The Great Pumpkin Pie Ale

75 oz. Libby's 100% Pure Pumpkin Canned (Baked @350F for 1 Hour)
2 lb. Maris Otter Pale Malt
3 lb. British Amber Malt
2 lb. British Mild Malt
2 lb. Biscuit Malt
1 lb. American Crystal Malt 60L
1 lb. Flaked Oats (Toasted @350F, until Golden Brown)
1 lb. Malted Wheat
1 lb. Molasses (Light Color)

1oz. East Kent Goldings (60 Minutes)
.5 oz. Mount Hood (20 Minutes)
.5 oz. Mount Hood (10 Minutes)

.5 oz. Mixture of Mace, Cloves, Nutmeg, Allspice, Cinnamon, Vanilla Beans
1 tsp. Irish Moss


I was thinking Mash (with the pumpkin) at a temperature of 152F with 5 gallons of water.
Mash out at a temperature of 168F with 2 gallons of water.
Collect 6.5 gallons in the kettle and boil for 90 minutes.
Adding the spices in at the last 5 minutes of the boil.

Really looking for that warm pumpkin pie flavor. Any advice would be great.

Holy Crap!!! Forget pumpkin, this beer is like a ginger snap. Thick and creamy with the subtle yet bold notes of pumpkin pie spice. Low hop bitterness and aroma, but big bready, grainy flavor. This beer is amazing if you like ginger snaps.

Would you categorize this as a good Christmas beer? I was searching for good pumpkin ale recipes, but this looks like it could work around that time. I am very interested in trying this for myself.

has anyone else tried this?? would adding more pumpkin help to bring out its flavor?

I'm currently planning on brewing using this recipe. I've purchased the grain bill and I'm going to do it over the weekend. There are tons of other great pumpkin beer recipes out there but this one intrigued me with the "ginger snap" flavor.

I've changed a few things due to availability, time, and my (lack of) memory. I've replaced the WlP002 English Ale Yeast with Wyeast British Ale 1098. I'm not toasting the flakes oates since I won't have time to let the toasted flavor settle before brewing. I've also replaced the british mild malt with a pale malt.

I also thought the hop profile was a little odd so I changed it to 1 oz of Brewers Gold (60) and the 20 and 10 min to .5oz Hallertau each. I think it stays with the European style more-so than Mt. Hood and East Kent Goldings.

I'm also replacing some of the canned pumpkin with a real pumpkin. I'll post back with the results in a month.

So after waiting a little while, the beer is done and drinkable. My final alternate recipe is:

3lb Amber Malt
2lbs Biscuit Malt
2lbs Pale American 2 Row
2lbs Marris Otter
1lb Crystal 60L
1lb Oats, flaked
1lb Wheat, flaked

1oz Brewers Gold 60 min
0.5oz Hallertauer 20 min
0.5oz Hallertauer 10 min

1tsp Allspice
1tsp Nutmeg
1 medium sized cinnamon stick
cap full of vanilla extract
4 rather large cloves

75 oz Libby's Canned Pumpkin - Mash
1 sugar pumpkin roasted in the over at 350F for 30 minutes - Mash
12 oz Molasses

Wyeast British Ale #1098

Primary for 8 days, secondary for 8 days

Conclusion: I clearly over spiced with that many cloves. Thankfully it mellowed out enough after a month and a half of aging. Overall it's good in it's own right, but the malt profile seems a little confusing. Definitely taste the pumpkin and subtle spices with coffee notes (which I'm thinking is all those cloves). No Gingerbready taste, not entirely sure why since the malt build is pretty similar.

Overall... Good