Canned pumpkin is real pie pumpkin, they put a picture of the pretty orange pumpkin on the can to sell the product. The orange pumpkins "jack-o-lantern pumpkins" have less sugar content than the canned pumpkin you can buy. Real pumpkin pie is made with a cousin to the butternut squash. I argue with my mom every year and she makes a pie with fresh orange pumpkins that is really good, just not as good as the real kind. This being said, the pumpkin is more of a flavor additive than a fermentable. We used orange pumpkins in our winterfest at the brewery and it was noticeable but not upfront, but had to compete with a ton of spices so.... IMHO, I think pumping up your base malt and other malt additions a little and not worrying about the sugar addition of the pumpkin is the way to go. Oh, and you can use whatever kind of pumpkin in the beer, they all taste great in pie (some just better/different than others).
