Autumn Seasonal Beer Imperial Pumpkin Pie Ale

I am making an extract version of this one today, with a few adjustments. 1.2 ounces Magnum (60min), .6 ounce Fuggle (10 minutes), 2# Crystal 20L, 12# Golden Light DME, 2 cans of pumpkin filling baked at 350 for 45 minutes - half @ 30 minutes, half @ 15 minutes. I will probably up the spices as well, except the ginger and cloves. Hope it turns out ok!

Bottled this tonight, and it is BIG. Used the full 2oz of my homemade "vanilla in bourbon" extract (for my 2.5 gallon batch). Hoping it mellows in the bottle.

I pitched this with a stepped up starter of White Labs London Ale and the airlock was bubbling away inside of 2 hours. Went downstairs to check on it the next morning and found this.

Quite a mess to clean up but on the bright side my basement now smells like pumpkin pie.

JIW126 said:

I pitched this with a stepped up starter of White Labs London Ale and the airlock was bubbling away inside of 2 hours. Went downstairs to check on it the next morning and found this.

Quite a mess to clean up but on the bright side my basement now smells like pumpkin pie.

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Hahaha, that's a great pic. I know you already know this, but you should have used a blowoff tube.

JIW126 said:

I pitched this with a stepped up starter of White Labs London Ale and the airlock was bubbling away inside of 2 hours. Went downstairs to check on it the next morning and found this.

Quite a mess to clean up but on the bright side my basement now smells like pumpkin pie.

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I'm right there with you. I fermented my 2.5 gallon batch, in a 5 gallon carboy. And came within inches blowing the top off. All that sugar + all that yeast = extreme fermentation!

jwible204 said:

Hahaha, that's a great pic. I know you already know this, but you should have used a blowoff tube.

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Trust me I won't forget it again.

Do you guys think I'd need to make a starter if I'm only making a 3 gallon batch?

J-Tho said:

Do you guys think I'd need to make a starter if I'm only making a 3 gallon batch?

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I would, but that's because I'm very particular about pitching enough yeast. Yeastcalc says you need 181 billion cells. A fresh vial has 100 billion.

I brewed a 5g batch of this over the weekend; it's my second all grain batch. I cut the recipe in half and mashed at about 154 and ended up at 1.100-1.110. Thanks for all of the suggestions regarding this recipe. Here's what I did..

-I baked a can of libby's pumpkin pie mix and mixed in a little dark brown sugar @350 for 20 minutes. Then added this to the boil with 20 minutes left in a large muslin bag.
-I also added a # of the remaining dark brown sugar in the last 15 minutes of the boil. **not sure if I would go with the dark brown sugar again b/c it darkened up the wort slightly from the orange color I was getting after the pumpkin was added to the boil.
-5 minutes remaining in the boil I added half tsp each of ginger, cinnamon, cloves (only 1/8 tsp used), and nutmeg. I also added an 1/8 more of the ginger cinnamon and nutmeg because I didn't have allspice.
-I plan on soaking 1 or 2 vanilla beans in 5 oz of vodka until I bottle and will add this with another .5 tsp of each spice into the bottling bucket.

I used 2 packets of Safale S-04 and in about 15 hours I awoke to a crazy fermentation. I even put in a blow of tube before I left for work but either the fermentation was too crazy or I installed the blow off tube to far down in the bucket because when I checked on it at lunch my fermenter looked like JIW126's. After fixing the blow of tube the fermentation continued at a crazy pace.

This morning I checked my satelite fermenter and I was at 1.030 (it's only been 2 full days). I'll probably keep it in the fermenter for atleast another week if not 2 just to let the yeast clean it up a little more but I have a couple questions:

How long would you keep it in the primary (if I don't plan on using a secondary)?
How long would you let it sit in bottles before cracking one open? Usually I wait 2 - 3 weeks but with this finishing at such a high ABV would it be better to let it sit for a month?
What is the final gravity you guys have gotten for this brew? Should it finish lower than 1.030 or more in the 1.020 range?
Does the brown sugar spike the gravity up much - my preboil gravity was 1.086 and it got up to 1.100?
Have you guys noticed if the pumpkin pie spice aroma subsides in the primary at all? It's not as visible since the yeast have started doing their thing.

Pleast let me know if you have any insight concerning the above...I'll share my results in the coming weeks...
Thanks again for the recipe!

How long would you keep it in the primary (if I don't plan on using a secondary)?
How long would you let it sit in bottles before cracking one open? Usually I wait 2 - 3 weeks but with this finishing at such a high ABV would it be better to let it sit for a month?
What is the final gravity you guys have gotten for this brew? Should it finish lower than 1.030 or more in the 1.020 range?
Does the brown sugar spike the gravity up much - my preboil gravity was 1.086 and it got up to 1.100?
Have you guys noticed if the pumpkin pie spice aroma subsides in the primary at all? It's not as visible since the yeast have started doing their thing.

