Creating a Imperial Pumpkin Stout

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adamhimself

adamhimself

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So, I have a favorite beer which is essentially an Imperial Stout infused with pumpkins. I have mentioned it in a previous thread but got very little response. Well, some time has passed and I have learned quite a lot more so... I am seeking some help on this recipe as this is something I would like to know how to brew for Halloween and Thanksgiving. I'd like to brew it soon to see how it turns out, and so I could make any adjustments to the next batch I will have for Thanksgiving/Halloween. The beer this will be modeled after is called Divine Reserve #9 by Saint Arnold's Brewery out of Houston, TX.

Now, this is not a clone per se, but more or less a beer built in similar style. Basically, you are looking for an Imperial Stout with some chocolate flavors, pumpkin, and pumpkin pie spice. It is to be high gravity, let say around 1.095-1.099 (or higher).

One issue I am dealing with is getting the pumpkin flavor to come through. I am thinking roughly 75 ozs of Pumpkin can do which is about 5 cans @ 15 oz each. I want to make sure the pumpkin flavor comes through and I have heard it mellows over time. Also the spices, I am not exactly how much I should add to get them to come through on a stout beer. But I am considering doubling the amount most other recipes suggest.

Finally, what hops should I use? Right now its Columbus (tomahawk) and Warrior. I am just trying to think of some that go good with stouts and pumpkins...

Let me know if there are any grains or such I should add or take away. Also, if there are any I should have more or less of...

Code: 
BeerSmith Recipe Printout - www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Imperial Pumpkin Stout
Brewer: Adam C.
Asst Brewer: 
Style: Russian Imperial Stout
TYPE: Partial Mash
Taste: (42.0) 

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.00 gal      
Boil Size: 3.25 gal
Estimated OG: 1.097 SG
Estimated Color: 42.3 SRM
Estimated IBU: 59.0 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.0 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount        Item                                      Type         % or IBU      
8.00 lb       Light Dry Extract (8.0 SRM)               Dry Extract  59.3 %        
2.50 lb       Brewers Malt 2-Row (Briess) (1.8 SRM)     Grain        18.5 %        
1.00 lb       Caramunich Malt (56.0 SRM)                Grain        7.4 %         
1.00 lb       Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM)                Grain        7.4 %         
1.00 lb       Special B Malt (180.0 SRM)                Grain        7.4 %         
3.00 oz       Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00%]  (60 min)    Hops         59.0 IBU      
2.00 oz       Warrior [15.00%]  (1 min) (Aroma Hop-SteepHops          -            
1.00 tsp      Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 min)                Misc                       
1.00 oz       Pumpkin Pie Spice (Boil 5.0 min)          Misc                       
75.00 oz      Pumpkin Fruit (Boil 60.0 min)             Misc                       
1 Pkgs        Pacman (Wyeast) [Starter 1800 ml]         Yeast-Ale                  


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 5.50 lb
----------------------------
Name               Description                         Step Temp     Step Time     
Mash In            Add 6.88 qt of water at 165.9 F     154.0 F       60 min
 
I can't help with the pumpkin, but as for spices and hopping I maybe can give some insight. My brothers and I brewed a Christmas Ale this year. It was styled after an Old Ale, so not quite as big or bold as your planned beer (OG was 1.081, color = 15.2 SRM, IBUs = 43ish). We added 0.5 tsp of cinnamon, 0.5 tsp of nutmeg, and 0.25 tsp of ground ginger at the end of the boil (1 min). After fermentation we decided the spices were not enough so we steeped 1 tsp of cinnamon, 1 tsp of nutmeg, and 0.5 tsp of ground ginger in some vodka and then added that to the beer. We (and everyone who drank it) thought this was perfect. The spices were evident, but not overwhelming. So, for your stout, I would try something similar. Start with some added to the boil and then add more afterwards if needed.

For hopping, I would avoid any late additions. You'll want the spices and pumpkin to carry the flavor/aroma. Late hops might muddle things. We used Liberty and Chinook at 60 and 20 minutes (less than 0.5 ounces total at 20 minutes).

Since your beer will be bigger and roastier, you'll probably need to up everything a notch.

Hope this helps some. Good luck.
 
The problem with many pumpkin beers is that you don't get so much of the pumpkin flavor as you do of the spices that you add. In an imperial stout especially you're going to lose a lot of the pumpkin flavor under the heavy roastiness of the darker malts, not to mention the very high level of residual sugar. As you mention, you're going to need A LOT of pumpkin, and you still might be disappointed.

