Austin Homebrew Supply Pumpkin Ale?

I have had great Luck with austin homebrew supply (thanks Forrest) i have never tried there Pumpkin Ale anyone have any input
Thanks Lenny

I've got mine in primary now, and earlier hydrometer samples are yielding a winner!

It's been sitting in primary for about 3 weeks, then it'll off to the keg for some more aging. I plan on breaking it out for the SWMBO's birthday at the end of September.

I've made it, it was excellent. All my dopey bmc friends thought it was the best beer they had ever tasted.

I bought the extract version and am thinking of brewing it tonight. did anyone who did brew it add pumpkin, either canned or cut up chunks? The instructions state the addition of actual pumpkin is optional.

earlytimes said:

I bought the extract version and am thinking of brewing it tonight. did anyone who did brew it add pumpkin, either canned or cut up chunks? The instructions state the addition of actual pumpkin is optional.

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I used canned pumpkin, but be prepared to lose a lot of beer if you do. I think I lost nearly a gallon.

i am going to get the Extract version, why do you lose beer if you use can pumpkin?
Lenny

why do you lose beer if you use can pumpkin?

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Trub loss.

Filter said:

i am going to get the Extract version, why do you lose beer if you use can pumpkin?
Lenny

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Because you put it in the boil, where it appears to evaporate and mix in with the wort, then once in the fermenter magically reappears as 4 to 6 inches of trub.
I think it is worth it because it gives a great flavor. I think I used 4 15oz. cans, mabey you could get away with using 2.

If you're doing all grain, you can mash the pumpkin.

i am doing extract have not yet upgraded to all-grain yet
Lenny

The guy at my homebrew store told me to bake the canned pumpkin spread out on foil on a cookie sheet until carmalized. Then steep it in a seperate grain bag same time as the specialty grains and alot will stay in the bag and you wont have all the loss, it's on deck but haven't tried it yet. Ken

Filter said:

i am doing extract have not yet upgraded to all-grain yet
Lenny

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Just boil a few cans in and don't worry about the loss, how else is it going to be a "pumpkin" ale?? Just make sure to get 100% pure pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling. I believe I bought Libby's brand.

I may have to make this again, this time with the canned pumpkin. The flavor of the non-pumpkin batch currently sitting in primary after about 3-4 weeks is tasting lovely, and I'd be curious to do a side-by-side comparison to see how strongly the pumpkin comes through with pumpkin in the mash.

thanks guys i got mine to day and will be brewing on Saturday
Lenny

If Fay plays nice, I'll be brewing it this weekend. I have three cans of pumpkin ready to add to the mini-mash, but I haven't decided yet if I want to caramelize them first or not. I may bake one can and add the other two plain. Hopefully the mess won't plug up my 2-gal cooler.

i cant mini mash and i am not sure if i am going to caramelize or not also, but i bet it will be good anyway
Lenny

Filter said:

i cant mini mash and i am not sure if i am going to caramelize or not also, but i bet it will be good anyway
Lenny

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Mini-mashing, at its most basic, doesn't require any additional equipment beyond what is used for steeping grains. In fact, the procedure is virtually identical, except that the temperature is more tightly controlled:

Pair the pumpkin with a pound or two of 2-row malt (and any specialty grains that may come with the kit) and let them sit in some water in the brew kettle around 150-155 degrees for 45 minutes. Stir occasionally, and add some cold/hot water if the temperature starts to deviate from the target range. Rinse the grains with some 170-degree water, take them, out, and you'll be left with sweet wort.

If you haven't ordered yet, go ahead and order the mini-mash version of the kit if you want to try it. Their instructions are very simple. I don't know if they have you mash the pumpkin, but I'd definitely try that since pumpkin is mostly made up of starch.

If you have already ordered an extract-only kit, I'd follow AHS's instructions and try mini-mashing another time, unless you are comfortable with adjusting their recipe to account for the extra sugar you are producing by mashing additional grains and the pumpkin.

Edit: This thread gives a good overview of one easy mini-mashing method.

this is in the brew pot rightt now. bout to cool the wort in about 20 minutes. i hope this is a good one!

i used the canned pumpkin btw

It's about time for my annual pumpkin ale (3rd edition). I was going to use actual pumpkins, but I can't find any baking ones, so I'm just going to put canned pumpkin in the boil again this year.

If I do the partial mash, is there a flavor difference in adding the pumpkin to the partial mash or the boil? I would think the flavor from the same amount of canned pumpkin would be stronger in the boil. Am I wrong?

I was thinking about picking AHS's pumpkin ale up to brew this weekend... but I've never even tried pumpkin ale so I'm going to do that first. Does anyone know of a particular brand that tastes similar to AHS's recipe?

i just ordered this the other day, so i'm really looking forward to it. i also found pie pumpkins, so i'm going to attempt this with real pumpkins. i picked up two of them, so they total up to 4 lbs. i'm also going to try and add some spices to them (allspice, cinnamon, and maybe nutmeg) before i bake them to get them soft. man i can't wait!!

carnevoodoo said:

If you're doing all grain, you can mash the pumpkin.

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You can but you're going to need a lot of rice hauls to get the MLT to drain.
I think Yuri said that his was just barely a trickle when draining.

I'm going to buy this at the end of October and let it age untill next year's fall.

i have mine in the keg now, and mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
awsome, one week in primary, 2 weeks secondary and in the keg for a week for carb and a little age
it might not make October:rockin:
Lenny