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

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A little bit curious about adding the spices. When talked about making a tea and then adding (but not filtering). Do the spices get put in a cloth and dipped as to not get any particles into the wort or just dump them in?

Also a question about volume. When steeping the grains how much water should be used? Do most people wing it and then top off (with sterilized water) when racking to primary?
 
I have put the spices straight into a beer I was drinking. They settled to the bottom. If you don't drink the dregs (and either bottling or kegging, you shouldn't), then you won't notice the spices.

As for volume, I guess that would vary slightly by your setup, right? If you want it to be a sweeter beer, though, wouldn't you want a thin mash, i.e., 1.75-2 quarts per lb. of grain? Just spitballin' here. :)
 
Thanks.

I should have mentioned I'm planning on making the 5gallon extract method.

First time venturing out from a 'kit' so just trying to get some of the details that aren't listed down.
 
Kegged the batch this evening and the sample I tasted was amazing. Was also able to bottle some as well. Went ahead and made the spice tea & added that to the keg. I added some spice to the 2ndary but not much so hopefully the spice tea won't over power it once it's finally ready to drink; I doubt it will though. Kept it in the 2ndary for 10 days & cold crashed it before kegging. Will post the final results in a couple of weeks but I'm sure it will be an echo from the previous statements, which is...awesome.
 
not sure if i missed this, but in the extract version when are you adding the DME? At the beginning of the boil, at the end, or some in the beginning/some in the middle, etc.? I figured at the beginning of the boil, but just want to make sure..
 
Yuri_Rage said:
At the beginning. No need for a late addition with this beer.
Click to expand...

Cool thanks Yuri! I just ordered all the ingredients to pick up on from my LHBS Thursday, and am finally going to brew it on Monday. I'm hoping to have it bottled and ready to drink just in time for thanksgiving. I have been looking at the recipe for some time now and it seems like this is an epic recipe you have made Yuri! Can’t wait to brew it!! Thanks again! :)
 
Hmmnot sure what I screwed up but after 10 days my beer is still sitting at about 8 Brix or around 1.030. I had a 2 lt starter and a very vigorous ferment so the only thing I can figure is that my mash was not stirred up enough or I mashed in too high. Oh well
 
Added spice tea to one batch last night and smelled great. Second batch will get the tea in the keg. Made my own pampered chef blend and smells so much better than just spices last year.

Sent from my iPhone using HB Talk
 
Tapped my keg last night -- SWMBO said it was my best... beer... EVAR. :mug:

My alteration to the extract recipe was to use wheat extract (65-35 wheat/barley). It's not a clear beer, but the head is almost like pumpkin pie itself! I would highly recommend subbing the wheat extract for the barley, or using head-enhancing techniques to make a dreamy, creamy, lace-y beer!

(I'm giddy -- it's that good.)
 
Looks like I missed my mark on this year's batch. Gravity came in really low at 1.040 I think and now its down to like 1.014 so getting close to done.

But my sample tasted weak and without a lot of that wow pumpkin flavor. Still haven't added spices yet so I will do that soon. I guess the only thing I am thinking about is adding malto dextrin and a little lactose to sweeten it up a bit.
And might want to add a little extra spice to kick it up a notch.

Just not sure yet on how much is too much lactose. Anybody try to do this with their thunderstruck?
 
Just brewed the extract version of this pumpkin ale this morning. Missed Halloween, but looking forward to having this beer on tap come Thanksgiving!

Steven b~
 
I brewed the extract version of this and had my first bottle tonight after only two weeks in the bottle and it was AMAZING!!!!:D I followed the recipe exactly except I used 6lbs of light DME and .25 lbs of amber DME because I had some laying around. I'm not sure if that really changed the end result but either way this recipe is freaking awesome. I used McCormick's pumpkin pie spice for the spice tea. It ended up with just the right amount of sweetness/pumpkin pie flavor without being overpowering. Thanks for the great recipe!!!
 
Brewed on a whim yesterday. I used fresh sugar pumpkin, roasted for 1.5 hours. Ended up being about 120 oz because I had no idea how much a pumpkin weighed, and by the time I weighed the pieces, figured oh well.

Wort tasted great, but after talking with guys at LHBS, I did a spice add at flameout, and will do a spice tea before bottling.

O.G. was 1.064. I used two packs of S04; really quick start. (Didn't have time for a liquid with starter)

I plan on primary for 3 weeks, and bottling for 2 - just in time for Thanksgiving.
 
makisupa said:
I just finished brewing Thunderstruck Pumpkin Ale with my electric HERMS and thought I'd offer some tips. This is my third time brewing this recipe but my first on an electric HERMS. Before, I was using a three-kettle, direct heat, and pump-fed system to brew this recipe and I suffered from stuck sparges and clogged pumps. Today's brew went off with out a hitch! Here's how...

