Autumn Seasonal Beer Samhain Pumpkin Ale

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I brewed this using 14 lbs of Maris Otter, and WLP007, and otherwise keeping the recipe the same. I went through it pretty fast; this can definitely be brewed as a double pumpkin ale.:cross:
 
This beer is really delicious. I brewed this back on 8/31, took the day off. I remember the brewday like it was yesterday, sticky mess but it turned out great. I used safale US-05 and mashed at 154 to give it a thicker mouth. 2.5 months later the spices have mellowed and allowed the beer/malt to shine through and I'm getting some of the pumpkin puree now. This is going to be a huge hit next week at thanksgiving!
 
Trying it now and it is nice! I definitely taste the toasted MO. A touch strong. I did, in remembering, toast the grains already crushed. Will that mellow after a bit more aging?
 
King Brian as always Samhain was the only beer in tap for thanksgiving and 5.5 gallons went bye bye in 2 hours !!! It was spectacular as usual thanks again for a great recipe.
 
Toastman said:
Trying it now and it is nice! I definitely taste the toasted MO. A touch strong. I did, in remembering, toast the grains already crushed. Will that mellow after a bit more aging?

I toast my grains whole and then allow them to mellow over 2 weeks in a brown paper bag. I'm not too sure that crushing the grain first was a good idea for the fact that I believe allowing the kernel to toast effects the enzymes more dramatically I could be off with that though. As far as mellowing time heals MOST wounds I would let her sit awhile and periodically taste.
 
An update on mine: I have two hydrometers. One was reading 4 points higher than the other one. I tested them in distilled water, and one of them was still high. So I threw it in the trash as I have a good one that reads spot on now. My final gravity hit 1.014 and it is going in kegs tonight!
 
This stuff is good. I accidentally used 8fl oz, thinking I'd double the amount of molasses... Turns out 8fl oz is about .75# so I tripled it instead! Still really good, just much ore decadent than the last time, a true desert beer. It finished at 1.020.

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Made this back in October to be ready for Thanksgiving. The brew day was a bit touch and go with a sticky mash, but it turned out great - a major hit!

Thank you, King Brian!
 
Hope this hasnt been stated already, but I was wondering if I could use 1# of Brown (amber) malt instead of roasting my own? I do not have a mill and I would like to brew this ASAP as my friends are coming in from the northeast to spend about a month here in AZ and they love pumpkin beer.

Thanks!!!!
 
Hope this hasnt been stated already, but I was wondering if I could use 1# of Brown (amber) malt instead of roasting my own? I do not have a mill and I would like to brew this ASAP as my friends are coming in from the northeast to spend about a month here in AZ and they love pumpkin beer.

Thanks!!!!

Sure, but realize there is a difference between brown and amber malt. I'd use amber malt in place of the toasted malt, but you'll need to decrease the amount since it's much stronger. I'd go 0.5-0.75 lbs of amber malt depending on how much of that toasty/bread crusty flavor you want. Good luck!
 
...patiently waiting for the 19th of December to get here. Bottled on Halloween, waiting patiently to finish this diet...
 
KingBrianI said:
Amount Item Type % or IBU

8.00 lb Golden Promise (2 Row) UK (3.0 SRM) Grain 50.38 %
3.625 lb Pumpkin* (2 x 29 oz. cans of Libby pure pumpkin) (3.0 SRM) Grain 22.86 %
1.00 lb British Caramalt (34.0 SRM) Grain 6.30 %
1.00 lb Toasted Malt** (27.0 SRM) Grain 6.30 %
1.00 lb Wheat, Torrified (1.7 SRM) Grain 6.30 %

1.00 lb Rice Hulls (0.0 SRM) Adjunct 6.30 %

0.25 lb Molasses (80.0 SRM) Sugar 1.57 %

0.50 oz Magnum [13.40 %] (60 min) Hops 21.9 IBU

1 t. cinnamon (5 min)
1/2 t. allspice (5 min)
1/2 t. ground ginger (5 min)
1/4 t. nutmeg (5 min)
1/4 t. clove (5 min)

*Pumpkin baked uncovered for 1 hour at 350 degrees to caramelize some of the sugars and gelatinize starches
**Maris otter malt toasted for 30 minutes in a 350 degree oven

Mash at 152 degrees for 60 minutes. Pumpkin should be included in mash. Be sure to use rice hulls as the pumpkin will make for a slightly sticky sparge.

Boil for 60 minutes. I used magnum to bitter but you can use any clean bittering variety being sure to adjust amount to get 22 IBU. Add molasses with 10 minutes left in the boil. Add all spices with 5 minutes left in the boil.

I used Denny's favorite 50 yeast but us-05 or it's liquid equivalents could probably be substituted with no ill-effect since Denny's yeast is a seasonal strain and could be hard to find. You may want to mash at 154 if you use us-05 since it should be slightly more attenuative and Denny's seems to give a bit more mouthfeel that mashing higher if you use us-05 should emulate. Having said that, if you can source some Denny's, use it!

