First Time Brewing Pumpkin Ale

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carp24000

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Hello, new to the forums!

I received the following pumpkin ale recipe kit for Christmas, but wanted to to add a few ingredients, such as vanilla and pumpkin pie spice.

• 3 Cans - Terry’s Pumpkin (15 oz. cans)
• Pumpkin Pie Spice
• Pure Vanilla Extract
• 6 lbs - Light Dry Malt Extract (DME)
• 1 bag - Specialty Malts – Large Crystal Malts (60L)
• 1 ¼ oz. - Willamette Bittering Pellet Hops
• 1 tablet - Whirlfloc
• 1 oz. - Cascade Aromatic Flower Hops
• 1 tsp. – Amylase Enzyme
• 1 cup of Priming Sugar

I was wondering when the best time to add the pumpkin is, and is it best to bake the pumpkin before adding it?

Please let me know if you need more information on the brewing instructions that came with the kit.

Thanks for the help!
 
Baking it is suppose to help carmalize it i guess,but its precooked in the can,if directions say to then i would . people seem indifferent about the actually pumpkin part. seems the spice is the real deal, i think vanilla is a good addition. the last 10 or flameout is when you get the most aroma. I dumped half my prespiced can of pumkin during the boil then half the last 5 or ten added a little more cinnimon and vanilla extract but forgot a little brown sugar but botteled with brown sugar.Have 2 weeks before i can decide how it turned out though.
 
I recently brewed an Imperial Pumpkin Stout, using the same amount of pumpkin that you are suggesting, and it turned out phenomenal. The pumpkin really came through. Just mix in the pumpkin puree from the can in with your mash (or boil). I did not do anything with the pumpkin prior to adding it to the mash, however I would recommend adding some torrified wheat to the recipe to help with lautering - people say that the mash can have a tendency to get stuck due to gloppy pumpkin sludge otherwise. Thats right, gloppy pumpkin sludge.
 
yes, i just did a partial extract, but it clogged up my filter pretty good when transferring it to primary. i used a 15 oz can in a 1.5 gallon batch though.I didnt want the wheres the pumpkin flavor?kind of beer. and yes it is suppose to be an all grainers nightmare.I have high expectations for this third beer of mine.I used dme white wheat,caramel 20,vienna,brown sugar vanilla,willamette hops
 
Thanks for the tips guys. I am going to start this brew tomorrow, and I will let you know how it turns out.

I think I am going to bake the pumpkin to caramelize, then add to the boil.

Would anyone recommend straining the pumpkin while transferring to primary, or is it best to let sit on the pumpkin during fermenting?
 
I made a pumpkin recently. Straining the pumpkin out of the wort after the boil is next to impossible. The best thing I can think of is trying to put the pumpkin into a large grain bag to try and contain it. We I put the whole mess into the primary I had about 4 inches of trub on the bottom (maybe more) so be prepared to only get <4.5 gallon yield. I would also recommend either letting it sit in the primary for a good long time to allow everything to settle out(3 weeks+), or racking to a secondary, or cold crashing, or all three. Basically the pumpkin isn't going to compress into a cake very well so you'll have to be extra patient.

Next time around I'm going to try to get the pumpkin into a grain bag and hopefully that'll aleviate some of the trub problems.

Good luck!
 
Well I brewed yesterday and the fermentation process has already started. The primary is sitting in my spare bedroom, hovering around 67 degrees. The air lock is bubbling away!

I ended up baking the pumpkin for 45 min. with some brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice. I added it to the boil for the last five minutes, and dumped the entire thing into the primary.

Anyone know how long it should sit in the primary? I was thinking to check it in about 2 weeks.
 
I brewed my first pumpkin ale last September but used real pumpkin. I baked it first, then put it in a large nylon grain bag and steeped it for 30 minutes prior to the boil. My recipe was an extract recipe.
It turned out well, but it took 3 months for the beer to carbonate in the bottle. Be patient if you plan to bottle.
 
Anyone have an opinion on how long it should sit in the primary? I used 2 cans of pumpkin and dumped the entire thing into my primary.

Another question, should I transfer to secondary after a few weeks, or will the beer settle and clear enough in primary to bottle?

Thanks for the help!
 
I just bottled my pumkpin ale on new year's day. I used fresh pumpkin that I had baked and then added during the boil. I let mine sit in the primary fermenter 6 weeks.

I did not move it to a secondary for clearing. It was clear enough...
 
I just bottled my pumkpin ale on new year's day. I used fresh pumpkin that I had baked and then added during the boil. I let mine sit in the primary fermenter 6 weeks.

I did not move it to a secondary for clearing. It was clear enough...

Great...I think I will wait at least 4 weeks and see how it looks. I appreciate the help!
 
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