Figueroa Mountain I Yam What I Yam

This hearty ale with a spooky, reddish-orange color that is perfect for Halloween time is brewed with 20 pounds of yams per barrel and flavored with cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, vanilla beans, and molasses. Every year for the holidays, instead of marshmallow-topped candied yams, Arroyo Grande brewer Sean Laidlaw makes a dish comprised of yams pureed with some apple sauce, brown sugar, and all of the above spices. This beer is inspired by that dish with the addition of vanilla beans to round things out. Sean always thought that pumpkins were a bit bland and that most pumpkin beers suffered because of this. Substituting yams sets it apart from the crowd while elevating the flavor. We added a small amount of pumpkin for those more traditional pumpkin lovers.