All-Grain - Richard's Pumpkin Ale - Page 5

Timber · 08-29-2008, 05:39 PM

I wasnt planning on racking to a secondary.. the LHBS said it wastn necessary to when I was buying my supplies. Should I rack it at the end of next week then and keep it in secondary for a week? if Im doing a secondaryI was jsut gonna rack to my bottling bucket, is that ok? or od I rack form secondary to the bottling bucket, or is that a skippable step?

Ill go ahead and skip rousing

**Warped04** · 08-29-2008, 06:10 PM

If you are going to your bottling bucket, IMO you should bottle. So if you want to skip secondary, that's a personal preference, I don't see a problem in it. So let it settle really well, then bottle.

Timber · 08-29-2008, 06:11 PM

Will Do.. Thanks!!

stever · 09-04-2008, 02:57 AM

The reason I suggested rousing was to get the pumpkin back into suspension for flavor purposes but I was under the assumption the pumpkin was added after the boil. Not sure the rousing will give more flavor after it has been through the boil but it should settle out quick enough.

RotorHead6 · 09-04-2008, 12:29 PM

Hey guys,

Just wanted to chime in to keep this post going. I made this recipe last Friday and the session went perfect. Instead of the expensive maple syrup I used 2lb amber DME. I used the exact grain bill as the recipe calls for (actually a little larger grain bill because my efficiency is usually a little lower). I bought two large cans of Libby's pumpkin pie filling and added right to the boil as directed. I also added the spices as directed by the recipe. I was a little scared to add more spice and throw everything off. Due to the little larger grain bill I did up my northern brewer from .75 to 1 oz. to balance the extra grain. My IBU was right on target. The color came out great and my OG was 1.068. I pitched the yeast dry to the top of the wort and aerated 30 minutes later. I had fermentation in about 6 hours with lots of blow off so I was glad to use a tube instead of a airlock. My fermentation temp was 69 F in my basement which is the only option for me this time of year in western Pennsylvania. Everything smelled great and tasted great out of the keggle so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that everything turns out well.

I will be transferring to the secondary on 9/11/08 and will post again then. Any questions, let me know and I'll do my best to help.

limprizol · 09-17-2008, 05:11 PM

I made this about 3 1/2 weeks ago and i did a PM

20.8 2.50 lbs. Maple Syrup Generic 1.031 35
50.0 6.00 lbs. Generic LME - Amber Generic 1.036 9
25.0 3.00 lbs. Munich Malt Belgium 1.038 8
4.2 0.50 lbs. Crystal 40L America 1.034 40

Was the recipe that i used. I also used 3 cans of libbys pumpkin and everything else was the same. I did a full boil and put about 6 gallons into the primary my SG was right on the mark. I wanted to rack to secondary in 2 weeks but got busy and stayed in for 3. When i racked it over though there was so much Thick pumpkin goo on the bottom i only got about three gallons in the secondary. Should i have added that thick pumpkin mess to the secondary as well or has anyone else had this problem.

This smells amazing i just wish i got more into the secondary, any thoughts

fullstop22 · 09-27-2008, 05:24 PM

I use a stainless braid on the exit tube of keggle. Should I leave it off to get more pumpkin into the carboy,also will this flow through a 3/8od cfc? I guess after reading the posts it sounds like the wort may be a bit thick or is it me .

**RichBrewer** · 09-28-2008, 11:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fullstop22

I use a stainless braid on the exit tube of keggle. Should I leave it off to get more pumpkin into the carboy,also will this flow through a 3/8od cfc? I guess after reading the posts it sounds like the wort may be a bit thick or is it me .

Sorry for answering this late but I would recommend taking the stainless braid off if for no other reason than it might clog with all of that pumpkin sludge in the brew pot. Plus, I think it does help the pumpkin flavor to allow it to get into the fermenter.

fullstop22 · 10-04-2008, 10:52 PM

Thanks Rich ! My son & I will be brewing this on Monday. We plan on using honey in place of the maple syrup as I receive a 5gal. bucket of honey free each year for letting a beekeeper put his hives on my property. Do you add pound for pound and when do you add it to the wort? I think last time I used honey I just put it in the wort before the yeast. THANKS again.

Timber · 10-15-2008, 06:50 PM

I just cracked the bottle on this after 2-3 weeks bottle conditioned. WOW!! very good flavor, my only gripe is that I had it up to the 5 gallon line (refer to my picture on one of the pages of this thread) and I only ended up with 3.5 gallons when I got it into the bottling bucket, so perhaps add more water then just the 5 gallon point or just settle with 3. I don't know if this will mellow out over time or not but the spices are definitely prevalent, Im not sure if its because I got such a smaller batch then I was going for or its just because it hasn't aged much, either way I will definitely be making this again, Kudos Rich