Heavy Hop Pumpkin Ale

[Fweezle]

Been playing around with this recipe lately...thoughts/suggestions? This is the first "hoppier" beer I've really made so I might need some help on the hop scheduling.

4 - 15oz cans natural pumpkin puree
6.6 lbs Amber Malt Extract
1 lb Munich Malt
.5 lb Cara Pils
.5 lb Caramel Malts
.25 lb Honey Malts
1 cup brown sugar

(Last 10 min boil)
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp ground clove

1 oz Columbus 60min
.5 oz Centennial 30 min
.5 oz Centennial 20min
.5 oz Simcoe 10 min

Dry Hop
1 oz Columbus
.5 oz Amarillo

I'll probably use a pretty neutral ale yeast like Wyeast 1056

[markaberrant]

My suggestion is to make a pumpkin spice beer, or a hoppy beer, not a hoppy pumpkin spice beer. Most pumpkin spice beers stay on the malty, low hopped side, as this provides a nice rich base for the spices. Hopping the crap out of it is going to make the spices clash with the bitterness (to the point of being harsh), and the late hopping will obliterate most other flavours.

[Fweezle]

My suggestion is to make a pumpkin spice beer, or a hoppy beer, not a hoppy pumpkin spice beer. Most pumpkin spice beers stay on the malty, low hopped side, as this provides a nice rich base for the spices. Hopping the crap out of it is going to make the spices clash with the bitterness (to the point of being harsh), and the late hopping will obliterate most other flavours.

Yea, I understand the basics of it all, but me and the buddy I brew with brew exclusively odd, off the wall, may or may not work beers. I still want the maltiness and spices of a pumpkin beer, but I also want the hops to be pronounced and lightly clash/mix with the spice mixture. If you were to attempt something like this what would you suggest.:D

[markaberrant]

I don't recommend using Amber extract ever, use the lightest (and freshest) extract you can find, and add specialty grains for colour/flavour. So I'd recommend that, and maybe increase your caramel malt by another .5 - 1 lb.

As for hop additions, in my american ales, I like a FWH, 60, flameout and dry hop. Using your hops/amounts/schedule, I'd modify it to this:

1oz Centennial FWH
1oz Columbus 60
.5oz Amarillo 0
.5oz Simcoe 0
1oz Columbus dry

[Fweezle]

I do appriciate it, I will let you know how the experiment works and possibly get a bottle out your way.

FWH...not sure what that stands for.

[markaberrant]

FWH - First Wort Hops
Add your FWH to your brew kettle before adding the wort. This steeping time prior to the boil does some sort of magic voodoo (still not completely understood by brewing science) that locks in the flavour and creates a smooth bitterness.

I use FWH as my flavour addition.

[nelstrodomus]

I'm all for experimenting with beer, but I'm in concurrence with all of markaberrant's posts on this one. Go one way or another, pumpkin/holiday spiced beers and american citrus hops just won't work IMHO...next week I'll have a piece of lemon meringe and pumpkin pie after turkey...just not all mixed up on the same plate...

:)

[beerking]

Marka has good advice. FWH = First Wort Hopping. Means to put the hops in the kettle as soon as you start running wort from the sparge. In your case, being an extract brewer, it would really mean adding hops to the kettle as soon as you are done steeping the grains.

I would make one change: Go with ""Burst Hopping" for extra hop flavor. If you ahve enough hops, get most of your IBUs (>75% from additions at 30 and 20 minutes. Only add a little at 60 minutes.