Pumpkin Porter Anyone??

timeforchili · 07-13-2007, 06:26 PM

Anyone have a good recipe for a pumpkin porter?

I've got :
1lb dark dme
6.6lb super light lme
.5lb chocolate malt
.5lb crystal 80
.5lb honey malt
2 oz either williamette or hallertau
nottingham yeast.

I think this is ok to start what do you think? Also how much canned pumpkin and what if any spices would you guys add?

Thanks in advance, i've done about 25 batches but never thrown one together with random leftovers like this.

timeforchili · 07-15-2007, 04:38 AM

awesome, thanks for the input!!

FlyGuy · 07-15-2007, 05:01 AM

LOL. I guess you are getting little action on your thread because few, if any, people have actually brewed a pumpkin porter, let alone a pumpkin ale of any variety. I know I haven't.

Having said that, I will submit that most pumpkin ale recipes I have seen have been all-grain and/or involve cooked pumpkin. I think one or the other are necessary to ensure that the pumpkin 'goodness' gets converted to sugars. Enzyme action from the mash would be best, I would think. Simply cooking it would be unlikely to convert all the starch in the pumpkin.

Sorry, that's all I can really add. Hopefully someone else who has worked with pumpkin before will spot this thread and chime in.

ScubaSteve · 07-15-2007, 05:17 AM

Hey, look....I'm pretty much a NOOB in comparison to most of the folks on this forum....But it seems logical to me that you should treat the pumpkin the way you do with a regular pumpkin ale, and then just use the grains you would for a porter instead. The guys at B3 are really helpful and quite knowledgeable. You could probably even give them a call and see what they do with their pumpkin ale if you don't get what you need from here.

**RichBrewer** · 07-15-2007, 06:03 AM

Sorry I didn't reply to this sooner but I saw you were looking for a pumpkin porter recipe and I don't have one but I do have experience with making a pumpkin beer.

Here's the one I made and I think it is a decent beer.
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f76/richards-pumpkin-ale-23489/

From the research I did I determined that the pumpkin needs to go into the boil. There aren't enough starches in pumpkin to warrant mashing. I used 2 large cans of pumpkin straight from the can and didn't bake it in the oven before hand. My batch was actually 6 1/2 gallons because I let as much pumpkin as possible get into the primary fermenter. When I racked it to secondary I ended up with just over 5 gallons. I think the pumpkin flavor is just about right.
Use your recipe and add the pumpkin to the boil. Being a porter, you may want to increase the spices somewhat because they might be muted by the roasty/malty flavors.
Good luck and let us know what you decide to do with this.

Professor Frink · 07-15-2007, 12:03 PM

I made this pumpkin porter last year, it came out great:

http://www.unc.edu/~evanmerk/horny%20hobgoblin.htm

timeforchili · 07-15-2007, 02:34 PM

thanks for the posts, i was ready to give up on this brew idea, i figured the lack of responses meant gross concept do not proceed.

This brew is bubbling away in my basement, i did it on friday and i'll let you know how it turns out. The only thing i wish i did differently is cut back on the chocolate malt, i hope .5lb doesnt overpower the subtle flavors of everything else.

If it's awesome, I'll post my recipe, if it's garbage i'll pretend like it never happened.

**RichBrewer** · 07-15-2007, 02:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by timeforchili

The only thing i wish i did differently is cut back on the chocolate malt, i hope .5lb doesnt overpower the subtle flavors of everything else.

1/2 pound of chocolate malt shouldn't be too much. Let us know how it turns out.

hoplobster · 07-15-2007, 07:15 PM

While I don't have any personal experience brewing with pumpkin, I have had a great smoked pumpkin porter from a local brewpub.

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/14563/35480

This was actually an awsome brew and blended the great characteristics of a pumpkin ale AND a porter. I was speaking with the owner/brewer about this and he said they used fresh and canned pumpkin in the mash/boil and added some pumpkin spice at flameout with fresh grated cinnamon after kegging.

I miss this beer and I hope they make it again for the upcoming fall season and I'm sure yours will turn out great.

RadicalEd · 07-15-2007, 07:44 PM

Oh man, I'm getting hungry just thinking of the pumpkin and chocolate...Hmmmmm...