I use an electric HERMS that's operated with two pumps and a HERMS coil in the HLT. I use a silicone tube inside my MLT (Sabco-style) for re-circ and I allow my mash to re-circ through the coil for entire mash. I wanted to accomplish this today without getting clogs and I did!

I added 1.25lb of rice hulls to the recipe and made sure to mix them well with the other grains and wheat. I mashed-in with the grains to hit the 158-deg mash temp. Then, I took my room temp Libby's pumpkin (which was already baked for 30-min at 350-deg) and placed it in a 1-gal paint strainer/bag and laid that flat across the top of the grain bed. My re-circ tubing was relatively close to the pumpkin/bag.

That's it! I mashed for 60-min with constant re-circ and then fly-sparged for about 45-minutes to collect my wort. The pumpkin color/flavor was extracted nicely, my efficiency was normal (75%), and the pumpkin stayed collected in the paint strainer. I hope this helps anyone who might be considering this recipe for their HERMS.
Click to expand...

It's been three weeks since brewday and I've kegged my Thunderstruck. I used Wyeast 1968 (Wyeast's equivalent of WLP002) from a 1500mL starter and hit 1.020 as my FG. I was hoping to do better but alas...

Fermentation occurred over 6 days at 65-deg. After, I tried agitating the carboy and increasing the temp to 68-deg to get it to drop a couple more points but it didn't budge from 1.020.

I should also mention the beer dropped bright right away. Love this yeast's flocculation ability but I'm not all that thrilled with its attenuation.
 
duffman2 said:
Looks like I missed my mark on this year's batch. Gravity came in really low at 1.040 I think and now its down to like 1.014 so getting close to done.

But my sample tasted weak and without a lot of that wow pumpkin flavor. Still haven't added spices yet so I will do that soon. I guess the only thing I am thinking about is adding malto dextrin and a little lactose to sweeten it up a bit.
And might want to add a little extra spice to kick it up a notch.

Just not sure yet on how much is too much lactose. Anybody try to do this with their thunderstruck?
Click to expand...

Same, my gravity is about 1.042, just racked to primary. Guess I'll keep a watch on it and will probably do the same.
 
My first attempt was the same way. My efficiency was horrible and came in at 1.040 and was Very weak and no prominent pumpkin flavor was discernible. I brewed it again last weekend and decided I would not miss my gravity this time. I brewed another 5 gallon batch, using 60oz of baked pumpkin which carmelized beautifully. I did however have to beef up the grain bill and try a different mash technique to achieve the 1.067 OG I ended up with. I used a 1 tsp of Pumkin Pie Spice in a tea for this batch and when tasting the wort, it seemed like I had finally achieved pumpkin perfection! Time will tell, I have at least 2 more weeks before I can keg it and try the final product.
 
Brewed this today. My OG came out at 1.052. Six gallon boil with five gallons at finish probably the reason. Topping off to 6 seemed excessive so I left it at five gallons. Will see how it goes. Also put 1 tsp of pumpkin spice in at 10 min left.
 
Tasted a sample of the batch we brewed yesterday & I must say it tasted amazing. The pumpkin & the spices really come through quite nicely. It's not quite ready yet but from the sample I can tell it's going to be an awesome brew. Should technically be ready next Monday; the kegged batch that is. We were able to bottle some of it as well but those won't be ready for another couple of weeks.

Also just finished installing the taps on our "Keezer"

http://www.chrisgomezphoto.com/austin/h35741bfc#h35741bfc
 
My Thunderstruck is starting to carb. I kegged and charged it about 6 days ago. My final gravity came in a bit high (1.020) yet the beer seems a bit thin and lacks any sort of chewiness. Thought it might have a thicker mouthfeel with a FG that high.

Details: Brewday was exactly four days ago from this post. I pitched Wyeats 1968. Gravity hit 1.020 five days later and the beer cleared as well. I agiated in the primary for another week but the gravity remained. I racked to a secondary, and left it there for ten days. The beer feremented at 65 for 4-5 days and then I ramped it to 70.
 
Made the extract version of this about a week ago. Just racked to clear the other day so i tasted a sample and it was amazing! However, i was looking at the brew tonight and i noticed a faint, kinda white in color, oily film developing on the top. It wasnt across the whole top. Just kinda blotched. Could this be oil from the spices? I fermented with WLP002 yeast at 65 degress. Brew is still sitting at 65 degress as it clears. Gravity was around 1.012 when i racked, and the sample didn't taste sour or strange. Before i racked, I boiled 1 cup of water for 5 mins then pulled it off the burner and added spices (i used spice island's pumpkin pie spice blend) to let them steep as it cooled. I then dumped the spiced tea into my sanitized carboy and racked onto it. I hope it is not an infection starting. This beer tasted amazing when i took a sample as i racked. Would be a shame for it to turn sour on me :( Any input on this? Guess i will just keep an eye on it to see if the film worsens..
 
