Pumpkin Beer, hey how much pumpkin?

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Aleforge

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I am going to brew up a partial mash Pumpkin extract kit this weekend from Austin Homebrew. All I need is the canned pumpkin. I really don't want to cook and gut them myself. I would like a fairly good pumpkin flavor in the brew. How much would you guys use, and would you run it through the boil or add it during a secondary?

Thanks!
 
I was talking to one of the brewers at a local microbrewery and he said they used canned pumpkin in the boil AND in the secondary. I've got one fermenting away in the closet right now. I only added pumpkin to the boil though.
 
Pumpkin should really be mashed because it's mostly starch. There are some sugars in there, but most of it need to get converted. And pumpkin by itself does not have much flavor. What people associate with pumpkin is pie, and the spices that go with it - cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, clove.
 
Hmm, I see what you mean. Well the kit I think comes with those spices to add, so if I want more of a pumpkin flavor I shouldn't actually "add" pumpkin but add more of the spices?

Mosa how much did you use?
 
Ok 4lbs it is then, the Austin kit did not break down the spices. Thats one of my frustrations with them, I wish there was a more detailed breakdown on their kits! Anyone used a kit of theirs with spices? Curious if they come all mixed up already or broken down with amounts listed, should get mine tomorrow!
 
Here is a good article:

BYO - Brewing with Pumpkin: Tips from the Pros

I have a pumpkin recipe in my drop-down that you can reference.

One quick question on your recipe, I see your using "Pumpkin Pie Spice" .4oz total. Isn't pumpkin pie spice actually a mixture of Cinnamon & Nutmeg on its own?
 
Ok 4lbs it is then, the Austin kit did not break down the spices. Thats one of my frustrations with them, I wish there was a more detailed breakdown on their kits! Anyone used a kit of theirs with spices? Curious if they come all mixed up already or broken down with amounts listed, should get mine tomorrow!

I just brewed it, the ingredients were listed on the spice package. I cant remember them.:eek:
 
My neighbor and I brewed a pumpkin and used 4 lbs + the spices in the kit. Honestly...we both wanted more p umpkin. I'm not a fan of the 'spiced' pumpkins. Next time I think we're going to go with 4 lbs of pumpkin during the boil and try adding maybe 2 lbs during 2ndary.

Don't get me wrong, the pumpkin is fantastic...however we wanted more pumpkin out of it, I'm well aware of what pumpkin tastes like, and neither of us are big fans of the pumpkin SPICED beers. It's a work in progress but i wouldn't use anything less than 4 lbs of the pumpkin.

If you're a fan of the spice, you could use the pumpkin pie spiced cans...but i don't even use those when making my pies because i don't like the taste.

-Matt
 
Spices in mine off the top of my head (stuff's at home): .5 tsp cinnamon, .25 allspice, .25 cloves, .25 nutmeg 5 minutes before flameout.

Made up a tea of the same spices at bottling and used roughly 75 percent of it. I'll scale back on the tea next time. Came out well, but it's a bit too spicy for my tastes. Wife and friends love it, though.
 
Also, I did this recipe as an extract as one of my first brews, I put 4 cans of pumpkin in the boil, it turned out great! Not my favorite style, but all my friends raved about it. You will lose a half gallon or so of beer due to pumpkin trub.
 
I found it! (garbage picker:D)
1 tsp. cinnamon
3/8 tsp. nutmeg
1/8 tsp. mace
7 grams sweet orange peel
 
One quick question on your recipe, I see your using "Pumpkin Pie Spice" .4oz total. Isn't pumpkin pie spice actually a mixture of Cinnamon & Nutmeg on its own?

I don't know. Those little things are proprietary mixes. I used McCormick's.

I really liked the ginger that I added and would keep that the same. Actually I liked the spicing very much, and the amount of pumpkin. I would change the base beer from my recipe though. Not sure to what....
 
My local micro-brewery makes a pumpkin ale every year and releases it on Halloween. They sold out their first batch in one day, 263 gallons gone.

I picked up 2 gallons last night, and finished half of one the same night.

I really need to make my own.
 
My local micro-brewery makes a pumpkin ale every year and releases it on Halloween. They sold out their first batch in one day, 263 gallons gone.

I picked up 2 gallons last night, and finished half of one the same night.

I really need to make my own.

Would that O'Fallon? One of my favorites I get excited when I see it on the shelves come September!

Thanks guys for giving me all the info!
 
i was able to get 47 out of my batch. sitting in bottles right now carbing and i can't wait. all the taste tests i did were amazing. i used real pumpkin in mine, so i don't think i'll ever try using canned pumpkin
 
I haven't brewed with pumpkin, but I have made alot of food with pumpkin & squash. If you want to use fresh produce, I wouldn't recommend anything that is aimed at being carved for Halloween. They are typically flavorless. Many stores will sell "pie pumpkins", which can be much more flavorful.

If I were going to brew a "pumpkin" beer (and I don't care too much for pumpkin spice in beer either), I would probably use acorn or butternut squash instead, as both tend to be more flavorful. Also, I find that smaller squash have more flavor than the larger ones.
If you have access to a farmer's market, talk to them about what you want to do, and they should be able to steer you to the right fruit.
 
Interesting Idea GXM, I got all my stuff together already but I will have to try that sometime.
 
I brewed an extract pumpkin ale and used one can of libby's pumpkin. I think that is the perfect amount, you wont get too much trub with just one can.
 
