I'm about to brew a NB Smashing Pumpkin. I was considering using real pumpkin in the recipe. Should I do this or stick to script. If so, how much and when? Any advise is appreciated.
Brewing with pumpkins can be tricky, because you need to add a lot of them to get flavor out of them, but not too much, either - or the beer will taste like veggies. Roasted pie pumpkins are your best bet - some people prefer to add them to the mash, others late in the boil, others still to the fermentor or secondary, or a combination of the above.