Autumn Seasonal Beer Thunderstruck Pumpkin Ale (AG and Extract versions)

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OK, so I racked this onto the "spice tea" last night. Couple of observations.

I used 1.5tsp of Pumpkin Pie Spice in 1 Cup of hot water. Smelled delicious, but the spices formed a sort of gooey mess in the tea. I decided to strain those out before throwing it in the secondary. I'm planning on tasting throughout the secondary and will add more spice if needed.

Definately got less than 5 gallons of beer from the primary. If I were to guess looked around 4.5, maybe less. Tons of trub. I tried washing the yeast but I'm not sure how successful it will be. Not a big deal.
 
Tasted from the wine thief last night on the one that got the WLP002 Strain and boy the alcohol and spices really mixed well together...We wern't sure if it would be ready in time for the party but we tasted and both agreed it was good...So much for leaving it in secondary for 3 weeks. My other Batch pitched with burton will sit for the remainder of the 3 week capsule, and I'm hoping it turns out alright. It wont be making it for the party but we kegged the pumpkin, and a Beach Honey recipe I made...he also bought two 15.5 gallon kegs so Im guessing they we will have enough beer to choose from...Hopefully the beers are good but everyone goes for the Big kegs so I have leftovers to put in the keezer.
 
GillandCo said:
Tasted from the wine thief last night on the one that got the WLP002 Strain and boy the alcohol and spices really mixed well together...We wern't sure if it would be ready in time for the party but we tasted and both agreed it was good...So much for leaving it in secondary for 3 weeks. My other Batch pitched with burton will sit for the remainder of the 3 week capsule, and I'm hoping it turns out alright. It wont be making it for the party but we kegged the pumpkin, and a Beach Honey recipe I made...he also bought two 15.5 gallon kegs so Im guessing they we will have enough beer to choose from...Hopefully the beers are good but everyone goes for the Big kegs so I have leftovers to put in the keezer.
Click to expand...

How did you guys spice? Did you spice during the boil, or with a tea? Also, how long did you let yours ferment before kegging? I'm going to brew Sunday, and I'm trying to meet a 6 week deadline, 3 weeks primary and 3 weeks in kegerator. I'm using the suggested spice method in the boil with fresh pumpkin that I'll be roasting. Do you think I'll have enough time?
 
Do a 4 week primary plus 2 in the kegerator. No need to force carbonate for 3 weeks.

I've always had good luck serving this one very fresh (as early as 3 weeks from brew day to serving - requiring me to force carbonate in less than 24 hours using high pressure and shaking the chilled keg).
 
We did a 2 week primary and one week secondary and the beer tasted fine...pours clear orange and looks like a pumpkin beer, we will definantly be brewing this again. I hope my batch turns out as good as my buddies. I risked it and went with a totally differant strain...o we you live and you learn!

Thanks for the great recipe yuri.
 
elproducto said:
I used 1.5tsp of Pumpkin Pie Spice in 1 Cup of hot water. Smelled delicious, but the spices formed a sort of gooey mess in the tea. I decided to strain those out before throwing it in the secondary. I'm planning on tasting throughout the secondary and will add more spice if needed.
Not a big deal.
Click to expand...

Last time I brewed this I used 1 tsp of Spice in 1 cup water to make the tea, and I found that the spices were a little on the heavy side. It wasn't until months after letting it sit that the pumpkin flavor was able to come through.

For my current batch that is in primary i was thinking of adding 1/2 to 3/4 tsp this time instead, but now that you mention the "gooey mess" i remember that i did add that in. Maybe i would be better off leaving that out, as you did.
 
Wow, I took a sample from the secondary after a couple of days on the spice tea. Tastes absolutely perfect! The spices are not overpowering at all, and boy that bisquit malt is delcicious. Tastes like pumpkin pie! I have to admit though.. can't taste any pumpkin I'd love to try this side by side with a batch without pumpkin. Sure would be nice to get that 1/2 gallon of beer back from the trub.
 
Just sampled this from a hydro test tube... It's 3.5 weeks old, i.e. its already spent 2 weeks in the primary and is now 1.5 weeks in the secondary. FG was 1.010, which I guess is close to what it should be with nottingham. I must say, the warm flat sample of this tasted MUCH better than the DFH Punkin Ale. Thanks Yuri, this will be a Thanksgiving family hit!
 
Yeah, I brewed this the other day, and it tasted AMAZING! I used 3.5 lbs of cooked fresh pie pumpkins (started with 9 and ended up w/ 3.5 lbs of cooked flesh). It's too bad that I seemed to get a bad package of notty, and it never took off after 3.5 days. I repitched today with some s-05, so I really, really hope this didn't get messed up in the fermenter. Thanks for the great recipe Mr. Rage.
 
i just cracked open a bottle after 1.5 weeks i just had to sneak a taste since i made it 1.5 months ago... its carbed enough it tastes great. i made 10 gallons and mashed with 7 lbs of butter nut squash. added the tea spice at bottling and kegging. 5 gallons each. the bottles are sitting for turkey day and gifts, and the keg is gonna be tapped next week. this beer is awesome!
 
erikrocks said:
When did you brew it?
Click to expand...

