You Wanted a Pumpkin Ale That Tastes like Pumpkin Pie...?

Evan! · 10-18-2006, 01:40 PM

Well, I got one for ya. My Punkin Pie, which, I think qualifies as an Imperial Punkin Pie, was bottled last night. I had been extremely afraid that this batch was ruined, because it had this weird chemically taste/smell to it. But, I let it hang out in secondary for 45 days, and it paid off. Also, I added KC finings a few days before bottling, and that helped immensely with the clarity.

So, I tasted it at bottling last night, and boy, oh, boy, is it delicious! It really does taste like pumpkin pie! I think that "chemically" taste/smell was from the pumpkin pie spice...it has integrated well! I'm very, very excited about this beer...especially since it took SO much work trying to strain the pumpkin solids. Would have sucked to go through all that work, and have the beer turn out bad. Also, this was back in summertime, when I was afraid to ship liquid yeasts (no LHBS!), so I used Nottingham. It worked fine, considering that the spices, and not the yeast, are the star component of this beer.

Anyway, without further delay, here is my Imperial Punkin Pie Amber:

[note that the original gravity readings do not include the supplementary wort addition; however, this is probably offset by the amount of beer I lost to the solids.]

08-26-2006 Imperial Punkin Pie

A ProMash Brewing Session Report
--------------------------------

Brewing Date: Saturday August 26, 2006
Recipe: Imperial Punkin Pie

BJCP Style and Style Guidelines
-------------------------------

10-B American Ale, American Amber Ale

Min OG: 1.045 Max OG: 1.060
Min IBU: 25 Max IBU: 48
Min Clr: 10 Max Clr: 17 Color in SRM, Lovibond

Recipe Specifics
----------------

Batch Size (Gal): 5.00 Wort Size (Gal): 5.00
Total Grain (Lbs): 12.23
Anticipated OG: 1.082 Plato: 19.67
Anticipated SRM: 11.1
Anticipated IBU: 49.2
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75 %
Wort Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Actual OG: 1.082 Plato: 19.67
Actual FG: 1.020 Plato: 5.08

Alc by Weight: 6.34 by Volume: 8.18 From Measured Gravities.
ADF: 74.2 RDF 62.4 Apparent & Real Degree of Fermentation.

Actual Mash System Efficiency: 79 %
Anticipated Points From Mash: 22.63
Actual Points From Mash: 23.91

Pre-Boil Amounts
----------------

Evaporation Rate: 15.00 Percent Per Hour

Raw Pre-Boil Amounts - only targeted volume/gravity and evaporation
rate taken into account:

Pre-Boil Wort Size: 6.45 Gal
Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.063 SG 15.48 Plato

With sparge water, mash water, additional infusions, vessel losses, top-up
water and evaporation rate recorded in the Water Needed Calculator:

Water Needed Pre-Boil Wort Size: 6.75 Gal
Water Needed Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.060 SG 14.82 Plato

Grain/Extract/Sugar

% Amount Name Origin Potential SRM
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
24.5 3.00 lbs. Pale Malt(2-row) America 1.036 2
9.7 1.19 lbs. Crystal 10L America 1.035 10
49.0 6.00 lbs. Briess LME- Gold America 1.035 4
8.2 1.00 lbs. Generic DME - Light Generic 1.046 8
4.1 0.50 lbs. Brown Sugar Generic 1.046 4
4.1 0.50 lbs. Maple Syrup Generic 1.031 35
0.4 0.05 lbs. Black Patent Malt America 1.028 525

Potential represented as SG per pound per gallon.

Hops

Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.00 oz. Northern Brewer Pellet 6.50 30.4 90 min.
1.00 oz. Tettnanger Pellet 4.00 4.5 15 min.
0.50 oz. Cascade Pellet 5.75 2.0 2 min.
0.50 oz. Cascade Whole 5.75 12.2 90 min.

Extras

Amount Name Type Time
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
7.25 Oz Canned Pumpkin Fruit 90 Min.(boil)
0.50 Tbsp Cinnamon Spice 90 Min.(boil)
1.00 Tbsp Pumpkin Pie Spice Spice 90 Min.(boil)
0.25 Tsp Nutmeg Spice 90 Min.(boil)
1.00 Tbsp Pumpkin Pie Spice Spice 20 Min.(boil)
0.25 Tbsp Cinnamon Spice 2 Min.(boil)
1.00 Tbsp Pumpkin Pie Spice Spice 2 Min.(boil)
0.75 Tbsp Coriander Seed Spice 2 Min.(boil)
2.00 Tsp Irish Moss Fining 15 Min.(boil)

Yeast
-----

Danstar Nottingham

Fermentation Specifics
----------------------

Pitched From: Dry Pack
Amount Pitched: 0 mL
Lag Time: 0.00 hours

Primary Fermenter: Glass
Primary Type: Closed
Days In Primary: 7
Primary Temperature: 68 degrees F

Secondary Fermenter: Glass
Secondary Type: Closed
Days In Secondary: 45
Secondary Temperature: 65 degrees F

Original Gravity: 1.082 SG 19.67 Plato
Finishing Gravity: 1.020 SG 5.08 Plato

Bottling/Kegging Specifics
--------------------------

Bottling Date: Tuesday October 17, 2006
Desired Carbonation Level: 2.30 Volumes CO2
Fermentation Temperature: 68 F
DME Scalar: 2.00

Amount In Bottles: 5.00 Gallons
Days Conditioned: 0
Carbonation Method: Natural
Priming Medium Used: DME

Fermentation Notes
------------------

Added KC finings on 10.13.06. Vastly improved clarity. First time using finings; very impressed. Still a little cloudy, but that may settle out in bottle.

Took final hydro reading at bottling: 1.020, very good considering the addition of the supplementary wort to secondary.

Tasting Notes
-------------

When racking to secondary: took a sample. Has a strange chemical taste/smell. Hoping it subsides.

At bottling, no carbo: The "chemical" smell that had plagued the beer for so long has finally subsided. I think it was actually from the spices. The nose still has a little bit of it, but it's really more of a cinnamon/cloves thing now. The palate, however, is gorgeous. Nutty, spicy, the malt is there but does not throw it out of balance---impressive given the OG. This truly is like Pumpkin Pie in a bottle. Also, given the OG and FG, this may qualify as an "Imperial" Punkinpie.

Problem Notes
-------------

The pumpkin solids clog the strainer horribly. Was forced to strain with wide-holed collander and forego the strainer. Gave the primary an icebath for a few hours, then racked the liquid wort into another carboy. After 18 hours, the remaining solids had not settled very much. Decided to strain it anyway---very slow and tedious! Decided to stop with roughly 2" of solids left; poured remaining solids into primary without straining.

When racking to secondary, made a supplementary 1-gallon boil w/ 12oz DME boiled with 1/2oz Saaz and pumpkin pie spices, cooled it, racked on top of it. Was hoping yeast would start back up again, but airlock activity has been slow, and no new krausen. Going to rack to tertiary and take hydrometer readings.

Boil Notes
-----

Spread canned pumpkin on baking sheet(s), roast in 350° oven for 60 mins during mash

Der Meister · 10-19-2006, 05:22 PM

Looks yummy!