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Chugger · 08-29-2009, 08:55 PM

Quick question and plea for opinions.

I'm a bit worried that my Spiced Pumpkin Ale will not be hoppy enough for me in the end. So I'm thinking about dry hopping. There are 2 problems with that however.

1) I've never dry hopped before so am not exactly sure how to do that.
2) I don't have any idea what type of hops to use for this should I actually do it.

The recipe I used is shown below...

1lb Crystal 60L
1/2lb Biscuit
7lbs of Light DME
58oz Canned Pumpkin
Spice Mixture (cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, cloves, ginger)
1/2tsp Brown Sugar
1/4tsp Irish Moss
1oz Goldings 4.5% AA @ 60min
White Labs (WLP002)

What I'm wondering is if anyone can give me some advice on how to dry hop if it is truly more involved than just pitching them into the fermentor and what type and the amount of hops to use for dry hopping this type of beer.

Of course if you think I shouldn't dry hop this at all then I would like to hear that as well.

Thanks in advance for any comments.

david_42 · 08-29-2009, 09:23 PM

The recipe has no flavor or aroma hops at all and just a small amount of bittering. If you wanted a hoppy ale, this wasn't the way to go and dry hopping it now won't make up for the lack.

**Yuri_Rage** · 08-29-2009, 09:34 PM

I can't come up with a reason to dry hop a pumpkin ale. The recipe really doesn't lend itself to hop flavor and aroma.

JOHN51277 · 08-29-2009, 10:07 PM

I would leave well enough alone. There is no reason to hide the pumpkin flavors. It is why you made a pumpkin brew. If you want hoppy, make an IPA next!

Chugger · 08-30-2009, 04:35 AM

That's true, I made the pumpkin ale because I wanted pumpkin flavor. I guess I was just worried that I only used 1oz of hops in the boil but I'm gonna let it sit for another week in the primary anyway. I'll check it then and see if it feels like it is missing something (not that it matters much now, but this is my first venture into a non-kit brew).

Thanks for the responses anyway.

**Yuri_Rage** · 08-30-2009, 05:16 AM

Do a little reading on hop bittering and utilization (early additions) vs flavor and aroma (late/dry additions). How to Brew - By John Palmer is a great place to start.