Pleast let me know if you have any insight concerning the above...I'll share my results in the coming weeks...
Thanks again for the recipe![/QUOTE]

I'd leave it in Primary for 4-6 weeks, it should be at terminal gravity within a week or two if you pitched the proper amount of yeast.

Once in bottles, I'd drink it as soon as it's carbed up, Pumpkin beer is better when fresh IMO, the spices will fade over time. Even at such a high ABV the alcohol is dominated by the spices/vanilla.

The pumpkin pie spice definitely subsides in Primary, that's why I add more at kegging/bottling. Add more until it's where you want it, maybe even beyond where you want it as it will subside in the keg/bottle.

dsensationale said:

I am making an extract version of this one today, with a few adjustments. 1.2 ounces Magnum (60min), .6 ounce Fuggle (10 minutes), 2# Crystal 20L, 12# Golden Light DME, 2 cans of pumpkin filling baked at 350 for 45 minutes - half @ 30 minutes, half @ 15 minutes. I will probably up the spices as well, except the ginger and cloves. Hope it turns out ok!

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Bottled this today. Today's flat version tasted amazing! We'll see how the addition of the Pumpkin Pie spices and Vanilla today come out in the bottles when they're ready.

I finally kegged this. I let it sit in primary for five weeks. It was as great as last year's even uncarbonated. I'll post some pics once it has more carbonation.

After trying this year's batch a few times last night, I have realized that I made the base beer too strong for my tastes. It weighed in at around 10%. I'm going to brew this again following the same procedure and recipe as I did last year by cutting back the two row to 10 lbs.

MacGruber said:

After trying this year's batch a few times last night, I have realized that I made the base beer too strong for my tastes. It weighed in at around 10%. I'm going to brew this again following the same procedure and recipe as I did last year by cutting back the two row to 10 lbs.

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i bottled this last friday, and the uncarbonated version tasted good! we'll see how the vanilla and additional spices added at bottling affect it. it came in at 12 percent.

Thanks for the reply jwible204. MacGruber, I'm a little worried my batch will be a tad harsh as well. It should finish around 1.030 which would give it a 10.5% abv. Do you think adding another 1/8 teaspoon in addition to the 1/2 teaspoon of each spice would help mask it at bottling/kegging? It still should mellow out in the next few weeks.

What did you end up adding to the keg? 1/2 teaspoon of each; cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice, nutmeg? I'm thinking I'll be adding a 1/2 teaspoon of each except for the cloves in which I'll add a 1/4 or an 1/8 because they are so prominent.

Also just a general question for you guys instead of boiling the spices would you just add the additional spices to your vanilla bean extract tincture? Let it sit 4-5 weeks with the vanilla beans or add it to the tincture at bottling?

I added an extra 1/2 tsp of each spice and 2.5 tablespoons of vanilla. The spices taste great, it's the beer itself that is too strong. When I made it last year I dialed the grains back to ten lbs because I only had a five gallon tun. It was perfect. I'll be going back to last year's recipe.

Yeah I hear you. I threw 2 scraped beans cut in quarters in an empty olive oil bottle. I used 2 tiny Smirnoff Vanilla vodkas and one Smirnoff Triple distilled - hopefully the vanilla vodka doesn't offset any flavoring. So that comes to about 5 fl oz if my math is correct. How much should I add to the bottling bucket for a 5 gallon batch?

Jwible204 - you used 4 oz for what a 10 gallon batch? Do you think 2 oz (equivalent to 4 tablespoons) is enough or about right for a 5g batch?

Add until the flavor is where you want it. Your extract may be stronger/weaker then my original depending how long it soaked. My current extract is over 1 year old and ridiculously strong so I may wind up using less when I keg this year's batch.

My spice mixture was perfect, but my base beer is just way too strong. I still love it...I just drink as much each day!

Quick question: I've never brewed a beer this strong before. Does that change the amount of water I use per pound of grain? Also, how much Irish Moss equals one Whirlfloc Tablet?

J-Tho said:

Quick question: I've never brewed a beer this strong before. Does that change the amount of water I use per pound of grain? Also, how much Irish Moss equals one Whirlfloc Tablet?

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I mashed with 6.09 gallons, and sparked with 2.17 gallons. Gave me 5.8 gallons pre boil. (For a 5 gallon batch). That made it 33 quarts for 19 lbs of grain, or about 1.75 quarts per pound.

Also, I'd just use the normal amount of Irish Moss. No need to go overboard.

J-Tho said:

Quick question: I've never brewed a beer this strong before. Does that change the amount of water I use per pound of grain? Also, how much Irish Moss equals one Whirlfloc Tablet?

