My Recipe of Pumpkin Ale - Need feedback

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pmzjr69

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Hi and thanks for any feedback,

I was planning on to make my own recipe of pumpkin ale as BIAB.

8 lbs Fresh Pumpkin
8 lbs 2-Row
2 lbs Light Brown Sugar
1 lbs Honey
1 oz Mt Hood pellet hop
1.5 Tbs McCormick's Pumpkin Pie Spice
1 Pkg of American Ale as Starter for three days.

Bake cut pumpkin into management sizes in baking pan in oven at 350 degree for an hour and let it cooled off. Mash cooled pumpkin and 2 row at 155 degree with 3.5 gallons of water for an hour. Remove and drain, wash with one gallon of 155 degree water, squeeze the bag to get most water out.

add 2 gallons of 155 degree water, brown sugar, honey and hop. Boil for an hour. at 5 minutes add spices. cool down to 70 degree to add yeast starter and ferment for a week in primary using blow off system, transfer to secondary for two weeks. Bottle with 1/2 priming sugar. drink after three weeks.

Let me know if this would work. My Brewmate program couldn't do with pumpkin as ingredient.
 
There are 2 things I am thinking about. One the final color may be light and two the mouthfeel might be thin. That sugar will dry it out some, get some unfermentable sugars in there. I think maybe some cara or crystal malts might fix both of those. No idea as to the contributions of the pumpkin, I'm sure you are getting something just not sure how much.
 
If you are concerned with body remove the brown sugar and add a much smaller amount of molasses. American brown sugar is just white sugar sprayed with molasses.
 
I think there is too much brown sugar and honey. This will leave you with a thin, dry final beer, and may even give you some cidery flavors with the above quantities. I would cut the brown sugar to 1lb max and would eliminate the honey completely. Add in some crystal malt - maybe 1 lb 40L and 0.25lb 120L - to get more flavor and color. I like a little biscuit malt in a pumpkin beer too. The pumpkin addition is large (which is fine) but may not add as much flavor as you'd think. I find the flavor and fermentability of pumpkin to be very low. Your hops and yeast and spice additions look pretty solid.
 
I agree with cutting out brown sugar and honey as well...it will thin it out way too much. I second the use of biscuit malt and if your looking for the honey flavor...look at honey malt.
 
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