However, if you're looking for a good spice package to try, look at my pumpkin ale recipe under my recipe list. You just boil them for 2 minutes with some maple syrup in water and add them to your secondary. That way you lose at little of the aromatics as possible, while still sterilizing (mostly) the spices. Though as JLem mentioned, you probably would want to increase the quantities of everything by 50-100% to make sure the spices came through.

Also, I'd suggest dropping the special B and adding a half pound to a pound of roasted barley in it's place. You'll get a little more roastiness and less fruity flavor. The pumpking will take care of that. And, speaking of pumpkin, you really don't want to boil it. Again, see my pumpkin ale recipe for a good way of basically partial-mashing/steeping the pumpkin to get full flavor and sugars out of it. Boiling it will set the pectin and give you a hazy beer. Not that you could really tell at 40+ SRM, but still. It's the principle of the thing, right? ;)

Just my $0.02 (not that you're in any way obligated to listen! :eek: )

By the by, this has inspired me to look into finally brewing my imperial pumpkin ale...If I do it now, it just might be ready for Halloween...Here's hoping!
 
So, taking from what you two said...

add the warrior late in the boil, let say 20 or 15 mins?

And add more spice to secondary if needed. So, what I could do is double up on the spices late in the boil and when I rack to secondary I could do a taste test and see how the spices are... and based on that I could up em if I needed to?

Also, upping the pumpkin to 90 oz or 6 cans?

What size brew pot do I need for something this major?
 
That all depends on your mash efficiency. If you get a high efficiency, you'll only need a 7.5 gallon pot. My system is a 10 gallon rubbermaid mash/lauter tun with a SS braid and a 7.5 gallon turkey fryer pot. I can brew a full 5-gallon batch with this no problem. If I wanted to do a ten-gallon batch, I'd need more space in the boil kettle and would probably start thinking about going for a keggle or boilermaker.

Now, if you get a low efficiency and have to collect more wort to boil some off to get your desired O.G. then you're going to need a bigger pot. Possibly up to a ten gallon. But...

Oh, wait. You're doing this as extract with steeping grains. Whoops! :eek:

7.5 gallon pot is fine for you. Steep your pumpkin and grains together for an hour or so at about 150F, squeeze the juices out of the pumpkin (steep it in a poly straining bag), then bring up to a boil and add your extract, hops, etc. as normal.

Once you've boiled, and after you've cooled, you may want to add some pectic enzyme and let it sit for a couple hours before pitching. That way, the set pectins from boiling the pumpkin juices will get broken down so you don't have a chill haze. But like I said earlier, with 40+ SRM, haze is really the least of your worries... :D
 
I am doing this as a partial mash... I intended to mash @ about 154 for 60 minutes and then sparge with about 2 gallons of water making close to 3.25 gallons for my boil.

So, how does that change things? I think I only have a 5 gallon kettle, so that will probably change things.

I am not looking to do a full boil.

Also, im not too worried about the haze.
 
With the partial mash, you're going to have issues with all that pumpkin. I suppose you could mash the grains and then steep the pumpkin????? Or maybe just add the pumpkin to the fermenter and/or secondary???? Kind of like if you were adding cherries or some other fruit.

As an aside, if you can find it (probably not this time of year), give Cape Ann Brewing Company's Fisherman's Pumpkin Stout a try. It's quite good.
 
Yeah, I wasn't going to include the pumpkins in the mash. I was going to include them in the 60 min boil because that appears to be what other recipes have called for...
 
The divine #9 had both brown sugar and molasses in it. I took the black patent down to .25, kicked the 2row down to 2 and added .5 molasses and 1 of brown sugar.

Thoughts?
 
adamhimself said:
Yeah, I wasn't going to include the pumpkins in the mash. I was going to include them in the 60 min boil because that appears to be what other recipes have called for...
Click to expand...

I'm not sure I would want to put the pumpkin in the boil - I think this would kill a lot of the pumpkin flavor and aroma. But if that is your only option at this point, you might as well go for it.

Just realized too after looking more closely at your recipe, that I think you need to add a good portion of roasted barley and/or black patent. As it is formulated right now I would say you have yourself a nice Pumpkin PORTER. You need some roastiness to make it a stout. You might consider finding a solid Imperial Stout recipe and then tweak it for your version (here's a link to Jamil Z.'s Russian Imperial Stout for starters - your base isn't actually that far off his).

I like the idea too of adding some other sugars (brown sugar and/or molasses) to a beer this big. It will help dry it out.
 

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