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

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BeerArchitect54 said:
I brewed the Tunderstruck Pumpkin today. I doubled the pumpkin but forgot to add the Irish Moss with 10 min. to go in the boil... What might this do??? I have never used the Irish moss before so I don't know what this was supposed to do but I'm worried because I forgot to add it???

Any thoughts?

Other wise this was a great brew day.. My buddy and I hit 1.049 right on the head... I set it in the basement with a blow off hose because the head space was pretty minimal in the primary.

Keeping my fingers crossed!!!

The only difference you should see is a longer clearing time. I think there are products made to be added post boil, but I've never used them so I can't comment...
 
I just brewed a pumpkin ale today. I combined my cousin's recipe with a few alterations and a few aspects of this recipe.

I used 1 cup light brown sugar, 1/2 cup molasses and 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (pre-mixed). The flavor of the OG sample didnt have the in-your-face spice to it I was looking for. I will have to see how the secondary SG sample tastes. May need more spice.
 
Hey all,

Brewin this right now. Actually about to sparge. No stuck mash but it is taking its sweet ass time, haha. Not a problem as I have a brew and the Sunday paper! Plus it's lovely out.

Hope I have similar success as everyone else with this brew!

Cheers,
Nicole
 
Just went down in the basement to check the fermentation status. The blow off hose blew itself right out of the jug with star san water in it. I fixed it right away but am worried about contamination... should i be worried?
 
They're the immortal words of wisdom that appear countless times in Charlie Papazian's legendary tome "The Complete Joy of Homebrewing."
 
I brewed 10 gal of this last week using just about the same amounts as I posted on the last page, just switched some of the ingredients. I used 1.5 lbs cara-red instead of biscuit, and two pounds of 45L instead of 3.5 lbs 60L. The wort tasted great going into the kettle, but after it was hopped (1.5 oz EKG at 60) and chilled, it tasted a bit bitter. I'm sure it will mellow out. I'll post the results.
 
Bottles have conditioned and we have carbonation! All I can say is this is, quite possibly, the best pumpkin ale I've ever had! And the fact that I made it makes it taste all that much better!!! :mug:
 
Bottles have conditioned and we have carbonation! All I can say is this is, quite possibly, the best pumpkin ale I've ever had! And the fact that I made it makes it taste all that much better!!! :mug:

I can't remember if you had already posted this earlier in this thread, but did you follow the recipe and only add a 1tsp spice tea during secondary? I'm preparing to bottle in the next couple of days and am wondering if it might need some more spice because it didn't seem like enough right after the transfer. It may be more prominent though now that a couple more weeks have gone by.
 
I did follow the recipe, but I added my spice tea to my bottling bucket along with the priming sugar solution when I racked it from my carboy. I had spread some pumpkin pie spices over my canned pumpkin along with some brown sugar when I baked it but I'm not sure how much flavor that added to the brew.

The spice flavors really came out in mine with just the 1 tsp of Cinnamon Plus. I would start with 1 tsp of spices and then, if you feel it's not flavorful enough, you could always add more to suit your tastes...
 
I would start with 1 tsp of spices and then, if you feel it's not flavorful enough, you could always add more to suit your tastes...

That's the plan! I already added my tea at transfer to secondary. I'll do a taste test and add more at bottling if necessary, but I didn't know if the flavors could come out even more after bottling. Don't want to add too much.
 
bradford0113 said:
That's the plan! I already added my tea at transfer to secondary. I'll do a taste test and add more at bottling if necessary, but I didn't know if the flavors could come out even more after bottling. Don't want to add too much.

I did the same thing. But I added 1.5tsp in secondary. I will taste at bottling time and see how it is. From what I've read it will likely be ok. But I can always add more uf I need to.
 
Any thoughts on the proper carb vol using corn sugar? I still bottle and wanted to get some feedback on carbonation. Thanks in advance.
 
That's the plan! I already added my tea at transfer to secondary. I'll do a taste test and add more at bottling if necessary, but I didn't know if the flavors could come out even more after bottling. Don't want to add too much.

Just did a taste test to plan for bottling this weekend. The spice flavor is definitely there, but I thought it would be a little stronger. However, my wife thinks it's just right so I'm gonna leave it as is.

My final gravity ended up at 1.010 and it's a little dryer than I wanted. Any opinions on adding about 8oz of lactose at bottling for this?
 
