Pumpkin puree

My next batch is going to be a pumpkin ale. I'm working out the kinks on the ingredients now. However, all the recipes i see talki about cutting up a pumpkin. I'd prefer to use puree but i see so many different techniques. I'm a little confused.

1. I know some people will say don't even use pumpkin, just add the spices. I cannot in my right mind call it a pumpkin ale if there is no pumpkin.

2. How many #'s of puree should i use?

3. Should i bake the puree befor adding it?

4. Do i add it the 60 min boil or to the secondary?

Thanks for the help.

I'm brewing a pumpkin today or tomorrow too. Mine is based on Austin Homebrew's kit, though I always make adjustments based on the reviews. Here is a link to the reviews where you can see how different people tried different things to different results:

http://www.austinhomebrew.com/beer_recipes_rank_comments.php?product_id=10886

Based on those reviews, it seems a lot of people put Libby's pure pumpkin in the steeping bag. The folks who did 1 tended to wish they did 2, and a few wished they added more spices. I think I'm going to put 2 in there, and add a few cinnamon sticks at the end of the boil. (In addition to the spice mix that comes with the recipe.)

Of course, your recipe may be different than this one, but it gives you a starting point for thinking, at least.

Good luck!

I'm doing the Austin All Grain kit on Friday. I've done the extract twice, and have done a few other All Grain versions. I use 2 of the big can's of Libby's and roast it in the over at 350 until it gets some good color. I then put that in the mash (remember to adjust for temp of pumpkin for mash in). I usually roast it the night before then put it in the fridge. Brew day it goes in the over for a bit to warm it up to closer to mash temp.

When I did extract I just put it in the boil one time, did a partial mash with it and some 2-row the other time. The PM came out much better

I have also done roasted sweet potatoe which comes out good.

I add 56 oz (two 28 oz cans) of Libby's or organic Pumpkin Pie mix to my pumpkin ales. If you are going for the sweet, liquid pumpkin pie kind of pumpkin ale, this is the way to go. I add it straight to the mash. If you want it to be more subtle, use the same canned pumpkin without the spices pre-added.

I've done several pumpkin ales using pretty much every technique out there, and honestly think that all of the other methods don't add anything extra and take too much time. I would highly recommend just adding the puree to the mash, then adding about 1-2 tablespoons of normal grocery store pumpkin pie spice as a 15 min addition.

Good luck!

I've done several pumpkin ales using pretty much every technique out there, and honestly think that all of the other methods don't add anything extra and take too much time. I would highly recommend just adding the puree to the mash, then adding about 1-2 tablespoons of normal grocery store pumpkin pie spice as a 15 min addition.

Click to expand...

Other methods as in spreading the pumpkin out on a sheet and baking it? Are you staying to just dump the cans right into the mash?

I was thinking of going with about 60oz pure pumpkin directly into the mash (no baking). Then adding 30oz of the pre-spiced stuff at 60min. Then only add a fraction of the spices at the end. I'm wondering if that would be overkill...

Thinking about doing this as well for a partial mash pumpkin ale. Golden Promise, Muntons Extra Light DME, Munich, Torrified Wheat, CaraMalt, and Victory. Mt. Hood for the hops. Wyeast London ESB for the yeast starter with Amylase enzyme.

Going to roast large chunks of sugar pumpkin with butternut squash, and rub it with brown sugar at the end of the roast. Then, puree it in my food processor and use it in the mash. A spice tea will be made from the cinnamon sticks, nutmeg, ginger root, green cardamom, split vanilla bean, allspice berries, orange zest, and clove. That will be added at flameout.

The canned pumpkin puree has already been baked out the wazoo, so no need to re-bake, unless it's in a pie. It's also pretty common for the puree to be made out of other squashes than pumpkin, which seems shady and illegal, but is apparently only the former.