Oktoberfest Root Beer Idea

Now I am not a beer drinker and never was so please forgive me if I am not correct in some of my thoughts. I have done some (by some I mean very little) research about Oktoberfest beers and it seems that these beers are heavier than a light beer and have some fall type flavors. Well I have an idea for my root beer. Ever since I started brewing root beer a few weeks ago, I have had a crazy idea to do an "Oktoberfest Root Beer".

The idea is to make a root beer that has kind of a creamy mouth feel, good head retention and flavor would be pumpkin/nutmeg, pumpkin/spice, or a pumpkin/cinnamon. As you can see pumpkin would be the primary flavor and that is where my other stump is. What would you use to achieve the pumpkin flavor? What are some other flavors that go in to an Oktoberfest beer tat I may want to consider for my root beer?

Here are some thoughts...
1. Malt Dextrose for improved mouth feel (not sure if it will help with anything else)
2. Yucca root for head. (not sure if yucca will help with anything else)
3. Pumpkin flavor. (Not sure what to use here. This is where I need help or the over all flavor in general)
4. If I were to make different flavors of root beer, ie pumpkin, does sassafras and/or sarsaparilla still get used in making it despite what "flavor" of root beer is being made?


Thanks in advance for any help that can be provided

If you're steeping herbs and such for your brew, add 2TBSP pumpkin puree per gallon (a little goes a long way) to your brew pot and strain out the pulp with the rest of your roots.

I'm not sure what roots it will pair with, though. Seems to me it will either taste like pumpkin or it will taste like root beer. I don't see those flavors meshing very well, one will probably be dominant over the other or they will just clash.

Pumpkin pie spice, without a doubt. It'll give you the "fall" flavor I think you're looking for.
I'd leave out the whole pumpkin as was suggested, pumpkin doesn't have much flavor, pumpkin pie for instance gets most of its flavor from the spices.

I agree with the above poster, not sure how well these will pair, you could do a quick test with your regular root beer and try some pumpkin pie spice added to the glass (a little will go a long way).

Thank you both for your replies. Well I wasn't sure what Pumpkin Spice was exactly so I decided to do some looking and quickly found the answer. Turns out I have almost everything I need to make it except allspice and cloves if I decided to go with one or both of those ingredients. So since I found a recipe to make my own pumpkin pie spice, I think I am going to give that a try. Now once I do, what would be a good amount to try per gallon of water? If it helps at all to figure that out, here is the list of ingredients...I have 3 different recipes so ill just post the ingredients.

Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Ginger
Allspice (Option)
Cloves (Option)

All three recipes I have include one or both of the "options".

I personally wouldn't use cloves (I don't like cloves all that much), but the others would be great.
I'm thinking along the lines of a pumpkin ale for this, as far as the amount of spice. A recipe like this Has 1 tsp of total spices for 5 gallons, so as you can see, a little goes a really long way. Perhaps make up your spice, and make a tea by adding the spice to a cup or two of boiling water, and then add to taste

StoneHands said:

I personally wouldn't use cloves (I don't like cloves all that much), but the others would be great.
I'm thinking along the lines of a pumpkin ale for this, as far as the amount of spice. A recipe like this Has 1 tsp of total spices for 5 gallons, so as you can see, a little goes a really long way. Perhaps make up your spice, and make a tea by adding the spice to a cup or two of boiling water, and then add to taste

Click to expand...

The tea bag idea is exactly what I was thinking to. Perhaps the pumpkin spice recipe is another thing I will need to experiment with to get the flavor just right. Thank you for your reply on this.