Pumpkin Ale

I'm going to be brewing northern brewers smahing pumpkin ale this weekend. My question is is it ok to not use pumpkin at all in the recipe? My thinking in that every pumpkin beer I've had in the past it never really had a pumpkin flavor to it. It was always more of the pumpkin spices associated with pumpkin pie. Am I missing out on a major flavor profile by not using pumpkin?

The pumpkin doesn't add much flavor, but it does contribute to the color and body. I would use it

There are tons of threads on this. It will contribute mostly to color and body. The spices add more aroma and taste.

If you're doing all grain, mashing pumpkin is a pain, you should do some research on it.

Good luck

I just made one last week. I added 2 lbs of canned pumpkin that I cooked in the oven for 20 mins. I added it to the mash with grains and 1 lb of rice hulls. Make sure to increase your strike temp a bit to compensate for the extra grains and pumpkin. I mashed a tad lower than I wanted to and had to play catch up for 10-15 mins by adding boiling water. I also added 1/2 lb of dark brown sugar with 10 mins left in boil. I tried to mash at a higher temp (temp) in an attempt to keep the beer from drying out with the brown sugar added. I did the NB kit as well

Well I should of added this is the partial extract kit. In the instructions it says if your gonna use pumpkin to buy 2 to 3 pounds of rahr 6 row. Well when I ordered the kit I had every intention on not using pumpkin so I didn't buy the 6 row. Now I'm thinking I'm gonna use pumpkin cause I want a good body.

So here's my next question. Anybody with experience with this kit add pumpkin without the 6row and have good results? And if you did how did you go about doing it?