How much fermentable sugar will I get from pumpkin?

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Scooby_Brew

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I'm about to brew a pumpkin ale, but I never know how much fermentable sugars, if any, will I get in my mash tun from a pumpkin? From my previous experience my guess is that I do get some sugar, but not much. Does anyone know the exact number?
 
I'm curious about this as well. I also wonder if the pumpkin has enough starch in it to be worth mashing. I made a pumpkin ale last year with canned organic pumpkin added at the end of the boil (I baked it in the oven for an hour or so until lightly browned). The beer fermented down to 1.009 and ended up really clear. I don't understand the benefit of mashing the pumpkin with the grain. Sounds like a messy PITA. Anyone know the reason? And "because Jamil says so" is not a good answer.
 
Last year, I mashed the pumpkin, but I used a whole pumpkin which I roasted. This year, I am likely going to use canned pumpkin, and in that case I agree it should go in the boil.

Using BeerAlchemy to calculate my recipe, I did not see any difference in the OG using the pumpkin in the mash, meaning I got little, if any, sugar from the pumpkin. Just a guess, but tossing it into the boil should probably yield more sugar as the canned pumpkin has already been cooked anyway.
 
I have no idea on the fermentables issue, but I have done pumpkin ales with canned pumpkin both in the boil and in the mash. The one that I mashed (just a few weeks ago) has far more body and better color. And it wasn't a PITA to mash. Throw in a pound of rice hulls and you're golden so long as you go a bit slower on the sparge.

If you use it in the boil, you're going to have an assload more trub than if you use it in the mash.
 
I have no idea on the fermentables issue, but I have done pumpkin ales with canned pumpkin both in the boil and in the mash. The one that I mashed (just a few weeks ago) has far more body and better color. And it wasn't a PITA to mash. Throw in a pound of rice hulls and you're golden so long as you go a bit slower on the sparge.

If you use it in the boil, you're going to have an assload more trub than if you use it in the mash.

Yeah I noticed that last year, huge amount of trub. How much canned pumpkin did you add to the mash? I think I will try it if it's not a PITA as you say.
 
I made my first pumpkin ale this year, and I also added 60oz of pumpkin to the mash. I added a pound of rice hulls, and my sparge went smooth as can be.

The beer has a nice full body, and lots of pumpkin aroma. I didn't get any fermentable sugar from the pumpkin though. My OG was 1.054, which was dead on for my grain bill without the pumpkin.
 
I mashed the cooked pumpkin with the grains and it added nothing to my OG.
 
The enzymes in the grain husks that convert the grains starches into sugars will not convert the pumpkins. You can aid the conversion with the use of pectic enzyme. Not many fermentable sugars will result tho. It is almost imposible to get a pumpkin beer that taste like pumpkin and not the spices. Pumpkin is very starchy and taste simiar to squash. On a side note, some of the best Pumpkin pie isn't made with pumpkin but with Butternut Squash.
Enjoy tho:mug:
 
I made a pumpkin ale this weekend with 60 oz. (5 gal) batch, but I added the pumpkin in phases-
30 oz in the mash water while it was heating - before adding to the mash.
15 oz @ 60 minutes
15 oz @ flameout

The wort has a nice orange color to it.
When I first put it in the fermenter, the pumpkin trub was about 5 inches, two days later, its about 2 inches (not much more than a typical batch).
 
OK, so pumpkin by itself does not contribute any fermentable sugars (or very little) into the brew. We just hope for the taste of pumpkin in the finished product.
But what about sweet squash, like butternut, spaghetti or sugar squash? I found this video on YouTube:

The Dude on this video boils squash in order to release sugars. Sounds like a great idea.

OK now, what about sweet potatoes or yams? Should I boil them or do I need to bake them first and then add them to the mash for conversion???

Right now I'm thinking of converting my old Pumpkin Ale recipe into a "Pilgrim's Harvest Ale", with yams, squash, sweet patatoe and pumpkin in it. Is it a good idea, what do you guys think?

One more question: there is two types of pumpkins on the market: one is called the "pie pumpkin", it's small in size, and it's good for cooking. The other one is the "big" pumpkin, good for Halloween decorations. Does it make any difference which one I use for brewing?
 