Just wanted to add my opinion on this wonderful autumn beer: fantastic! Everyone loves it, I love it, and if you really want to make it outstanding rim your glass with a small bit of brown sugar! MMmmmm!

This will be an annual brew for me, thank you so much for the recipe!

-Mike

P.S. I can taste the pumpkin. Don't brew this without the pumpkin. I heard the BetterBrewing podcast about the pumpkin adding nothing and I think they got it wrong.
 
Wanted to share some pics of this brew. Needs 2 more weeks to condition but mighty tasty now.

Brewed on labor day and sat in primary for 10 days then another 14 in secondary.

Needs to be started the 1st of August.

:p

image-2731106753.jpg


image-862369333.jpg


image-981900255.jpg
 
Brewed the extract version of this beer and it's been almost 4 weeks bottle conditioning. We tried it earlier on and before bottling and it had a weird aftertaste to it, almost medicinal. I think it was the spices that needed some time to mellow out. Just tried one last night and that flavor has faded quite a bit and now is really good! Slightly sweet and spiced but not overwhelming. But in our case, it needed longer bottle conditioning to let the spices mellow out.
 
refect said:
Made the extract version of this about a week ago. Just racked to clear the other day so i tasted a sample and it was amazing! However, i was looking at the brew tonight and i noticed a faint, kinda white in color, oily film developing on the top. It wasnt across the whole top. Just kinda blotched. Could this be oil from the spices? I fermented with WLP002 yeast at 65 degress. Brew is still sitting at 65 degress as it clears. Gravity was around 1.012 when i racked, and the sample didn't taste sour or strange. Before i racked, I boiled 1 cup of water for 5 mins then pulled it off the burner and added spices (i used spice island's pumpkin pie spice blend) to let them steep as it cooled. I then dumped the spiced tea into my sanitized carboy and racked onto it. I hope it is not an infection starting. This beer tasted amazing when i took a sample as i racked. Would be a shame for it to turn sour on me :( Any input on this? Guess i will just keep an eye on it to see if the film worsens..
Click to expand...


Mine is doing the same thing, thought it was going to sour, but it tastes pretty good.

I used the McCormick Pumpkin Pie Spice. It seems like it has too much Cinnamon Spice to it, but we are only 2-3 weeks in bottle.
 
could one just add the spices along with the priming sugar, then add to the bottling bucket?
 
thetmaxx said:
Mine is doing the same thing, thought it was going to sour, but it tastes pretty good.

I used the McCormick Pumpkin Pie Spice. It seems like it has too much Cinnamon Spice to it, but we are only 2-3 weeks in bottle.
Click to expand...

glad to hear that! mine is about 4 days in the clearing stage and the film hasn't seemed to have got any worse/thicker, or more noticable. it is still faint and transparent, but it is still there though. not too sure what it is, but the best i can do is just keep an eye on it to see if it worsens. based on your results, i am hoping mine will still taste good, and hasn't become infected. I haven't taken a sample because i dont want to keep opening it so i am just gonna wait till it is time to bottle to taste it.
 
Brewed this on sunday. I made a 1L starter with the WLP002 and it has taken it from 1.053 down to 1.012 in about 4 days, the batch was bubbling away in 4 hours after pitching. I took a sample last night for FG reading and brewed up a little spiced tea with cinnamon and nutmeg... i think it may turn out really nicely!

It does have a bit of a banana thing going on with it or maybe its just young and i am looking for something to worry about. Tasted ok.... was really good with a little spice tea in it.
 
Mine's been in the primary for almost 2 weeks now, so I took my first gravity reading / sample. It's at 1.014, which puts the ABV at ~6.5%. The color is beautiful and crystal clear; the pumpkin flavor comes through, with some muted spice notes. As stated previously, I plan on doing a spice tea add before bottling.

Of note with the pumpkin, I think adding 2x the recipe actually worked out well for me - I love that about brewing, it all usually turns out OK.

In any case, I'm thrilled with this beer. Thank you so much for the recipe!
 
2.5 weeks in primary, 2 days crashing in the fridge, kegged tonight with Catdaddy extracted cinnamon plus clone. Cold carbing now with OCD shaking. I may just be foolish enough to serve it tomorrow night.
 
I have everything for this brew but im not setup for a mash process. Question when can i add the 60oz of pumpkin and how? I read a little on the mash process but still not sure, if someone can help me out im ready to start this in the morning!!!
 
Brew pot, all ingredients and that's it.....I've done grain recipes but never a mash. I hope this clears up my predicament. I need to look more into a mash setup but might be a little late for this brew, what do you think?
 
Then you don't mash anything. You steep the grain by putting the milled grain in a mesh bag and dropping it into your boil kettle at 155º F for half an hour per the recipe. Take the grain bag out, let it drain, and continue with the boil. I just boiled the pumpkin right along with the extract when I made that recipe, and I liked the results. You can read other experiences throughout the thread.
 

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