SWMBO wants a pumpkin ale. She has bought a pumpkin and will be roasting it.
I've looked for recipes and mostly find all grain. When an extract version is given it doesn't say what to do with the pumpkin. Should it be steeped?
I have a 2 gal water jug that I tried a mini mash in last time. I put near boiling water in it to heat it up and then 165* water for the mash and found I struggled to maintain 153*. It often dropped under 150*. Part of that was that I didn't check the temp until late in the mash as I figured it would hold well enough since I over heated it, and didn't want to let room temp air in. Now I know it doesn't. I'd be willing to try again.
The last recipe I looked at stated 8.25 lbs of extract plus pumpkin and brown sugar but claimed to be low 6% ABV. I've been seeing much higher attenuation than what the calculator gives and I easily get into the low 6% range with less than that (7 lbs and no extra sugars). I'd like to keep this beer between 5.2 and 5.8% ABV.
I'm also having a hard time matching hops. I've been considering Perle. Liberty, Tettnanger, Vanguard, Willamette, and Mt Hood are available too.
I've looked for recipes and mostly find all grain. When an extract version is given it doesn't say what to do with the pumpkin. Should it be steeped?
I have a 2 gal water jug that I tried a mini mash in last time. I put near boiling water in it to heat it up and then 165* water for the mash and found I struggled to maintain 153*. It often dropped under 150*. Part of that was that I didn't check the temp until late in the mash as I figured it would hold well enough since I over heated it, and didn't want to let room temp air in. Now I know it doesn't. I'd be willing to try again.
The last recipe I looked at stated 8.25 lbs of extract plus pumpkin and brown sugar but claimed to be low 6% ABV. I've been seeing much higher attenuation than what the calculator gives and I easily get into the low 6% range with less than that (7 lbs and no extra sugars). I'd like to keep this beer between 5.2 and 5.8% ABV.
I'm also having a hard time matching hops. I've been considering Perle. Liberty, Tettnanger, Vanguard, Willamette, and Mt Hood are available too.