it was a bit thinned out. Light-medium body, thin mouthfeel, yet mild enough to drink easily. Decent overall, but nothing that beckoned me back for more.
Nov 16, 2013
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4.08 by PoppaPug from Pennsylvania

Oct 15, 2023
 
Rated: 4.23 by saymike32 from New Jersey

Aug 27, 2022
 
Rated: 3.67 by Gkruszewski from New York

Aug 26, 2022
 
Rated: 3.54 by ColForbinBC from New Jersey

Sep 08, 2021
Photo of tone77
Reviewed by tone77 from Pennsylvania

3.6/5  rDev -4.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
A thanks to the mighty woodychandler for this beer. Poured from a 16 oz. can. Has a hazy chestnut color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is mild, some spices. Taste is sweet potato, cinnamon, nutmeg. Feels medium/full bodied in the mouth and overall is a decent beer.
Jun 20, 2021
Photo of rudiecantfail
Reviewed by rudiecantfail from Pennsylvania

3.96/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
16 ounce can poured into a Duvel tulip glass.

L---Light brown when poured through sunlight, but medium brown in the glass. Fairly thin, off white head with meh retention and ok lacing.

S---Spices are apparent. Nutmeg, vanilla & cinnamon are clear.

T---Rich molasses is up front with the above mentioned spices in the background. Tastes better than it smells.

F---Thin to medium bodied. There is a creaminess to it. Seems almost uncarbonated.

O---Very reminiscent of a pumpkin ale. It hits what it advertises, so bonus points for that.
May 19, 2020
 
Rated: 3.53 by sjones5045 from Pennsylvania

Sep 24, 2019
Photo of TheBigBoy
Rated by TheBigBoy from Pennsylvania

2.88/5  rDev -23.4%
look: 2.75 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.75
Not terrible, but i guess there's a reason beer is not made with sweet potatoes.
Jun 02, 2019
 
Rated: 3.43 by BeerImmediately from Pennsylvania

Jan 15, 2019
 
Rated: 4.04 by BeenTired from Pennsylvania

Dec 26, 2018
 
Rated: 3.68 by Pokerdoodle from New York

Nov 18, 2018
 
Rated: 4.03 by Donkster46 from Washington

Nov 14, 2018
Photo of Pudge57
Reviewed by Pudge57 from Pennsylvania

2.47/5  rDev -34.3%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 2.5
I was excited to try this brew as I passed by it a few times at the distributor. First pour looked great, thick head, dark tan in color. When I went for a sniff I smelled the inside of the can, it was hard to drink after I poured it bc I couldn’t enjoy the aromatics with the flavor. I bought a 4 pack so maybe the next one will be more enjoyable.
Nov 02, 2018
 
Rated: 3.71 by Jasonrm72 from Colorado

Oct 27, 2018
Photo of jzeilinger
Reviewed by jzeilinger from Pennsylvania

3.83/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
On tap.

A - Dark caramel colored pour with frothy lacing/head, no carbonation.

S - Gourds, cinnamon, nutmeg.

T - Caramel malt, cinnamon, gourd/pumpkin/sweet potato, nutmeg, vanilla, and finishes with a delicate bitterness. Some lingering caramel on the back end.

M - Full body and slippery.

O - Solid.
Oct 23, 2018
 
Rated: 3.59 by TheEpeeist from Maryland

Oct 10, 2018
Photo of woodychandler
Reviewed by woodychandler from Pennsylvania

4.09/5  rDev +8.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
I am now embarking on yet another brewery horizontal, this time with CANs from Vault B.C. in Yardley, PA. I met these guys fairly early in their existence & reviewed one of their first CANs for The CANQuest (tm). I am beginning with this one since serving style DOES matter - this is a "Nitro Can"!

From the N2 CAN: "Drink Fresh, Drink Now"; "Brewed with Sweet Potatoes, Molasses, Vanilla, Lactose, Cinnamon & Nutmeg"; "This End Up ^ Pour Vigorously".

Upon Crack!ing open the vent on this Vault, I did as they directed & CANmenced an inverted Glug into one of the largest glasses that I own. It was a good thing that I did as it not only freely cascaded, but in so doing, it created a mountainous nearly three fingers of dense, foamy, rocky, deep-tan/light-brown head with excellent retention that threatened to overflow the top of my glass! Color was Coppery-Brown (SRM = > 17, < 22) with NE-quality clarity. Nose smelled really rich, like a liquefied Shoo-Fly Pie, a Pennsylvania Dutch staple/treat that relies heavily on treacle (molasses), but the cinnamon & nutmeg were also readily identifiable. Mouthfeel was big & soft. a direct result of the N2. The taste was very spicy, less treacle-y than the nose had led me to expect, but now I could also taste the vanilla. It was very evocative of many Pumpkin Ales in terms of its use of spice & I might have defaulted to that if I did not know that they employed sweet potatoes. This was an odd little duck, but well executed, keeping the potential sweetness in check while also knowing when to stop with the spices (something that STILL eludes some Pumpkin Beer makers). Even so, the very addition of spices rendered its finish dry. Dry and spicy with just a touch of sweetness. Very nicely done!
Jul 31, 2018
Photo of 2beerdogs
Reviewed by 2beerdogs from California

3.73/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
While I'm sure this is not up everybody's alley, it's pretty damn good.
Pours caramel colored and opaque. Fluffy tan head, that quickly recedes, leaves little lacing.
Aroma is what it states on the can, (marked HUMBLE PIE 9/7/17) "Sweet potatoes, Molasess, Vanilla, Lactose, Cinnamon, & Nutmeg" minus the vanilla. Lactose is lite as well. But maybe I popped this a tad late.
Taste follows completely.
Feel is a tad lighter than medium. Carbonation is mostly absent after the first 2 minutes (again, probably my fault).
Overall, it seems to be a pretty good representation of what the brewers were going for. A seasonal that I could enjoy yearly.
Apr 22, 2018
 
Rated: 3.84 by epyon396 from Pennsylvania

Dec 23, 2017
Sweet Potato Ale from Vault Brewing Company
Beer rating: 85 out of 100 with 61 ratings