Yet another Pumpkin Ale

[brewwitch]

Hi I'd like to make a pumpkin Ale. I want the Ale to have that earthy, musty feel/taste of pumpkin. I feel too many pumpkin Ales do not. I started with a recipe for a pumpkin porter from the extreme brewing book and modified it somewhat.

So,

4lbs of pumpkin, boiled and mashed. (Water from boil is kept)

2lbs 6-row Malt
1lb crystal malt

Put pumpkin & its water & about 2 more gallons of water & malt
together. Keep at ~150 for an hour.

Strain it all.

Add
3.3 light Amber Malt liquid
3 lbs dry Amber Malt

1oz Kent Golding Hops (I chose these because I read they provide an earthy
tone)
1 oz Cascade Hops
1/2 oz Kent Goldings (aroma)

1/2 tsp Allspice
3/4 nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon

English Ale Yeast

Any comments, notes, suggestions would be appreciated!

thansk

[deafcone]

Pumpkin doesn't add a lot pf flavor to beers. I just made a pumpkin ale and it's the best by far I've made over the years but it was mild in pumpkin flavor from the pumpkin itself. I added pupkin pie spice and cinnamon to brown sugar and used the brown sugar as priming sugar.

Try roasting the pumpkin for an hour at 350-375 degrees. sprinkle it with a little brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice before you roast it. Then scoop the pumpkin meat out of the skin and spak the pumpkin with the specialty grains in a gallon of water for 30-60 minutes at 155 degrees, then remove pumpkin and sparge the grains with 170 degree water (about a gallon).

roasting the pumpkin and soaking it in the grains brought out more pumpkin flavor vs using raw pumpkin.

DC

[Otis_The_Drunk]

Do yourself a favor and just buy some Schillings pumpkin spice, it works well and takes the guess work out of it.

[brewwitch]

Pumpkin pie spice does not have a pumpkin taste. Besides pumpkin pie spice consists of cinnamon, ginger, allspice and perhaps nutmeg, all of which can be added separately and in the proportions one desires. (I've made a lot of pumpkin pie over the years!)

I am racking to secondary today. We'll see how it goes.

The next batch I make I'll use butternut squash. I think that will be awesome!
And.. I may even roast it! :-)

Also I wonder about the difference of adding the spices while roasting.
Hmm.. OK.. here's a thought, and this I get from making a lot of Indian food!,
dry toast your spices to bring out their aromatic qualities. You'd do that I would think 10min before end of boil. You could also just dry toast and then put in right before you seal your fermenter. Dry toasting is simple, just heat spices in a skillet until you can smell them.

Hmmmm I'm giong to try that next round!

[Halgarmeister]

As with all my brews, I can never do the same thing twice because the supplier is always out of one ingredient or another. My last pumpkin ale was no exception to that, however, with the alternate ingredients became an exceptional brew!

6 lbs Light Munich Malt Extract
1½ lbs fresh baked sugar pumpkin meat plus 15oz canned pumpkin (didn't have enough fresh in the freezer for a full batch )
1 pound Crystal Malt 40L
1/2 pound wheat malt
1pound Vienna malt
4-½ tsp Pectic Enzyme
1 oz. Hallertaur Hops
1 cup brown sugar
3 - 3" cinnamon stick - broken into pieces
1 tsp each Whole Cloves and Whole Allspice
2 tsp Irish Moss
6.5 gal. Water
WLP001 yeast
1 c Dextrose - primer (natural fermentation, I don't carbonate/keg )

Steep the grains, pumpkin (6qts water ), 1 tsp. Irish Moss, and pectic enzyme at 150. I tend to go anywhere from 45 minutes to a bit over an hour depending on my mood and the amount of time it takes to set up the rest of the brewing gear. Some Irish moss was added here to help drop out the canned pureed pumpkin before it went through the boil and to the fermenter.

Boil water, turn off the heat, dissolve the LME and brown sugar. Add any remaining water, grain/pumpkin tea and bring to full boil.