Sorry, missed this. Can't find my notes, but I did 3 weeks in primary and force carbed for two days.

It's even better now...subtle pumpkin nose, nice amber/orange color, absolutely clear as a bell.

EDIT: I ran into a BJCP guy at my LHBS last week and was discussing this recipe with him. He made an interesting suggestion: instead of using water to make the spice "tea", try mixing the spices with a half cup of vodka. He says the alcohol does a better job of dispersing the spice and keeps it suspended in the beer. Water tends to drag the spices to the bottom of the keg/bottling bucket. I used water and did notice a definite reduction in the spice flavor after the first few pints.
 
OK last minute question, as I'm ready to bottle this tonight.
Hydro sample tasted awesome but the spice was really subtle which is nice. Will the spice fade out? I'm just wondering if I should add a little bit more spice tea at bottling.
 
I kegged this about a week ago and have been tasting it consistently since it left primary (about 3 weeks ago). I have to say , this is probably the best beer I have ever made. It was relatively bland after fermentation, at which point i added the spice "tea". It remained bland until just recently when everything really started to bind together.

I used Wyeast - 1099 Whitbread instead of the yeast recommended on page 1.

I also used 5 lbs of baked pumpkin (350 F for 1 hour) instead of canned pumpkin. No problem sparging at all.

Although I cant say for sure whether it was the 1099 that produced this... I get this wonderfully creamy taste that is so similar to whipped cream on top of this really nice pumpkin pie spice blend.

I give this recipe 5 stars for sure.
 
elproducto said:
OK last minute question, as I'm ready to bottle this tonight.
Hydro sample tasted awesome but the spice was really subtle which is nice. Will the spice fade out? I'm just wondering if I should add a little bit more spice tea at bottling.
Click to expand...

I added some spices to the boil, and had the same reaction at the end of fermentation.

I added the spice tea, very conservatively (about 60% of what was recommended), and it is really wonderful now, after about a week in the keg.

Sounds like you might want to add a bit, but just dont go overboard.
 
mojotele said:
My suggestion:

  • Wait until fermentation is complete and taste it.
  • If it is too thin or dry, calculate how much lactose will be needed to bring the entire volume up to the desired gravity.
  • Pull one to two cups of the beer and prepare a proportional amount of lactose in a small amount of hot water. Let the water cool, and add a measured amount to the beer.
  • Repeat last step until beer is at desired sweetness or until you're out of water/lactose mix.
  • Calculate how much lactose is needed for the entire volume proportional to the amount of lactose you added to the small glass of beer.
  • If you want more body without the sweetness, supplement with enough maltodextrin to reach desired final gravity after adding the lactose.

That's what I did. I ended up adding 7.5 oz of lactose and 3 oz of maltodextrin or something like that. The beer is still too dry, but it's good beer.
Click to expand...

Great call Mojo, my sample tasted decent but too thin and too dry. Thanks a lot for the feedback brotha

Cheers!
 
For the extract version should I be using whole hops or pellet hops for the .75 goldings? or will it even make a difference?
 
I just dumped the spices in secondary instead of making the spice tea. Should this be ok?
 
Brewed a batch up today of the extract version. Since it has been months since I have done an extract batch, I had a senior moment. When I was at the LHBS I grabbed a 5 lb bag and a 1 lb bag of DME, figuring that I had .25 lb at home. Then to my surprise, I noticed the LHBS sold 6 lb bags of DME so I put the 5 lb bag back, but kept the 1 lb bag. After cooling I checked my hydro and had a OG of 1.066... DOH! I didn't figure out what I did wrong until I was entering everything into Beersmith. OOPS.. 7.25 lbs DME... Ohwell, diluted to nearly 6 gallons, and split the difference. Then I realized I forgot the Whirlfloc. Ohwell, no biggie there. This was also a last minute batch, so I didn't have time for a starter. So we'll see how she goes.

Also, thank God I didn't do the AG version. The pumpkin was such a PITA with just the extract. Smells great though. Looking forward to this one wrapping up.
 
BigB said:
Brewed a batch up today of the extract version. Since it has been months since I have done an extract batch, I had a senior moment. When I was at the LHBS I grabbed a 5 lb bag and a 1 lb bag of DME, figuring that I had .25 lb at home. Then to my surprise, I noticed the LHBS sold 6 lb bags of DME so I put the 5 lb bag back, but kept the 1 lb bag. After cooling I checked my hydro and had a OG of 1.066... DOH! I didn't figure out what I did wrong until I was entering everything into Beersmith. OOPS.. 7.25 lbs DME... Ohwell, diluted to nearly 6 gallons, and split the difference. Then I realized I forgot the Whirlfloc. Ohwell, no biggie there. This was also a last minute batch, so I didn't have time for a starter. So we'll see how she goes.

Also, thank God I didn't do the AG version. The pumpkin was such a PITA with just the extract. Smells great though. Looking forward to this one wrapping up.
Click to expand...