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The enzymes in the grain husks that convert the grains starches into sugars will not convert the pumpkins. You can aid the conversion with the use of pectic enzyme. Not many fermentable sugars will result tho. It is almost imposible to get a pumpkin beer that taste like pumpkin and not the spices. Pumpkin is very starchy and taste simiar to squash. On a side note, some of the best Pumpkin pie isn't made with pumpkin but with Butternut Squash.
Enjoy tho:mug:

Hmmm now I'm confused. Jamil, in Brewing Classic Styles, says that the enzymes will convert the pumpkin but may take up to 90 minutes.
 
My bad I was partially wrong. Amalyze enzymes with convert the starches in pumpkin into sugar in time, Pectic enzyme will help increase the yield of juices, by breaking down the cell walls. Thus getting more pumpkin "flavor" into your beer. Without the use of pectic enzyme, the pumpkin will make the beer starchy.
 
According to Wikipedia raw pumpkins are about 1.36% sugars, and about 4.6% other carbohydrates, some of which may be possible to convert.
So not much sugar or starch is available, but some...

I've posted this somewhere already, but the way I've used them for brewing:
get a lot (a bushel of seconds is ideal) of sugar pumpkins (other squash would work too)
Slice really thin (skin on if fine)
Put in stock pot with 1" of boiling water
Boil until very soft
Crush it down to a paste
Strain out meat trying to get all juices
Use this juice for mash water and first sparge (if not all)

If you have lots of rice hulls around you can add some of the meat to the mash to potentially get a little more out of it... or make a dozen pies.
 
I just brewed mine on Saturday and had the same results, no increase in gravity due to the pumpkin. BTW I used canned organic pumpkin from Whole Foods, baked at 350 for 30 minutes and added it to the strike water. THen added to grain along with a 1/2lb rice hulls. 1/2 lb is not enough rice hulls. I had to mix in another 1/2 lb to get the sparge going.
 
I have no idea on the fermentables issue, but I have done pumpkin ales with canned pumpkin both in the boil and in the mash. The one that I mashed (just a few weeks ago) has far more body and better color. And it wasn't a PITA to mash. Throw in a pound of rice hulls and you're golden so long as you go a bit slower on the sparge.

If you use it in the boil, you're going to have an assload more trub than if you use it in the mash.

I am considering this also. Thanks for the read on doing it either way. I'm thinking of sparging the mushed pumkin over the top of my grain bed. This will make the grain into a filter.

I'm thinking after reading this, longer boil before I start adding hops to bring up the original gravity and a longer fermenting/secondary. I have never done a true secondary and I don't have a carboy. Maybe I try a multiple yeast pitch and a little extra priming sugar to help it along in secondary in my HDPE bucket (...or just go buy a carboy...)




I mashed the cooked pumpkin with the grains and it added nothing to my OG.

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Holy cripes! That avatar is beautiful. What beer is that?
 
One more question: there is two types of pumpkins on the market: one is called the "pie pumpkin", it's small in size, and it's good for cooking. The other one is the "big" pumpkin, good for Halloween decorations. Does it make any difference which one I use for brewing?

The large decorative pumpkins don't have as good a flavor as the small pie pumpkins. I have roasted the pie pumpkins and then scooped the flesh out, run it through a blender and added it to the mash. I used an entire pumpkin in a 5 gallon batch with good results.

Not that it matters in brewing, but the texture of the decorative pumpkins does not make a good pie.
 
Do pumpkins cross like peppers in the garden? You can have a mild pepper get crossed with a hot one and have a pepper come froma milld pepper bush and end up pretty spicy.
 
I have no idea on the fermentables issue, but I have done pumpkin ales with canned pumpkin both in the boil and in the mash. The one that I mashed (just a few weeks ago) has far more body and better color. And it wasn't a PITA to mash. Throw in a pound of rice hulls and you're golden so long as you go a bit slower on the sparge.

If you use it in the boil, you're going to have an assload more trub than if you use it in the mash.

I always roast my pumpkin cubes until golden brown to caramelize the sugars. It definitely tastes better that way...
I normally put the cubes into a couple of mesh bags and add to the last hour of the boil. This produces great results and super easy cleanup.
 