Only one Can? When did you use it, and did you get a chance to taste the finished brew yet? I got all kinds of answers and amounts now! I got 5 large cans worth of the stuff for tomorrow! :cross:
 
Only one Can? When did you use it, and did you get a chance to taste the finished brew yet? I got all kinds of answers and amounts now! I got 5 large cans worth of the stuff for tomorrow! :cross:
I used it late in the boil, and I did taste the finished beer and it was very good. Lots of aroma (due to the spice pack i suppose) It was a well balanced beer, not overly spicey and not under spiced. I dont know how much the pumpkin really contributes to the final taste but it is a great beer.
 
I would guess the one can didn't do much as from what I have learned the spice pretty much makes the "Pumkin Ale" what is it. However, that didn't stop me from using 6lbs of canned pumpkin during the boil. I think I will end up with about 3 gallons of usable beer in the end, but we live and learn. :ban:
 
I brewed a pumpkin porter, based off Yuri's Thunderstruck Pumpkin Ale. I boiled the pumpkin (2.5 cans of Kroger brand pumpkin) and added two 1 tsp infusions of McCormick pumpkin pie spice "spice tea" in secondary (spaced ~4 days apart). The spice was overpowering at first but it tamed down quite respectibly. I personally think this is the best beer I've devised "myself" so far, I used 2 oz black patent IIRC and it complements the pumpkin/spice flavor very well.

I know iamjohnsharp (a.k.a. Chubby Kid Brewing Company) here on the forum brews a squash based "pumpkin" brew that he calls "The Impostor." I highly recommend checking out the label for it in the Label & Display Discussion Forum.
 
Bringing this one back from the dead! We compared 2 beers made from the same recipe with the same spicing where one received pumpkin and the other didn't. Did it make a difference? Results are in!

http://brulosophy.com/2015/10/05/it...umpkin-make-a-difference-exbeeriment-results/

Cool xBmt! I just brewed a pumpkin batch last week. I tried something different this time - a Belgian Blond / Pumpkin - I didn't go to heavy on the spices, I really just added cinnamon and vanilla and then I am hoping to get some spiciness form the Belgian yeast. Since I didn't add all of the nutmeg/pumpkin pie spice/etc. that usually go into a pumpkin beer, I am guessing the pumpkin flavor will be a bit more apparent. I guess we will see....

I have also read a few recipes where people have baked the pumpkin puree prior to adding it to the mash. I would love to try a side-by-side and see what (if anything) that adds to the flavor.
 
I brewed a pumpkin ale for the second and probably last time last night- at least using pumpkin in the beer. I might do a spice only version next year and see how that goes. We did one last year using chunks of cooked sugar pumpkin in the mash. While the sparge was a bit slow, it still worked out okay.

Last year’s batch was a 5 gal. and it was done in my 10 gal Igloo mash tun with a false bottom.

This year, I used 11 lbs. of sugar pumpkin puree in a 22 lb. grain bill for a 10 gallon batch in my 70 qt. Igloo mash tun. Even with plenty of rice hulls added to the mash, the sparge was still a nightmare.

I use an electric RIMS system which usually gets 75 to 80% efficiency and pretty clear wort. This came out at 71% and lots of sludge in the wort.
 
This is a nice write-up, brulosopher.

This is a tough one, and there are probably 10 different ways to test this. I personally bake my canned pumpkin then add to the boil, rather than the mash. I added to the mash once before but I didn't like how it came out. Hard to say what kind of difference it can make.

I've always figured the canned pumpkin gives a touch of smoothness, but it's hard to say. The "pumpkin" flavor comes from the spices anyways.
 
Steeped 2 cans of organic(100%) pumpkin and added pumpkin spice 1 tbsp. in last 5 min boil to an amber ale. Turned out really nice.
 
I just used 8.5 lbs of roasted pie pumpkin (that's after the seeds and skins were removed) for a 5 gallon batch. Even with 1.5lb of rice hulls the sparse was awful and I just gave up recirculating since I didn't want to destroy my false bottom. I could feel the suction when I stuck a thermometer down into the mash. Turned out fine with a batch sparse though.

Last year I used about 6lbs and that worked out much better.

I like roasting the pumpkin halves open faced with brown sugar in the cavity, then dumping the liquid into a bowl and turning the halves upside down until done. Toss liquid into the boil near the end. Not sure if the brown sugar pumpkin liquid gold does anything but it sure tastes great before you add it to the kettle.
 
I buy 10lb of baking pumpkin from the local grocery store. Cut it in half, gut the seeds, sprinkle on some spices, then bake until soft. spoon out the insides and get about 5-6lb of pumpkin. Place in a muslin bag before adding to the mash. Never used rice hulls and never had any problems. The only thing i add to the boil is spices at flameout. Fantastic beer. Mine is 1 week in the primary right now...should be ready by halloween.
 
I buy 10lb of baking pumpkin from the local grocery store. Cut it in half, gut the seeds, sprinkle on some spices, then bake until soft. spoon out the insides and get about 5-6lb of pumpkin. Place in a muslin bag before adding to the mash. Never used rice hulls and never had any problems. The only thing i add to the boil is spices at flameout. Fantastic beer. Mine is 1 week in the primary right now...should be ready by halloween.

This is how I'm going to do it next time. I just roasted some canned pumpkin and tossed it in the mash. Worst sparge ever. I've made the recipe 3 times but only once with pumpkin. Using a Muslim bag sounds way easier. I just kinda like being able to tell people that yes, I did use real pumpkin.
 
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