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Also, you should make a starter, or buy two packs of yeast. With that much sugar in the wort, some of your boys aren't going to make it when they hit the beach. Only way to win that battle is to make sure you've got enough boys in Higgins boats. Otherwise, your yeast fails to establish a beachhead.

Thanks. Super looking forward to making this. I had actually planned to make a starter. Also my first time doing that. Wish me luck!

J-Tho said:

Quick question: I've never brewed a beer this strong before. Does that change the amount of water I use per pound of grain? Also, how much Irish Moss equals one Whirlfloc Tablet?

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You'll use the same strike water ratio (1.5qts/lb is the sweetspot for me), but since the grainbill is so large, you'll end up needing close to 12 gallons for everything after sparging. I usually shoot for about 8 gallons preboil for a 5 gallon batch cause my pot is weird shaped and I boil off pretty heavy.

Mine is still conditioning. I used some very potent/expensive pumpkin pie spice at 5 min so I'll taste at kegging and see if I need any more. Excited to give this a shot.

IMO the spice and vanilla at kegging are what give this beer it's bonus. They add such a nice freshness to it, none of that boiled flavor. Think of dry hop flavor vs boil hops.

BudzAndSudz said:

IMO the spice and vanilla at kegging are what give this beer it's bonus. They add such a nice freshness to it, none of that boiled flavor. Think of dry hop flavor vs boil hops.

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Agreed, the spice/vanilla addition at kegging/bottling is key. The flavors from boil > bottle/keg get washed out during fermentation. When you add it just before bottling it's very 'fresh' tasting.

Figured. Out the question. I posted here looks like a great recipe thanks for posting

BBS

Brewed this last night. Starter pitched at 9pm, krausen blowing out my starsan pitcher by 12 noon. I'm glad I have it in my basement shower! Unfortunately my temps are high at 73 and I don't have a tub for the ice bath. Hopefully it doesn't end up with a big booze burn. Thoughts?

I made some recipe changes. For my 5 gal batch I did 7lb 2row, 8lb marris otter, 2lb crystal 20. I stuck with the magnum hops but went with Saaz at 10 min. I also mashed with 2.5lb pumpkin purée. Rice hulls!!!!

Blowoff junk smells fantastic. Hopefully it leaves some flavor in the beer!

Turfmanbrad said:

Brewed this last night. Starter pitched at 9pm, krausen blowing out my starsan pitcher by 12 noon. I'm glad I have it in my basement shower! Unfortunately my temps are high at 73 and I don't have a tub for the ice bath. Hopefully it doesn't end up with a big booze burn. Thoughts?

I made some recipe changes. For my 5 gal batch I did 7lb 2row, 8lb marris otter, 2lb crystal 20. I stuck with the magnum hops but went with Saaz at 10 min. I also mashed with 2.5lb pumpkin purée. Rice hulls!!!!

Blowoff junk smells fantastic. Hopefully it leaves some flavor in the beer!

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Honestly, the first time I brewed this I wasn't keen on temp control and it most certainly sat in the low 70's (this was over 2 years ago). Luckily, the yeast chosen is pretty resilient to warmer temps in my experience and doesn't get too estery, you should be fine.

Let's talk yeast for a moment, yeah?

Last year on all three batches of this I used WLP013 London Ale yeast. It was absolutely the best beer I've ever made. Now since I can't leave good enough alone I want to try and see if there's an even better option out there. So far the strains that interest me most, in order, are;

WLP037 Yorkshire Square Ale
WLP005 British Ale
WLP002 English Ale

My guess is that these are all going to be good, and perhaps may even be indistinguishable from one another, but I wanted to see what the community here thinks!

BudzAndSudz said:

Let's talk yeast for a moment, yeah?

Last year on all three batches of this I used WLP013 London Ale yeast. It was absolutely the best beer I've ever made. Now since I can't leave good enough alone I want to try and see if there's an even better option out there. So far the strains that interest me most, in order, are;

WLP037 Yorkshire Square Ale
WLP005 British Ale
WLP002 English Ale

My guess is that these are all going to be good, and perhaps may even be indistinguishable from one another, but I wanted to see what the community here thinks!

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I've never used WLP037 but just read about it, sounds like it would be just fine. Most English/American Ale yeasts would work fine for this beer, though I prefer a more malt-forward yeast for this style.

This year I used a combo of WLP023 and WLP007.

I would agree with you. Everything I've read about 037 is that it's pretty malty as well (being another english strain of course). I still like the WLP013, but the super low flocculation annoys me. purely an aesthetic thing really, but a nice clear beer is pretty enjoyable. I also REALLY like the thought of "Toasty, malt-driven esters" from WLP037.

jwible204 said:

I've never used WLP037 but just read about it, sounds like it would be just fine. Most English/American Ale yeasts would work fine for this beer, though I prefer a more malt-forward yeast for this style.

This year I used a combo of WLP023 and WLP007.