I have no idea on the fermentables issue, but I have done pumpkin ales with canned pumpkin both in the boil and in the mash. The one that I mashed (just a few weeks ago) has far more body and better color. And it wasn't a PITA to mash. Throw in a pound of rice hulls and you're golden so long as you go a bit slower on the sparge.

If you use it in the boil, you're going to have an assload more trub than if you use it in the mash.

I always roast my pumpkin cubes until golden brown to caramelize the sugars. It definitely tastes better that way...
I normally put the cubes into a couple of mesh bags and add to the last hour of the boil. This produces great results and super easy cleanup.
This season's batch was an imperial pumpkin porter, but I didn't use any "pumpkin pie" spices at all. In fact, a tbsp of black peppercorns went in with my aroma hops instead.
I also added a medium toast oak corkscrew which I charred with a blowtorch before soaking in Maker's Mark bourbon for a few weeks. I decided to toss the oak and the few remaining ounces of bourbon in the secondary. I'm thinking 6 weeks ought to do the job!
 
I always roast my pumpkin cubes until golden brown to caramelize the sugars. It definitely tastes better that way...
I normally put the cubes into a couple of mesh bags and add to the last hour of the boil. This produces great results and super easy cleanup.
This season's batch was an imperial pumpkin porter, but I didn't use any "pumpkin pie" spices at all. In fact, a tbsp of black peppercorns went in with my aroma hops instead.
I also added a medium toast oak corkscrew which I charred with a blowtorch before soaking in Maker's Mark bourbon for a few weeks. I decided to toss the oak and the few remaining ounces of bourbon in the secondary. I'm thinking 6 weeks ought to do the job!

That whole thing sounds really good. My wife actually tried to talk me into using a few pie pumpkins she had laying around. I wanted to see what I could do wwith supplies at basically very little cost. .......hmmmn, boil no4 in less than 2 weeks? ;-)
 
60 oz, four 15 oz cans. Baked it at 350 for 30 minutes then let it cool.

Fall is coming up, so time for pumpkin ale.

I usually only put one 30 oz. can in per 5 gallons. I think the purpose of the pumpkin is to add color, and not so much to create fermentable sugars. I think this level of pumpkin creates a nice orange color without looking bizarre.

Personally, I think that the biggest appeal to pumpkin ale is that you are essentially replacing some of the hop aroma with pumpkin pie spice aroma. I think the key should be that it tastes like a normal beer (so there is some hop aroma)... but with a twist. It should still be quaffable. My philosophy is that the drinker, if not notified ahead of time, might have a hard time placing some familiar taste (tastes like... fall?), but that it's definitely pleasing. Almost nostalgic.

I add the spice right at the end, maybe even after cooling (kind of like dry hopping). I make sure to be VERY careful not to overdue it. You can always add more, even after fermentation, but you can't take out.

I also shoot for a little higher gravity than I typically make (high 1.050's). I also use a high mash temp (68 C) to promote unfermentable sugars, and create sticky lips while drinking. :)

I actually lost my recipe (I'm back into homebrewing after a few years off - I misplaced many of my recipes in the interim), so I don't remember the yeast I used. I guess I'll go with Wyeast 1272. Shrug.

By the way, I'm new to the forum. Hello to everybody.
 
There is one sure fire way to get pumpkin flavor in beer. You can juice the pumpkin into a pot. Put a beano in there and let it sit overnight. This will convert the sugars. Then proceed to boil down to desired gravity/volume. Works everytime.
 
hi everyone!
I would like to share the terrible experience I had yesterday while brewing my 10 gallon Pumpkin Ale:
http://beerandbrewing.com/VYB-uCkAAAIBZ2ak/article/pumpkin-ale-recipe

I got a terrible stuck sparge. Simply no water would pass through. In order to mash out, Constant stirring was needed.
As a result, lots of grain particles were directed to the boil kettle and my ppg=19!!! Probably because the water could not touch the grains.
The final OG resulted as expected though: 1053.

No more mashed pumpkin in my mash. Never again.
 
Tried a new technique yesterday and it worked great. Put the pumpkin in a grain bag and add it for the sparge. Then move the bag over to the brew kettle for the boil. No stuck mash and the trub levels were pretty typical.

Wort tasted great.
 
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