How much is too much Pumpkin Spice?

This might be a newb question but here goes:

I used an entire container full (~1 ounce) of McCormicks Pumpkin Pie spice at flameout in my pumpkin ale. It was roughly 10 gallon batch. Its been about 4 weeks and I cant tell whether it is too much spice or not enough honestly, it does have some weird off flavor I cant describe, kind of bitter but not hops bitter if that makes sense.

I've seen recommendations on here from 1tsp per gallon to 1 tsp per 5 gallon batch. What should my beer taste like? FYI OG was 1.064, FG was 1.010 (7.1%) and my grain/hops bill was as follows:

Amount Item Type % or IBU
2.50 lb Light Dry Extract (8.0 SRM) Dry Extract 12.35 %
7.00 lb Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM) Grain 34.57 %
5.00 lb Munich Malt - 10L (10.0 SRM) Grain 24.69 %
2.08 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 10.29 %
1.00 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 10L (10.0 SRM) Grain 4.94 %
0.67 lb Wheat, Flaked (1.6 SRM) Grain 3.29 %
3.00 oz Hallertauer Hersbrucker [6.20 %] (60 min)Hops 30.3 IBU
0.67 items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
1.00 oz Pumpkin Pie Spice (Boil 0.0 min) Misc
2.00 lb Sugar, Table (Sucrose) (1.0 SRM) Sugar 9.88 %
1 Pkgs Safale American (DCL Yeast #US-05) Yeast-Ale

My wife makes a pumpkin ale each year around thanksgiving. I think her recipe is similar, with the exceptions of the spices. She boils one full nutmeg for 5 min, and the pumpkin spices I think she uses 2 tsp for a 5 gallon batch. In secondary she adds two full vanilla beans which have been split open and another tsp of pumpkin spices before kegging.

It turns out really good, but I have a theory that most of the adjusts she adds at the end of the boil are just about gone by the time primary fermentation is done.

I think you should be fine, at least if it turns out a bit too "spicy" you know to just dial back the spices a bit.

Yeah Im thinking I should have maybe halved that and added the rest at kegging/secondary time. Now I dunno if I should add more, I was thinking maybe vanilla to smooth it out a lil? If it gets worse, then I will just have to sit on this batch for a while.

1/2 tsp would've been plenty. The bitterness is very likely from the heavy spices. Don't add more. Vanilla might smooth it out, but it might also add just one more sweet-ish element to a beer that's already overpowered with flavor.

Yuri_Rage said:

1/2 tsp would've been plenty. The bitterness is very likely from the heavy spices. Don't add more. Vanilla might smooth it out, but it might also add just one more sweet-ish element to a beer that's already overpowered with flavor.

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1/2 tsp in 10 gallons?!?! Man I overshot that amount by alot... 1 oz is approximately 6 tsp. Looks like I might have a nice beer for Fall 2012... at least is a bit higher on alcohol and will hold up for a while.

Ahh all the more reason to get a pumpkin brown going! With a little less spice. Maybe real pumpkin (if I can find it).

I use 1/2 Tbsp (1.5 tsp) in 15 gallons, and sometimes I think it comes out too strong. It does mellow with time, but methinks you went WAY overboard.

Yuri_Rage said:

I use 1/2 Tbsp (1.5 tsp) in 15 gallons, and sometimes I think it comes out too strong. It does mellow with time, but methinks you went WAY overboard.

Click to expand...

Make another batch with no spice. Blend until you like the flavor.

Guess that goes to show I need to ask about my recipes here before brewing, I am no expert yet. Heres my Pumpkin Brown Recipe, based briefly on Janets Brown but backed off the hops quite a bit:


Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 10.00 gal
Boil Size: 12.13 gal
Estimated OG: 1.053 SG
Estimated Color: 19.9 SRM
Estimated IBU: 25.1 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
15.50 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 73.81 %
2.25 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 10.71 %
1.50 lb Wheat, Flaked (1.6 SRM) Grain 7.14 %
1.00 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 4.76 %
0.75 lb Chocolate Malt (450.0 SRM) Grain 3.57 %
1.00 oz Magnum [14.00 %] (60 min) Hops 25.1 IBU
0.50 oz Hallertauer Hersbrucker [4.00 %] (0 min) Hops -
1.00 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice (Boil 0.0 min) Misc
1.00 items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
120.00 oz Pumpkin (Mash 60.0 min) Misc


Mash Schedule: My Mash
Total Grain Weight: 21.00 lb
----------------------------

I think adding vanilla extract at kegging/ botteling will balance out the finished flavor, I'm in the same boat but with a 5gallon extract batch, just don't know how much to add. I brewed my pumpkin 8 days ago.

I just brewed a batch of all grain pumpkin ale. I'm worried that I may have used too much spice. I used 3/4 Tbsp of pumpkin pie spice and 1/4 Tbsp of allspice for a 6 gallon batch. The brew smelled great but I'm worried that it may be too much. I was also thinking of adding some spice tea when I transfer to the secondary. My goal is to have a strong pumpkin flavor but not overpowering, I still want it to taste like beer. Should I leave as is or should I still add the spice tea to the secondary? Any advice???

Actually adding extracts to beer at kegging or bottling is pretty simple. When bottling just add one drop at a time until you are satisfied with the vanilla flavor. I suppose you could do the same thing while kegging.

Threads merged.

Always sample before deciding whether to add more of anything when racking.

Yuri_Rage said:

Make another batch with no spice. Blend until you like the flavor.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice Yuri. I dunno if I am going to make another batch of this exact recipe, but I may experiment with blending the Pumpkin Brown I posted above with some or all of the Overspiced Pumpkin Amber. For this reason I may scale back the spicing on this coming batch to maximize the melding of flavors.

Maybe I'll even turn the Brown into a Porter and serve up Black and Tans, that way you can decide how spicy you want it at serving time.

Well this beer is still undrinkable by itself (unless you are so buzzed you just dont care, I've been there).

So I have been serving on a post-mix basis. So far the wife and I's favorites are Oatmeal Stout/Pumpkin and Apfelwein/Pumpkin. Never got around to brewing the Pumpkin Brown.

My pale ale is finishing up soon and if preliminary taste tests are good I may combine one keg of each to lighten it up a bit. The only problem is I dont know if I want that much spiced beer (I already have a Great Lakes Xmas Ale in primary. I havent spiced it yet so I guess I could keep that as a 'winter warmer').