Pumpkin Ale problems

So I whipped up a batch of pumpkin ale yesterday but ran in to a couple of problems. The grain bill was 9.25lbs. With 4 pounds of roasted pumpkin. I decided to put the pumkin in with the mash instead of during the boil which created the problems. First runnings (which would barely run out unless I kept knocking the SS braid manifold with my stir paddle) never even came close to clearing so I finally just said the heck with it and ran about 3 gallons in to the boil kettle. I then sparged with about 5 gallons and ran in to the same thing. Would only drain out if I continually kept smacking the manifold. The final 7 gallons looked like the Mississippi River before and after the boil. I ended up with an OG of 1.046. I am anticipating a trub the size of Texas.

Anyone run in to this problem with pumpkin ales?

I've only done 1 pumkin ale and the recipe said to make sure I didn't skip out on the 1 lbs of rice hulls it called for or I would face a stuck sparge, which sounds llike the issue u had. I also mashed the pumkin

Yup, use rice hulls next time and you'll be much better off. I'd almost up that to two pounds as I still ended up with a stuck sparge near the end

I bake, scrape and then mash (potato masher) a 12lb pumpkin. I throw it in a nylon brew/wine bag start mashing (the malt this time) Never had a problem, just pull the bag out when done mashing and let it sit in a collander over a clean pot then add the collected liquid to the boil kettle. Some of the mashed pumpkin comes out of the bag during the mash but not enough to ever cause me a problem with my sparge.

Do rice Hull add anything in regards to flavor, texture or gravity? Or are they simply a mash aid?

phoenixs4r said:

Do rice Hull add anything in regards to flavor, texture or gravity? Or are they simply a mash aid?

Click to expand...

From what I've read it imparts nothing in that regard, just helps with stuck sparges.

Cool thx.

Yep, roasted pumpkin in the mash is a b!tch. The only solution is rice hulls and lots of it. I use a pound of rice hulls per batch in a pumpkin ale, 2 times as much as I use in a wheat ale.

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You could also condition your grain and get nearly flawless husks and lots of them, then add rice hulls. They do not impart anything. but yea... I tried a pumpkin and it was the second time I had a stuck sparge, the first was when I did a heff with a tight grind. That was a throw out batch...

+1 for 1lb of rice hulls. Did a very similar recipe, and never had a stuck sparge.

After alot of searching on the forums for the answer to your question, I finally went back into my notes and saw what I did when I was doing extract/specialty brewing. I roasted the pumpkin (butternut and acorn squash for my recipe) for an hour in the oven, then scooped it all out into a muslin bag or two. I simmered those in ~180* water for about a half hour, and used that water as my sparge.

Doing it this way added the color and flavor I was looking for without the stuck sparge or mess. I also added a few points to my OG this way it seems, too. For sh!ts and gigs, I also put one of the acorn squash in a muslin bag for 20 min of the boil.

Cheers!

my only failed batch was a pumpkin... stuck mash, dumped mash back and forth between mash tun and 5 gallon bucket, finally mashed out then the sparge stuck too. After 3 hours I gave up and dumped it. I was inconsolable.... Rice hulls (recommend a full pound for 5 gallons...) are required.