Grains/Malt/Pumpkin
• 6-lbs light malt extract (2 cans)
• 6 large butternut squashes cubed and baked in the oven
• ½-lb carapils
• 1-lb Munich malt
• 1-lbs Vienna malt
• ½-lb crystal malt 60L
90 Minute Boil
• 1 ½ -oz Chinook at 90-minutes (beginning of boil)
• 1-tbsp Cinnamon and ½-tbsp Nutmeg at 90-minutes
• 1/2-oz Willamette and ½ -oz Cascade at 20-minutes left
• 1-tbsp Cinnamon and 1/2-tbsp Nutmeg ½ tbsp crushed coriander seed at
20-minutes left
• 1-tbsp Irish moss for clarifying at 20-minutes left
• ½ -oz Cascade at 2-minute left
• 1-tbsp Cinnamon, 1-tbsp Nutmeg and 1tbsp crushed Coriander seed at 2-minute
The "biscuit" flavor from the Vienna/Munich malts along with the butternut squash will provide the pie shell flavor similar to pumpkin pie. If possible use whole leaf hops instead of pelleted hops or hop plugs so they can be strained out after the boil. The squash in this beer will clog any screens or filtering equipment, so it is best to do any filtering with a large holed kitchen colander, followed by a strainer, then let the extra squash settle out during the primary fermentation.
About 2 hours before brewing, remove the squash skin and cut up the squash into 1/2 inch cubes, caramelize the squash on cookie sheets by baking at 350 degrees for about 1 and ½ -hours. The squash will turn a dark brown color on the sides and edges.
Steep grains at 160 degrees for 30 minutes.
Bring the wort to a boil while adding the caramelized pumpkin, then and first hop/spice addition. Note, this will be a 90-minute boil at the last 20-minutes, add the second hop/spice addition. With 20-minutes remaining, add the Irish moss. At the last two minutes, add the remaining hops/spices and remove from heat. Using colander to strain out extra hops and additaves, add to carboy diluting to a full 5-gallons, and pitch yeast. My OG reading was over 1.08, mainly due to an excessive amount of squash fiber floating in the wort. Let ferment for about 5 days. There will be a tremendous trub on the bottom of the carboy. This is common due to the squash fibers in the beer.
You will have to watch it while you rack as it can clog the tube, the best thing to do is hold the sipon above the large level of trub. Rack the beer and let sit about 2-weeks. Another large trube may develop as there is a lot of fiber floating around in this beer. Rack again and let sit in carboy for about another 4-6 weeks.
This beer gets better with time, it is a little hoppy, and has a bit of a bite to it due to the addition of spices, this all mellows over time, so it is better the longer it sits. I had my last one after 3 months of fermentation and 2 months in the bottles, it was amazing, and it will be missed. It is a shame I won't be able to have any of this ready for thanksgiving or christmass.
I was considering dialing back on the hops and adding of some lactose for sweetness, but maybe next summer when I brew it again.