Doesn't the recipe call for 6.25lbs for a 5 gallon batch? If i'm reading it correctly haha.

** Wait wait. I'm an idiot.
 
natural said:
Doesn't the recipe call for 6.25lbs for a 5 gallon batch? If i'm reading it correctly haha.

** Wait wait. I'm an idiot.
Click to expand...

Yep, thats why I ended up 13 pts too high! And yes I am an idiot:p! After diluting it to 6 gallons I ended up with an OG of 1.059. Might end a tad sweet with WLP002, but ohwell.
 
fugazzi said:
Just brewed a pumpkin pie spice beer with no pumpkin (couldn't find any). I scaled the 2nd recipe down to a 5g, and added the spices per instructions. I'll update when it's ready to drink.
Click to expand...

Hey, just had a taste of this, a month from brewing. The spices are light but noticible, and smell exactly like pumpkin pie. I brewed a simple apa, so this beer is sessionable as well.
 
I'm a little worried about being able to find Goldings where I live. I am going out tomorrow to search for some. If I can't find any, any suggestions on what I could sub it out with?
 
An update...The beer we brewed a while back didn't end up being ready for the lobster party but sat in the fridge for a week or so and tasted good so we decided to bottle...I had some leftovers in the keg. I been pouring off a pint or so a night and I must say the (bottom) of the keg is the best. Or the (top) of a full one. Cheers tell next year. Unless my batch doesnt turn out. Then another 5 gallons for winter.
 
Tried my first one after a week in the bottle.
Man, is it ever sweet. Almost wish I'd used US-05 instead. Really nice spice flavor which is stronger than I thought since I dialed back a bit on the spice tea.

Hope it gets a bit better with age.
 
Tried 2 pints last night. I get a well rounded pumpkin and spice. I would like a little more spice in the nose, but this is definitely going to be made again and again! Thanks Yuri!!!
 
dmbnpj said:
I just dumped the spices in secondary instead of making the spice tea. Should this be ok?
Click to expand...

Perhaps. I figured the reason for making the "tea" is to sanitize the spices. Hope you don't wind up culturing some untasty microbes!

Also, the hot water probably helps release more spice flavor. No?
 
Squid said:
Perhaps. I figured the reason for making the "tea" is to sanitize the spices. Hope you don't wind up culturing some untasty microbes!

Also, the hot water probably helps release more spice flavor. No?
Click to expand...

I think the tea also helps since most of those spices are almost insoluble in water considering their fat content. With that said, you can persuade them to distributed throughout the water by stirring the heck out of the spice tea. I know as stated somewhere on here that using vodka instead of water is possibly a better route.
 
I jut realized the pumpkin pie spice I bought has sulphites in it. Is that bad?


Also any recommendations for how much dextrose to prime with for 5 gallon extract version?
 
Bottled yesterday!

I made my own tea:
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon Cloves

Boiled in 2 cups water. Add spice. Boil 5 min. Cool. Rack just liquid into carboy.

We'll see how it turns out in a few weeks!
 
brewed a version of this last night (extract), an "Imperial" version in an attempt to get closer to the Avery Rumpkin. From the recipe I used an additional pound of DME, one pound of brown sugar, one pound of pure maple syrup, a full pound of biscuit malt and a half pound of wheat. I doubled the hops to balance it (used a late addition for more aromatics vs. bittering). The pumpkin was baked for an hour with a light layer of molasses and spice on top. I used the Trappist Ale yeast (WL500) in a 3-liter starter. The spice tea consists of 12 oz of black rum with two tablespoons of pumpkin pie spice; it is sitting on the side for the secondary. OG came in at 1.084 :) It took off right away and is going like crazy. I hope my simple sugars are not too much for the yeast. I was going to add them later, but read that as long as you keep them to 20% or less of total fermentables it should be okay.

Very interesting convection currents in the wort during cooling. .. .

coolingthewort.jpg
 
TheWeeb said:
brewed a version of this last night (extract), an "Imperial" version in an attempt to get closer to the Avery Rumpkin. From the recipe I used an additional pound of DME, one pound of brown sugar, one pound of pure maple syrup, a full pound of biscuit malt and a half pound of wheat. I doubled the hops to balance it (used a late addition for more aromatics vs. bittering). The pumpkin was baked for an hour with a light layer of molasses and spice on top. I used the Trappist Ale yeast (WL500) in a 3-liter starter. The spice tea consists of 12 oz of black rum with two tablespoons of pumpkin pie spice; it is sitting on the side for the secondary. OG came in at 1.084 :) It took off right away and is going like crazy. I hope my simple sugars are not too much for the yeast. I was going to add them later, but read that as long as you keep them to 20% or less of total fermentables it should be okay.

Very interesting convection currents in the wort during cooling. .. .
Click to expand...

I'm interested to see how yours ends up. That's a lot of sugar, and I'm worried that it would be a bit thin when the final product is done, but I guess we'll have to see. Interesting take on the recipe.
 

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