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Are you worried at all about 80% attenuation in a beer with such a high OG?Seems to me that it's potentially pushing the limits of drinkability for a beer if you're going from 1.090 to 1.020ish, but maybe I'm wrong on that. That's really my only hesitation with the 007, but then again, just using a plain ESB yeast that doesn't attenuate below 1.030 might have the exact opposite effect and make a beer that's just overly sweet and thick on the palate.

BudzAndSudz said:

Are you worried at all about 80% attenuation in a beer with such a high OG?Seems to me that it's potentially pushing the limits of drinkability for a beer if you're going from 1.090 to 1.020ish, but maybe I'm wrong on that. That's really my only hesitation with the 007, but then again, just using a plain ESB yeast that doesn't attenuate below 1.030 might have the exact opposite effect and make a beer that's just overly sweet and thick on the palate.

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Legged 5.5 gallon of this year's tonight. Attenuated to 1.015, but still has a sweet taste. It has more spice coming through than previous years, most likely because of the spiced brown sugar and pumpkin I caramel iced and added to the mash (because of competition requirements). I still spiced it as usual and added vanilla, I'm stoked to try it next week!

I also have 4 oz of graham cracker extract coming that I'll be adding to the next 5.5 gallons, I think that's going to put this beer over the top.

I'm curious if anyone ever tried this recipe w malt extract? I've only been brewing for about a year and havent attempted an all grain brew. I'm thinking of getting some amber malt w some crystal malt grain for my wort. I'm thinking the amber malt will provide a sweeter flavor than a pale malt.

I can't wait to try this out. All the suggestions on this thread sound awesome & were very helpful in prepping. Happy brewing!

jwible204 said:

Legged 5.5 gallon of this year's tonight. Attenuated to 1.015, but still has a sweet taste. It has more spice coming through than previous years, most likely because of the spiced brown sugar and pumpkin I caramel iced and added to the mash (because of competition requirements). I still spiced it as usual and added vanilla, I'm stoked to try it next week!

I also have 4 oz of graham cracker extract coming that I'll be adding to the next 5.5 gallons, I think that's going to put this beer over the top.

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So even with that low of an FG you don't get any hotness from the alcohol? I suppose with such a monster OG it should still be covered pretty well. I think I like the thought then, because I remember last year, despite being so tasty, it was a "one-glass" beer. Just SO much body that one glass was about all you could handle, despite how good it tasted. Hopefully a lower FG will increase the drinkability.

I've been considering the Graham Cracker extract thing too. Did you read that in the Pumking thread? haha. I'm a bit worried it'll push it a bit over the top in terms of overwhelming flavor, but it also might just hit the sweet spot.

BudzAndSudz said:

So even with that low of an FG you don't get any hotness from the alcohol? I suppose with such a monster OG it should still be covered pretty well. I think I like the thought then, because I remember last year, despite being so tasty, it was a "one-glass" beer. Just SO much body that one glass was about all you could handle, despite how good it tasted. Hopefully a lower FG will increase the drinkability.

I've been considering the Graham Cracker extract thing too. Did you read that in the Pumking thread? haha. I'm a bit worried it'll push it a bit over the top in terms of overwhelming flavor, but it also might just hit the sweet spot.

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It's not a beer I would drink pints of, but I'm OK with that. I have it on right now next to a very quaffable Simcoe/Chinook Pale Ale. The Graham Cracker flavor is the thing I've wanted to do for a while and I found this Extract company who makes every extract you can think of. They are alcohol based and the person on the phone said they sell to breweries pretty often.

So do you like the dry finish of 1.015 better than last years? I think I remember finishing about 1.022 last year which was delicious. I'm pretty interested in higher attenuation though, like I said from a drinkability standpoint. Don't want to be sick of it after only one, even if (as you said) the goal isn't to drink more than 2-3.
I really wanted the Yorkshire Ale from White Labs (Biscuity and Toasty esters sound perfect for this beer), but it doesn't come out until November :/

BudzAndSudz said:

So do you like the dry finish of 1.015 better than last years? I think I remember finishing about 1.022 last year which was delicious. I'm pretty interested in higher attenuation though, like I said from a drinkability standpoint. Don't want to be sick of it after only one, even if (as you said) the goal isn't to drink more than 2-3.
I really wanted the Yorkshire Ale from White Labs (Biscuity and Toasty esters sound perfect for this beer), but it doesn't come out until November :/

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You know, even with the drier finish it's still has a huge malt back-bone and plenty of body. I do think it's less 'creamy' tasting but fine nonetheless. I think to dial it in I'd aim for it to attenuate to about 1.020 in the future. This year's was also a bit different in that I added brown-sugar, that was only because it HAD to have real pumpkin for a competition I'm entering it in and I baked it before mashing with the sugar. That may have contributed to the attenuation along with the Dry English Ale yeast.