At full boil add all hops for 50 minutes

At 50 minutes add spices and 1 tsp. Irish moss for remaining 10 minutes ( a little longer brings out more spices aroma and flavor ).

I netted about 5 to 5.5 gallons of 1.050 wort to the fermenter

Side note to anyone who hasn't done a pumpkin ale before. Fresh baked pumpkin will coagulate and settle out better than canned puree. I personally think that fresh baked adds more body, depth, and flavor to the brew. Just as with pies, you need to use sugar pumpkins.

[Botoole560]

Hello gang, sure has been a while!!

I think I may try Halgarmeister's recipe, or a close variation this year. Better get started!!

(No priming sugar, I will keg and force-carbonate.)

Please let me know ASAP if anyone has ANY suggestions!! Thank you!!

As with all my brews, I can never do the same thing twice because the supplier is always out of one ingredient or another. My last pumpkin ale was no exception to that, however, with the alternate ingredients became an exceptional brew!

6 lbs Light Munich Malt Extract
1½ lbs fresh baked sugar pumpkin meat plus 15oz canned pumpkin (didn't have enough fresh in the freezer for a full batch )
1 pound Crystal Malt 40L
1/2 pound wheat malt
1pound Vienna malt
4-½ tsp Pectic Enzyme
1 oz. Hallertaur Hops
1 cup brown sugar
3 - 3" cinnamon stick - broken into pieces
1 tsp each Whole Cloves and Whole Allspice
2 tsp Irish Moss
6.5 gal. Water
WLP001 yeast
1 c Dextrose - primer (natural fermentation, I don't carbonate/keg )

Steep the grains, pumpkin (6qts water ), 1 tsp. Irish Moss, and pectic enzyme at 150. I tend to go anywhere from 45 minutes to a bit over an hour depending on my mood and the amount of time it takes to set up the rest of the brewing gear. Some Irish moss was added here to help drop out the canned pureed pumpkin before it went through the boil and to the fermenter.

Boil water, turn off the heat, dissolve the LME and brown sugar. Add any remaining water, grain/pumpkin tea and bring to full boil.

At full boil add all hops for 50 minutes

At 50 minutes add spices and 1 tsp. Irish moss for remaining 10 minutes ( a little longer brings out more spices aroma and flavor ).

I netted about 5 to 5.5 gallons of 1.050 wort to the fermenter

Side note to anyone who hasn't done a pumpkin ale before. Fresh baked pumpkin will coagulate and settle out better than canned puree. I personally think that fresh baked adds more body, depth, and flavor to the brew. Just as with pies, you need to use sugar pumpkins.

[vance71975]

if i were making it, i would do everything as you plan except one thing. I would leave the pumpkin in the primary until you rack to secondary. AND i would rack it over Another 4 lbs of Pumpkin That has been boiled and added to the secondary vessel.Including the water you boil it in! This will give you a "double Shot" of pumpkin flavor.

[Botoole560]

I know, I'm getting down to the last second here, but, I need to know the following:

(insert my patented Krusty The Klown Nervous Chuckle here. . . . Seriously, ask me about it sometime. . . . .)

Exactly HOW does one, "bake" the pumpkin meat for use in the prescribed pumpkin ale recipe?? Mash appreciated!! (Oh, excuse me, I meant to say, "much" appreciated. . . . ) Thank you!!

[cul8rv8]

I pull the seeds and pulp, then cut the pumpkin up into pieces and place the pieces meat-side up in the oven. I don't remember the temp or time, I don't think it makes a huge difference. You just do it until it's soft. What someone above said sounds right, about an hour at 350-375.

[beerking]

If you want to give your pumpkin ale some additional character, here are a few tips:
1. Use crookneck pumpkins, NOT jack-o-lantern or pie pumpkins. Much more "pumpkin" flavor.
2. Roast the pumpkin until you get some browning of the meat. This is a Malliard reaction that creates some nice caramel character.
3. For a real treat, roast the pumpkin in a wood fired oven or smoker.

Have fun!

[mark467s]

Wow thanks a lot for this recipe Its really very simple t follow.I will definitely try it in my home.I know its going to be delicious food.