How to Use Pumpkin in Homebrew

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Surferjoe13

New Member
Joined
Jan 28, 2011
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
Location
Honolulu
I looked at some recipes for pumpkin ales. It was unclear how to use pumpkin in a recipe. Do you just toss it in with the malted barley in the wort? Does it go into the fermented?
 
pumpkin is a lot of starch. it needs to be converted by the enzymes in a mash. if you are using fresh pumpkins it's good to use baking pumpkins and actually bake them a bit before scraping out the meat and mashing with it. otherwise you can use canned pumpkin.

and then there's a school of thought that you don't need pumpkin at all, since it's arguable that it contributes much to the beer anyway. this school of thought sees pumpkin beer as a spiced beer. both can produce good beers, the spices-only version is much easier, though.
 
pumpkin is a lot of starch. it needs to be converted by the enzymes in a mash. if you are using fresh pumpkins it's good to use baking pumpkins and actually bake them a bit before scraping out the meat and mashing with it. otherwise you can use canned pumpkin.

and then there's a school of thought that you don't need pumpkin at all, since it's arguable that it contributes much to the beer anyway. this school of thought sees pumpkin beer as a spiced beer. both can produce good beers, the spices-only version is much easier, though.

This is incorrect. Pumpkins are low in starch. It is true that most say you don't need it at all. The pumpkin spice is where you get all the "pumpkin" flavor from. And from what I have read in Brewing Classic Styles, as well as, on HBT, the preferred place to add the pumpkin is in the mash. I have also read sweet potatoes are great to add to the mash as they have more flavor and are high in starch.
 
A. Do you brew all-grain, or extract?

-If All-grain, hands down the best way to use pumpkin is in the mash. The pumpkin will impart flavor and color, but the sticky pumpkin mess will be left in the mash tun.

-If extract, the best way to go is to steep the pumpkin in a grain bag in 150* water for 30min. Again, you'll get the flavor and color, but pull out the sticky pumpkin meat

If you don't want to do that, you can add it directly to the boil, but be prepared for EXTREMELY cloudy beer. You'd definitely have rack to secondary, and possibly a tertiary to get the beer to clear.

As for canned or fresh. Fresh pumpkin you need to bake first, then scrap out the meat. That will bring it to the same consistency as canned pumpkin. You can then use it as is, or spread it out in a baking dish and bake for another 60 minutes to caramelize the sugars for additional flavor. I used canned pumpkin, bake for 60 minutes, then add to my mash.
 
when adding it in the mash, how much is common to use? Also, how does run off go? Would it be a good idea to add rice hulls at end of the mash to help facilitate run off?
 
I followed Yuri's Thunderstruck recipe and used 120oz for a 10 gallon batch.

Definitely want some rice hulls as the sparge can get gummed up...
 
when adding it in the mash, how much is common to use? Also, how does run off go? Would it be a good idea to add rice hulls at end of the mash to help facilitate run off?

I used two 29oz cans in a 5.5G batch. I used 0.5lbs or 1lb of rice hulls. I didn't have any problems with runoff in my 10G Rubbermaid MLT with braid. If I did it again, I'd still use the rice hulls.

I used the spices pretty liberally, but it still came out underspiced to me at kegging time. I added another 1.5 tsp of pumpkin pie spice into my keg and then racked on top of that. Pretty happy now.
 
I just bottled my yearly pumpkin ale and the taste is as close to creamy pumpkin pie as I have ever seen. I have tried every way ever mentioned here on adding pumpkin and this is my best result by far. I made an all grain 5 gal batch and mashed 3 small cans of Libby's pured pumpkin. Yes my mash got "stuck" but no problem I just strained it all out in small batches. I added my spices in with 5 minutes left in the boil. I put one more can of pumpkin and some more spices in the secondary. End result at bottleing is incredible...don't know how I will be able to wait for it to carb and condition. My plan is to wait till Thanksgiving....
 
bbarer can you post your recipe? just tried the pumpkin beer from brewing classic styles. hit all numbers dead on but think it is under spiced.
 
5 Gallon Batch size

.5 lb Cara Munich Malt
8 lb 2-Row Malt
1 lb Vienna Malt
1lb Carmel Crystyl Malt
.5 oz Kent Golding 60 min
.5 oz Cascade 15 min
1 Tbs Pumpkin Pie Spice, 1 Tsp Nutmeg 5 min

I added 3 cans of pureed pumpkin to the mash for the entire 60 min

Fermented for 7 days with Windsor Ale dry yeast (used a 1000ml starter)

Racked to the secondary over 1 can of pumpkin puree and 1 Tsp of Pumpkin Pie Spice, 2 Tsp Pure Vanilla Extract, let sit for 7 days and then bottled.
 
bbarer said:
I just bottled my yearly pumpkin ale and the taste is as close to creamy pumpkin pie as I have ever seen. I have tried every way ever mentioned here on adding pumpkin and this is my best result by far. I made an all grain 5 gal batch and mashed 3 small cans of Libby's pured pumpkin. Yes my mash got "stuck" but no problem I just strained it all out in small batches. I added my spices in with 5 minutes left in the boil. I put one more can of pumpkin and some more spices in the secondary. End result at bottleing is incredible...don't know how I will be able to wait for it to carb and condition. My plan is to wait till Thanksgiving....

Im glad to read it turned out so well! Care to share your recipe?
 
I have also read people dumping the canned pumpkin into the sparge water. Takes out the whole stuck sparge risk. Although I've never heard how it turned out using this method. I believe I will be giving it a go that way next time.
 
Back
Top