Avoiding a Pumpkin Beer & Austin Brewing Supply

kahunaman · 10-27-2008, 11:55 PM

"Someone" thought they would be nice and order me a full recipe set from Austin Brewing. They went with Pumpkin Beer assuming I would want to make that for Thanksgiving.

Now, I look forward to a decent Pumpkin beer. They come out in Mid September here. By Late Sept, I am ready to yak it up and can't smell it by Mid October. For me to make 5 gallons of this now is quite daunting to say the least.

So anyway... this is coming in soon. I haven't seen the ingredients, but my question is (since I've never dealt with Austin) will they ship me all individual ingredients (hops all separate, Malt Separate, 'spices" separate) so i can just skip the obnoxious pumpkin spicing..
AND - if I skip the spicing will my beer suck. Any suggestions on what I can do with the remaining ingredients? Here is what I have coming in.
Austin Homebrew Supply
Thanks!

**david_42** · 10-28-2008, 12:00 AM

Quote:

A favorite in the fall season, this amber ale features seasonal spices: cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, and Sweet Orange Peel. It also features Crystal 60L, Cara Munich, and Vienna grains. The required spices are included in a spice pack. O.G. = 1.055. Approximately 5.5% ABV.

Basically a Pale with a little extra maltiness. Should be just fine without the spices.

kahunaman · 10-28-2008, 12:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by david_42

Basically a Pale with a little extra maltiness. Should be just fine without the spices.

Right on. Thats what I figured.
Now... anything stupid/ridiculous anyone recommends for me to have some fun with it?

MikeInCtown · 10-28-2008, 12:21 AM

The spice packs are indeed seperate. I purchased their Special Holiday Ale and the spice pack was seperate in that. All the grains were bagged together however.

**Nurmey** · 10-28-2008, 12:33 AM

The good news is that you get to try a AHS kit for free. Too bad it's not up your alley but I think after you make Austin Homebrew Supply kit you won't be avoiding them for long.

kahunaman · 10-28-2008, 03:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nurmey

The good news is that you get to try a AHS kit for free. Too bad it's not up your alley but I think after you make Austin Homebrew Supply kit you won't be avoiding them for long.

Hrmm.. so are you maybe saying I should just GO for it, and shoot the pumpkin spices in it? Or do you think the beer will be perfectly acceptable if I skip the whole spicepack?

Punx Clever · 10-28-2008, 03:04 AM

hell, make it a REAL pumpkin ale and put some pumpkin in it too!

Or, put together your own blend of spices and make it your own.

I know my pumpkin ale (based on yuri's recipe) tastes nothing like store-bought pumpkin ales, and received wide acclaim at the LHBS for its subtle spices. I can assume that the AHS kit will probably taste different than anything else out there too.

For me... 1 tsp pie spice, 1 tsp of cinnamon @ 5 mins. Give it a month and it's delicious.

**Nurmey** · 10-28-2008, 03:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kahunaman

Hrmm.. so are you maybe saying I should just GO for it, and shoot the pumpkin spices in it? Or do you think the beer will be perfectly acceptable if I skip the whole spicepack?

Sorry, I wasn't clear. Don't put the spices in if you don't like pumpkin ale. I think it will be a very nice beer without the spices. You're title indicated you were avoiding pumpkin ale as well as AHS. I wanted to point out that once you make one of their very nice kits, you might want to make more of their very nice kits.

kahunaman · 10-28-2008, 03:59 AM

excellent feedback from all. thank you greatly.

**Austinhomebrew** · 10-28-2008, 05:50 AM

Pumpkin itself doesn't add a lot of flavor. The spices are what makes it one of our most popular beer kits. It will take about a month in the bottles or keg for the spices to blend well and be more subtle. If you think the spices are too strong you haven't aged it enough.

Forrest