pumpkin beer

[sallad]

is it too early to think about a pumpkin beer? well, i'm thinking about it... i've never made one, but here's what i'm thinking:

i made a really good bitter (extract w/ specialty malts) a while back. and my mother makes a mean pumpkin pie, so i think i want to basically make my bitter, and add 1-2 pies (minus crust, eggs, milk, etc) right at the end of the boil, dump the whole slop into primary, and rack the beer off the pie after a week or so.

anybody have any advice? i'm thinking i should brew soon if i want this ready by halloween time.. any advice on how long to age a pumpkin ale?

thanks :D

[sullydavid]

Not too early by any means. I found a recipe that I have been wanting to try for about 3 months but can't find any pumpkin yet.

http://www.arachnyd.com/david/pump99.html is the one I am looking at. No clue on aging though.

[brewmonkey]

Actually might be the perfect time to do it and have enought time for all the flavors to come together nicely for the season.

I would be interested in hearing about your recipe when you have it figured out. While I have had some pumpkin beers it has been one of those area's I have not ventured into.

[Tom C]

I did a pumpkin beer that was absolutly fabulous last year. This year I am going to do a Amber Ale base with a low hop profile and mash fresh sugar pumpkins that are growing in my garden as we speak. I am also going to use whole spices and crush them and place into the last minutes of the boil. I may also add some more in the secondary. I have heard though people making a good pumpkin ale with canned pumpkin. I just feel if I am going to make a seasonal I might as well use true seasonal products. (just means I have to wait longer for it to grow around here though) i am gunning for Pumpkin pie in a glass!

Tom C

[sallad]

i'm also aiming for pumpkin pie in a glass. i've had several pumpkin brews, but most have been a little bland or unbalanced or too herbed and so on. the best one i've ever had (which was fantastic!) was from heartland brewery in manhattan last fall. this is my inspiration! i'd like to use fresh pumpkins too, but its still early for them. but if i brew soon, i've got some time for aging before fall gets here. ah, the stressful life of a homebrewer....

maybe i'll just do one soon using canned pumpkins, then another when fresh pumpkins are available!

[BREWERDLUX]

Sallad, I was always told to use the raw pumpkin in the mash. It will convert like anything else. I made a pumpkin ale last year and just put the pumpkin and the spices in the secondary. It did not taste like pumpkin, just spices. I have checked in to it further and everything I have found says to mash the pumpkin with your grains.

[Tom C]

I agree totally. Cut the pumpkin remove all the gunk and bake it for a while to take off the skin then mash directly with grains.

Tom C

[sallad]

thanks for the tip on mashing the pumpkin. i was definitely not going to do that. does that go for all fruit beers?

i recently made an apricot ale w/ about 2lbs apricots that had a very faint (if any) apricot taste. i just threw them in at the end of the boil and dumped it all into primary. i've had better luck using small amounts of orange and lemon (1-2 peices of fruit) in this manner, but not apricot...

[Tom C]

With other fruit I would use in the secondary, by boiling them you are losing a lot of the flavoring you are looking for. You can also use extract that yoiu can through into the secondary or keg for good flavoring as well. Your lhbs should sell flovoring.

Tom C

[BREWERDLUX]

I agree with Tom. Most fruit can be blanched for a few seconds in boiling water and them crushed and added to the secondary. Seems from my experience that if you ad it to the primary, the fermentation scrubs away some of the flavor and aroma. I have had really good luck doing it in the secondary (except for a cranberry mess I made once). Made a toested coconut porter once from a reciepe I got out of BYO. Put coconut in a grain bag and basically dry hopped with it.. Was goood!

[barley ben]

ok, so i've heard of pumpkin beer and always thought it would be really bad. i've never had the opportunity to try it. is it really that great that maybe this fall i should hunt for some. i guess so since all of you are brewing it. any suggestions on what brand to look for or watch out for. got to have some now. and also, what should i expect out of a good one.

[Tom C]

Shipyard's Pumpkin Head is a good seasonal, but I don't beleive they actually use pumpkin. If you live in the MA area Watch City Brewery in Waltham makes a great Pumpkin beer too.

I guess you would be looking for a many qualities that would be in a marzen: low hop profile and a bit malty to allow some pumkin flavoring to come through. It will not take many hops to kill off the pumpkin. Also, pumkin spices should be noted but not in an overwhelming fashion. I have seen recipes ranging from a pale ale to amber. There is lots of flexibility with this one. A true beer to make to taste.

This beer is a nice day to get otehrs invovled in brewing. Have them come cut up Pumpkin's and roast it slightly. Prepare it for the mash. Brew the ale and drink home brew throughout the day;)

Tom C

[barley ben]

i'm in southern new jersey so i don't know if they distribute this far. never seen them anywhere before. thanks for the info. i'll definately have to try some out.

[sallad]

i'm not set up to do very large mashes, so, this will be mostly extracts.. here is my loose recipe (for now, anyway..) feedback appreciated!

* 4 lbs - Alexanders pale extract syrup
* 3.54 lbs - John Bull amber extract syrup
* 5-7 lbs of fresh cooking pumpkin (partial mash)
* 1/2 lbs - Crystal malt 40L (partial mash)
* 1/4 lbs - Roasted barley (partial mash)
* 1 oz - Bullion hops (60 min) 10.0% AA
* 1/2 oz - Willamette hops (60 min) 4.8% AA
* 1/2 oz - Willamette hops (30 min)
* 1/2 oz - Willamette hops (10 min)
* spices from 2 of Mom's pumpkin pies (10 min)
* 1 pk - Wyeast London III (1318)

Prepare pumpkin by cutting it in half and cleaning out seeds, etc. Then place it skin side up on a cookie sheet and bake at 350F until tender, maybe an hour. Peel away skin, slice into small pieces, and add to mash!!

Not sure how much water for the mash, enough to cover pumpkin and grains. Mash at 154F for 60min, 168F for 10 min. Sparge with (TBD)gal at 170F.

60min boil, boil volume will be probably about 4gal. add hops and spices as scheduled. I'm thinking whirlpooling and then syphoning to primary will help leave a bunch of pumpkin sediment behind. Fill fementer to 5-5.5gal. (desired OG ~1055)

by the way, i sent email to heartland brewing asking for hints on their recipe for Smiling Pumpkin Ale. awaiting a response... ;)

[Tom C]

Personally I would use less hops. If you hop a pumpkin to much you will loose any flavoring of the pumkin. I would opt for 3/4 bullion at boil, 1/4 oz willamette for 30 and omit the aroma hops. Also throw some spices onto the pumkin as it bakes and then mash with grains,

Just my thoughts

Tom C

[sallad]

thanks for the suggestion Tom, i think i'll knock the hops down a bit then, and spice the pumpkin while baking. plus i saw that Brooklyn's pumpkin ale features honey-roasted pumpkin! yum!!

one other thing.. anyone have any idea how much fermentables 5lbs of pumpkin will contribute? my recipe minus pumpkin should have OG ~1055 for 5 gal. i'm thinking with the pumpkin, i might need to bump volume up to 5.5gal or even more.. with a 6.5gal carboy, i won't be able to really go above 6gal....