Ok still somewhat new to brewing but am trying this recipe today. Should I add all the DME in at the beginning, or is it better to start with half, and do the other half in the last 10 min. of the boil?
 
TIME FOR ROUND TWO! Ever since last year I have been looking forward to this. Going all grain this year, the extract version was so good we kicked the keg half-way through our halloween party! :)
 
Ok still somewhat new to brewing but am trying this recipe today. Should I add all the DME in at the beginning, or is it better to start with half, and do the other half in the last 10 min. of the boil?

Adding all the DME at the beginning is fine. Some folks try to add some later in the process when they are making extra hoppy beers.
 
Brewed 5 gal AG Saturday night. OG was 1.054 pitched with a slurry of S-04. I added the spices at flameout and the garage smelled just like pumpkin pie! Plan is 3 weeks primary, 3 weeks secondary then keg so it'll be ready in time for Halloween! Thanks for sharing recipe!
 
Brewed 5 gal AG Saturday night. OG was 1.054 pitched with a slurry of S-04. I added the spices at flameout and the garage smelled just like pumpkin pie! Plan is 3 weeks primary, 3 weeks secondary then keg so it'll be ready in time for Halloween! Thanks for sharing recipe!
 
I've got this in primary, and am planning on adding spices. If I wanted a pretty subtle pumpkin flavor, would 2/3 of a teaspoon be the right amount (for 5 gals)?
 
ended up trying out WLP028 for this beer as an experiment. Should be delicious. We couldn't get our volume down quick enough so we did a very long boil an still ended up with 1.048 with 12 gallons (hoping for 10). We'll see how it turns out! Excited to see how the Edinburgh Scottish Ale yeast works out.
 
I'm a new brewer and have a question about this recipe. I've been reading the post and did not actually see the answer.
1) Could I use whole pumpkin cut up in cubes, roasted in oven with a little brown suger and placed in mesh bag?
2) should I just steep with the grains or boil the full 60 mins?

I thought if I remove the pumpkin it would cut down the trub in the fermentor.

Thanks
 
LateraLex said:
I've got this in primary, and am planning on adding spices. If I wanted a pretty subtle pumpkin flavor, would 2/3 of a teaspoon be the right amount (for 5 gals)?
The later the spices are added, the stronger te flavor, I have read on here how 1tsp was pretty subtle already. Try whatever you think, you can always add more in at bottling if it's not enough.
silverbullet07 said:
I'm a new brewer and have a question about this recipe. I've been reading the post and did not actually see the answer.
1) Could I use whole pumpkin cut up in cubes, roasted in oven with a little brown suger and placed in mesh bag?
2) should I just steep with the grains or boil the full 60 mins?

I thought if I remove the pumpkin it would cut down the trub in the fermentor.

Thanks
You can use whole pumpkin, I believe I remember reading that the pumpkin dissolves in the boil, so a bag is useless. Yuri states to boil it and place in primary as it adds mouthfeel and color more that way. Shoot for 6-6.5 gal so you will have 4.5-5 gal after racking to secondary. You will lose a bit to the trub.
 
The later the spices are added, the stronger the flavor, I have read on here how 1tsp was pretty subtle already. Try whatever you think, you can always add more in at bottling if it's not enough.

I agree. I added 1tsp when transferring from primary to secondary. After 2 weeks in secondary, I added another 1/4tsp at bottling. One tsp was subtle and the additional 1/4tsp made it just a little more than subtle. :)
 
Here's a silly question. Does it matter if I rack onto the spice tea or add the spice tea to the already racked beer? I'm guessing it doesn't, but figured I would ask.
 
chrix said:
Here's a silly question. Does it matter if I rack onto the spice tea or add the spice tea to the already racked beer? I'm guessing it doesn't, but figured I would ask.

Don't see why it would matter either way. I racked, added spice, then stirred with my thief and took a sample!
 
Question, my lhbs only had light LME and extra light DME. I assume the LME would be ok to use and not alter anything, and the extra light DME would only alter the color slightly? Or should unjust wait till they get the light DME in?(no time frame)
 
Bottling a batch tomorrow night. Only my 4th batch so I want to make sure I carb right, I have 4.5 gallons in the secondary, I calculate right around 4 oz. of corn sugar for priming?
 
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