I have an idea; am I crazy?

So I brewed my P/M punkin beer this past weekend. Fermentation is winding down, and things are finally starting to settle. Even though I went heavy on the water and the sugars (because I anticipated losing alot of beer due to the pumpkin solids), I still am disappointed in how little finished product I'll really get, considering how much effort went into it. I mean, in a 6-gallon carboy, the bottom 5 inches are solids. That's alot of beer I won't have!

At the same time, the pumpkin aspect is a bit high, and I'd like to spice it more. I was planning on adding spice "tea" to the secondary vessel.

So, combining those two concerns, my plan is this: boil a gallon, maybe less, of water with a pound, or a little less, of light DME, the pumpkin pie spices I want to add, and maybe a small amount of hop pellets. Let it cool, and add it to the secondary---then rack the main batch on top of it. My thought is that this will better integrate the spices, and the remaining yeasts will ferment out the DME, giving me more beer without watering it down.

You guys have any thoughts on this plan? Is a pound of DME too much, or too little. By the way, here's the original recipe:

Bubs' Amber Punkinpie

A ProMash Recipe Report

BJCP Style and Style Guidelines
-------------------------------

10-B American Ale, American Amber Ale

Min OG: 1.045 Max OG: 1.060
Min IBU: 25 Max IBU: 48
Min Clr: 10 Max Clr: 17 Color in SRM, Lovibond

Recipe Specifics
----------------

Batch Size (Gal): 5.00 Wort Size (Gal): 5.00
Total Grain (Lbs): 12.23
Anticipated OG: 1.082 Plato: 19.67
Anticipated SRM: 11.1
Anticipated IBU: 49.2
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75 %
Wort Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Pre-Boil Amounts
----------------

Evaporation Rate: 15.00 Percent Per Hour
Pre-Boil Wort Size: 6.45 Gal
Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.063 SG 15.48 Plato

Formulas Used
-------------

Brewhouse Efficiency and Predicted Gravity based on Method #1, Potential Used.
Final Gravity Calculation Based on Points.
Hard Value of Sucrose applied. Value for recipe: 46.2100 ppppg
% Yield Type used in Gravity Prediction: Fine Grind Dry Basis.

Color Formula Used: Morey
Hop IBU Formula Used: Rager

Additional Utilization Used For Plug Hops: 2 %
Additional Utilization Used For Pellet Hops: 10 %


Grain/Extract/Sugar

% Amount Name Origin Potential SRM
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
24.5 3.00 lbs. Pale Malt(2-row) America 1.036 2
9.7 1.19 lbs. Crystal 10L America 1.035 10
49.0 6.00 lbs. Briess LME- Gold America 1.035 4
8.2 1.00 lbs. Generic DME - Light Generic 1.046 8
4.1 0.50 lbs. Brown Sugar Generic 1.046 4
4.1 0.50 lbs. Maple Syrup Generic 1.031 35
0.4 0.05 lbs. Black Patent Malt America 1.028 525

Potential represented as SG per pound per gallon.


Hops

Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.00 oz. Northern Brewer Pellet 6.50 30.4 90 min.
1.00 oz. Tettnanger Pellet 4.00 4.5 15 min.
0.50 oz. Cascade Pellet 5.75 2.0 2 min.
0.50 oz. Cascade Whole 5.75 12.2 90 min.


Extras

Amount Name Type Time
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
7.25 Oz Canned Pumpkin Fruit 90 Min.(boil)
0.50 Tbsp Cinnamon Spice 90 Min.(boil)
1.00 Tbsp Pumpkin Pie Spice Spice 90 Min.(boil)
0.25 Tsp Nutmeg Spice 90 Min.(boil)
1.00 Tbsp Pumpkin Pie Spice Spice 20 Min.(boil)
0.25 Tbsp Cinnamon Spice 2 Min.(boil)
1.00 Tbsp Pumpkin Pie Spice Spice 2 Min.(boil)
0.75 Tbsp Coriander Seed Spice 2 Min.(boil)
2.00 Tsp Irish Moss Fining 15 Min.(boil)


Yeast
-----

Danstar Nottingham


Notes
-----

Spread canned pumpkin on baking sheet(s), roast in 350° oven for 60 mins during mash

My recipe was very similar (a partial mash), and I, too, think the spice note is lacking. I'm surprised you have so much pumpkin trub with only 7.25 oz of pumpkin. I used 60 oz and don't have that much gunk in my fermenter.

Also like you, I used a more aggressive hop schedule than most pumpkin recipes here, and I'm finding with my 32 IBU (predicted) beer, that the hop flavors are overpowering the spice/pumpkin flavors.

I'm about to rack to the clearing tank, and I'm considering adding a bit of spice while racking. I'm just going to use about a cup of boiled water to make my "tea" that'll get mixed in during racking. Your idea with DME and spices might work out as well. The DME/water ratio ought to give you a 1.044 OG for the "tea," which seems reasonable. Sounds like a plan to me!

Uh, have you ever thought about brewing a Pumpkin beer without any pumpkin...just the spices?

Who's going to know the difference?

Yuri,

The units are apparently wrong in ProMash; I used 4 big cans of pumpkin, it should be 7.25 POUNDS. Sorry. Yeah, given the IBU's already, I might hold off on the hops.


homebrewer_99,

Actually, pumpkin gives it a distinct pumpkin-pie flavor that spices alone cannot ever achieve. I tasted some of the unfermented wort; it tasted just like pumpkin pie, and I'm not just talking about cinnamon/cloves/ginger/nutmeg medley. I'm talking about pumpkin! Delicious. Wouldn't be a punkinpie ale without the punkin.


So does anyone have any concerns about striking up a second fermentation in the secondary vessel by adding more DME? My main worry is that the yeasts wouldn't start back up, and I'd have to pitch again, which I do NOT wanna do. Is this realistic? Or should I just shut up and do it?

Evan! said:

So does anyone have any concerns about striking up a second fermentation in the secondary vessel by adding more DME? My main worry is that the yeasts wouldn't start back up, and I'd have to pitch again, which I do NOT wanna do. Is this realistic? Or should I just shut up and do it?

Click to expand...

Wow - 7.25 pounds is a ton! Makes more sense. You shouldn't have to worry about the yeast "starting up" - priming beer for carbonation before bottling/kegging is just like what you're suggesting on a smaller scale and in an enclosed environment. Go for it!

Sounds kinda like your going to krausen your beer (but without adding more yeast)...do it!

Thanks for the encouragement guys. As soon as primary is finished, I'll go for it.

Wow - is all I have to say after tasting my pumpkin ale today. I racked it to the clearing tank last night and added a spice "tea" - a cup of water boiled, then steeped a tablespoon of Pampered Chef's Cinnamon Plus blend (cinnamon, allspice, cloves, ginger, orange peel). I only used about a teaspoon of spices in the initial brew including a broken up cinnamon stick, a few cloves, some fresh nutmeg, and coriander. The added spices really brought out the pumpkin flavor, and it really tastes like the brew I was aiming for. Can hardly wait for it to condition!