Pumpkin Ales and Lagerators - Input Wanted!

EinGutesBier · 09-24-2008, 02:46 AM

Hey everyone, it's good to be back. I've been on a little brewing hiatus but I'm back and pleased to say I've met a good core of brewers through the club I helped found in this area. In recent memory, I made a lightly smoked/chocolate wheat Trappist-style ale a robust Flanders Red and am looking at my next brew, a nice pumpkin ale.

This is actually going to be a group brew for the local brew club, so I wanted to do the research to make it right. A few questions I have is, when should you add the pumpkin? At the end of the boil or in secondary (or primary if it won't be transferred)? I'll probably post a recipe later on, but a lot of us have had bad experiences using adjunct spices, so we want to get all of the appropriate spiced flavor for this pumpkin ale from a phenolic yeast. Sure, I could use a whitbier or hefe yeast, but does anyone have a particular recommendation, preferably from Wyeast?

Finally, if anyone has a tried and true pumpkin recipe, I'd be interested in seeing it - we're still debating which hops to use. We all agreed that we want something with light to moderate bitterness with a nice flowery or complementary hop aroma and flavor. Again, recommendations would be appreciated.

For the other part of the post, someone is going to be giving me their old International Harvester (IH) fridge, which I understand are nearly indestructible. It's huge and should be able to accommodate a lot of lager. I know I have to buy the analog thermostat adjuster ($54 from Midwest Supplies). Do I just plug it into the fridge, put the probe inside and set the temperature to whatever I want? Since I haven't done this before, never even brewed a true lager, I'd like to get it right from someone who's been there before.

Thanks in advance, guys and gals, it's good to be back. Keep brewing!

golfguy819 · 09-24-2008, 11:54 PM

i did a pumpkin brew last night from AHS. i used 4 lbs of real pumpkin (2 little pie pumpkins) that i cut up into chunks and removed the outer shell. after that, i seasoned w/ allspice, nutmeg and cinnamon and baked them at 350 for 45 mins. since i was using lme, i added half the pumpkin (used a reusable grain bag)right after that, then added the other half when i added my bittering hops. it smelled pretty amazing, but due to an extremely bad night last night (broken carboy, bloody finger), i didn't get to sample it before sealing up my pail. on a side note, i pulled the bag with 5 mins to go and put it into a strainer and took my spoon and mashed it to get all the precious wort that i could. hope this helps.

**eddie** · 09-24-2008, 11:57 PM

Didn't Yuri do one where he added the pumpkin in the mash? I'll see if I can find it.

Here it is: http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f76/thunderstruck-pumpkin-ale-ag-extract-versions-26699/

tdavisii · 09-25-2008, 02:14 AM

I just did one where i Cut up one medium pumkin cooked added spices and pureed. Added to boil. There is like four or five inches of trub in my fermenter and wouldnt recomend my version. Keep the pumkin in tact while in the boil dont puree or use canned. Or make a bigger batch to compensate for the trub loss.

Punx Clever · 09-25-2008, 02:50 AM

Yuri's pumpkin in the mash recipe is coming along GREAT for me.

1 baking pumpkin (3lbs raw, probably 2 lbs into the beer) cut in half and baked at 375 or somethin like that for an hour or so? Throw it in the mash... I added 2 lbs of rice hulls and had NO problems with run off. 1lb probably would have worked.

I highly suggest it.

Full Throttle · 09-25-2008, 03:24 PM

+1 for Yuri's Thunderstruck pumpkin, made it yesterday, smells great and wort tastes pretty good too. In the primary now
Mike

EinGutesBier · 09-25-2008, 10:49 PM

I'll use Yuri's recipe as a guideline, especially the whole mashing the pumpkin thing. Thanks, everyone.

BTW, is there such a thing as a DIY refrigerator thermostat control unit?

**Yuri_Rage** · 09-25-2008, 10:52 PM

Google "Ranco ETC-111000."

Glad you like the recipe!

EinGutesBier · 09-26-2008, 01:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yuri_Rage

Google "Ranco ETC-111000."

Nice. That runs a little cheaper than the Johnson analog refrigerator thermostat on the major brew sites. Would this Ranco work the same or would I have to do some wiring that would make the $6 savings not worthwhile? In fact, I'm not entirely sure how the Johnson unit works:

Refrigerator Thermostat Control- Analog :: Midwest Supplies Homebrewing and Winemaking Supplies