thrstyunderwater

Recipes 

I'm relatively new to this, but I know I like drinking pumpkin beer. Before ordering supplies I googled some recipes and ordered supplies for two recipes.

Recipe 1 ingredients (http://www.thebrewsite.com/2004/10/11/pumpkin_ale_recipe.php)

* 6-10 pounds of pumpkin
* 1 pound of Vienna malt, 4L
* ½ pound crystal malt, 40L
* ½ pound malted wheat
* 6 pounds light or amber malt extract
* 1 cup brown suger (optional)
* ½ cup molasses (optional)
* 1 ounce Mt. Hood hops (boiling)
* ½ ounce Hallertauer hops (finishing)
* ½ teaspoon vanilla
* ½ to 1 teaspon pumpkin pie spices (see below)
* Wyeast 1056, American Ale
Recipe 2 ingredients (http://www.beerutopia.com/2008/09/25/home-brew-pumpkin-beer/)
4.5 lb extra pale
1 lb Munich
1 oz First Gold hops(6.9% alpha acid), .5 oz @ 60 minutes, .5 oz @ 45 minutes
3-4 lb pumpkin
Spices: 1 tsp cinnamon, 3/8 tsp nutmeg, 1/8 tsp mace, 7 g sweet orange peel
Wyeast London Ale 1028 (or White Labs British Ale 005 or Windsor Ale dry yeast)

First off, why does recipe one have two different fermentables that are optional? Should I use them? What's going to happen if I do or don't?

Second, it seems like the FG of beer one is going to be way higher than beer 2. Is beer 1 way out in cloud 9 and beer 2 some wimpy light beer? Anyone made either? Gonna turn out ok?

thrstyunderwater

Recipes 

nobody knows?

beerutopia

Recipes 

Molasses and brown sugar (which is just white sugar mixed with molasses), will add a different flavor to your beer. As adjuncts they can add an interesting dimension to the flavor but I wouldn't use either in large amounts. The amounts in the recipe are small and will contribute a little to the starting gravity but not much. I guess they are optional because adding them or not is a matter of taste. Personally, I would use them.

The first recipe didn't give starting and final gravities so I don't know what the ABV would be but there is more fermentables in that recipe than the second. The second one's ABV of 4.2% - 4.7% is relatively low but that just means you can drink more of it. If you want a higher ABV, just add more LME or DME.