The result is a highly drinkable pumpkin ale that should go as well with Thanksgiving dinner as it does with a Sunday of watching football on the couch. The spices are just right, there's enough to give a great aroma and flavor but not so much that the beer becomes cloying or tiresome after a pint or two. The pumpkin in this recipe is essential. There has been a lot of discussion lately on whether the pumpkin is required in a pumpkin ale and my firm answer is YES. Besides lending a smooth, unctuous mouthfeel, the pumpkin gives the beer a certain "Je ne sais quoi". If you've mashed a wheat beer, a pumpkin beer will be cake. Just add the rice hulls and you'll have no problem.

As for the name, Samhain was a Celtic festival marking the end of the summer and the end of the harvest. It has influenced other holidays including one we are all familiar with that is celebrated around the same time, Halloween. Villagers would build great bonfires on the evening of Samhain and let all of the hearthfires in their houses die out. They would then take new flames from the bonfire and relight their own fires which would continue to heat their houses and cook their food until the next Samhain. I realize pumpkin would not have been a crop known to the people inhabiting the British Isles when this festival took place, but I think we can brew it and enjoy it in similar celebration of the harvest and the year gone, and in preparation for the cold winter and the new year. Cheers!:mug:

What is the potential side-effect of not boiling for the additional 60 minutes? I somehow missed the boil after the mash! *ashamed*
 
What is the potential side-effect of not boiling for the additional 60 minutes? I somehow missed the boil after the mash! *ashamed*

Are you saying that you didn't boil the wort at all!?

Well, other than not hop utilization (or very little), you would have gotten no hot or cold break and would have not driven off any DMS that may be present.

The real concern though is that you didn't sanitize the wort and now you probably have a stew of bacteria and wild yeasts/spores that were on the grain husks. I've only made one "no-boil" beer and that was a berliner weisse, which is supposed to be sour....

IMO, you wont have anything that is very close to what you were going for... Boiling is pretty basic in brewing.
 
I mashed at 158 degrees for 60 minutes, but I did not boil after removing the grains. I have a very healthy fermentation going right now and I'm wondering if I should just let it do its thing or if I should remover it from the primary, boil as instructed, and then repitch? I brewed this on Sunday so only two days in primary at this point.
 
bottlebomber said:
Pumpkin Berliner anyone?

I have a bunch of imperial berliner I need to drink. I'll make up a pumpkin tincture here soon and see what pumpkin berliner tastes like. I'll report back.
 
Oh man, I'd chalk this batch up to a loss, but you ought to check out one of the basic homebrewing books before you take on your next batch! And go back to extract before making the leap into all-grain. Good luck!
 
I figure it will come out bad as you say, but I think I'll let it go and see what happens. If it turns out to be bad, so be it; I'll dump it down the drain.

What I plan to do next time is, while reviewing the recipe, write out the steps for myself and number them. Then, as I'm brewing, I'll check-off the steps as I complete each one. My problem with the recipe I used is, although it was written in an understandable manner, the layout was not conducive to being easily followed by a novice. Som minor tweaking and I can redesign the layout to make it easier for me to follow.

Thanks to everyone for your input and not making me feel like a complete idiot! I know boiling is an integral part of brewing, but I guess I got a little too excited and skipped a step... albeit a VERY important step!

See you round!
 
I'm gonna brew this for the first time. A question on the yeast:
I suppose I could get Denny's if I go to a lhbs that I don't like at all, I think they sell Wyeast. My store sells White Labs and they do have the US05 dry yeast. I've never used it though. The Mr Malty crossover page doesn't list a White Labs crossover for Denny's. What would be a good WL substitute? Or should I go with US05?
 
I have made it with US05 and the only thing you do not really get is a lot of esters. My latest batch I made with WLP028 Edinburgh yeast just to try something different.
 
I drank my last bottle of this (brewed 21 months ago, you can find my original post in this thread) and it was still pretty damn good. The original had too much cloves in it. The 21-month old version had the cloves more subdued but then all the other flavors were also more subdued.
 
OMG I'm so excited it's that time of year again when I begin getting together my materials etc... to brew one of my favorite recipes ( yes this one) ...... will brew it by months end so it will be completely ready and aged to perfection by September/October...... this year I'm going to do it smart though, 15 gallons in 1 shot. this one goes way to fast !!!!
 
King , can you tell me which molasses to use? never used it before. Cannot wait to try this

Hey I'm not King but I have brewed this recipe several times and always use the brand Grandmas old time original unsulfured molasses.... not sure if this helps you at all but I never have any complaints and the judges seem to like my rendition as well.
 
Hey I'm not King but I have brewed this recipe several times and always use the brand Grandmas old time original unsulfured molasses.... not sure if this helps you at all but I never have any complaints and the judges seem to like my rendition as well.

Awesome thanks Aschecte
 
Brewed this up today. First pumpkin beer I ever made. Followed your recipe exactly. Smelled f#chin awsome the whole time exspecially rite after the spices went in the BK. Shoukd be a great Falltime brew. I will post a couple pics in the "show me your fermenters" thread tommarow. Thanks........
 
Just ordered the grains for this brew. I haven't made it in a couple of years. Adding lotsa oats and using Marris Otter instead of golden promise.
 
Brewed mine up today...OG 1.064

Took the better part of 7 hours, triple sparged, 120 minute boil to get the volume down.


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