Pumpkin beers: Discussion, developing recipes, tips tricks, and a good practices

I'm interested in how well the decoction mash will work with the pumpkin, please post your results, I have been learnig a bit more about the decoction process, and along with the pumpkin the results will be intriguing.

masonsjax said:

I was planning a 5 gal batch of simple American Amber Ale for this Sunday, but this thread has convinced me to try a pumpkin ale. Here's the changes I was thinking:
- A single hops addition to about 20 IBU
- Bake some canned pumpkin and add it to the mash
- Boil (a sliver of) Ginger, and Cinnamon, Cloves, Allspice, Nutmeg

I've read a ton of recipes and they all call for different amounts of pumpkin (7.5oz - 4lbs), and spices, and added at different times. I'm thinking the less pumpkin the better, but I would like to taste it. I guess I'll try (1) 15oz can and see how that works. With the spices, would dry hopping with them be too much? I'll probably go with the recommended amounts in Yuri's recipe, with the adjustments that jacksonbrown suggested.

Here's what I've come up with, please let me know what you think.

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That all looks great to me. The only flag that was sent up for me was the ginger. I use way less than that, but who knows???

I think others have said dry hopping the spices takes a really long time for them to meld with the beer and generally isn't a good thing. I have no experience with it however.

Boerderij_Kabouter said:

I think others have said dry hopping the spices takes a really long time for them to meld with the beer and generally isn't a good thing. I have no experience with it however.

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That's a good point. I think I'm going to take the whole of my spices and perhaps add 2/3rds of it to the boil for a minute, ferment, and then either secondary or bottle with the remaining 1/3rd, to taste, if necessary. Strictly going without any real pumpkin addition here. Maybe that's a mistake?

I'm looking to start a pumpkin beer this weekend and I was looking for some opinions. My main question is what will be a suitable base beer? I am torn between a brown ale, pale ale, and amber/red. Any thoughts or experiences? I am hoping for a beer with a nice head, mouth, and of course great pumpkin pie taste. Any thoughts will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance

Any of those styles will provide a suitable base beer. Personal preference prevails.

Boerderij_Kabouter said:

That all looks great to me. The only flag that was sent up for me was the ginger. I use way less than that, but who knows???

I think others have said dry hopping the spices takes a really long time for them to meld with the beer and generally isn't a good thing. I have no experience with it however.

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Ginger is easy to overdo. I'll cut way back on that, if I even use any. Thanks for the feedback. I will be doing this on Sunday and will post here on how it works out.

OK, so I think I have created my recipe... As I am still a new at brewing I will not be going AG. my ingredients are as follows:

6 lbs Amber extract
1 lb. Crystal Malt 60
1/2 lb of Toasted Malted Barley
1 oz Fuggles or Kent Goldings
English Ale Yeast or Wyeast #1084
30-60 oz of canned pumpkin

I am thinking of boiling the pumpkin in 1 gallon of water for 30mins, straining the water to another gallon of water and then steeping the grains for 30mins @155. Then adding the Extract and hops at boil for 60mins. Or should I steep the grains for 30mins add the extract and hops for 60min boil and in the last half hour add the pumpkin?

When I rack to secondary, I will add .5oz of nutmeg, all spice, pumpkin pie spice and 2 sticks of cinnamon.

Any thoughts would be appreciated... I am unsure on the yeast and hops.

I'm also unsure on the proper amount of pumpkin...

I don't really know very much about extract brewing...

My only suggestions are to bake the pumpkin first to brown it, and I would suggest maybe throwing some 6-row malted barely in the steeping grains and put the pumpkin in the steeping grains as well. Basically that will make it a mini mash and you will hopefully convert some of the pumpkin's starches to sugars to make it more usable and beer friendly.

Hopefully some others will jump in with more extract experience.

I'm glad someone posted this thread. I was mulling a pumpkin beer last week. This is probably going to happen this weekend.

I have my first pumpkin ale in primary right now but i think i can still give a few pointers.

You dont really taste or smell the pumpkin so i would advise that you mash with the pumpkin instead of boiling it. All you really get from it is a great dark orange color and a bit of body in the beer. I added 6 pounds of baked canned pumpkin continuously throughout a 90 minute boil while adding spices at 90 20 and 2 minutes and hops at 90 and 60. All was well until the end when i realized how my wort had become thick pumpkin soup and that there is NO WAY to filter out all the substance that my friends aptly named "poop sauce". I expect a tremendous trub at the bottom of primary and secondary... and quite possibly tertiary.

Next time ill mash or completely ditch the pumpkin as i was advised to do in the first place :/

If am not doing AG how do I mash the pumpkin? Would I just place the pumpkin in a grain bag and steep it in the wort?

absolutbmc said:

If am not doing AG how do I mash the pumpkin? Would I just place the pumpkin in a grain bag and steep it in the wort?

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Exactly, do the same thing you are now, but add the pumpkin and some 6-row malted barely (maybe 1/2#) to the mix (for conversion power). You can still add some of the pumpkin to the boil if you want but I think the general consensus is you get more benefit by mashing the pumpkin.

Should I not use canned pumpkin? I know canned Pumpkin is basically mashed up I could see that straining through the grain bag

Per the above post. This is how I'm planning to do my Pumpkin Porter.

If you do a partial mash in the first step you put the baked pumpkin along with some 6 row malt you will be able to convert some of the sugars in the pumpkin along with the color, aroma & taste.

Also note as in cooking I prefer to use fresh spices whenever available, but in this case you will want to be careful not to overwhelm your beer (especially with fresh nutmeg).

A great resource for doing your first partial mash is John Palmer's Howtobrew.com or there is a great sticky thread in the beginner brewing section called Easy Partial Mash Brewing

My recipe (adapted from Palmer's Porter recipe)
6 lbs. of Pale Malt Extract (syrup)
1/2 lb. of Chocolate Malt
1/2 lb. of Crystal 60L Malt
1/4 lb. of Black Patent Malt
30 oz of Baked Canned Pumpkin
1/2 lb of 6 Row Malt

1 oz of Nugget (10%) at 60 minutes
1 oz of Willamette (5%) at 20 minutes
Pumpkin Spices (1/4 tsp of nutmeg, cinnamon & all-spice) at 5 minutes

Nottingham English Ale yeast (washed from a batch of English Bitter)

K2brew -

Thanks for the link, the partial mash sounds pretty easy and not much different than what I currently do.

Should I mash the pumpkin with 6 Row and then steep the remain grains? Or should I do it all at once?

What kind of canned pumpkin are you using? Libbys?

Just do it all at once. I used Libby's my first time and was happy with it. That's what I'll use again.

I brewed this kit last year and after a few months of aging everyone that tasted it, loved it.

Pumpkin Ale w/ 6 gm Munton's dry yeast :: Midwest Supplies Homebrewing and Winemaking Supplies

Of course this year i'm brewing AG so I don't know if i'm going to do it or not.

Thanks for all the help... Sorry for all the questions... I just want to make sure I have the procedures right..

absolutbmc said:

Thanks for all the help... Sorry for all the questions... I just want to make sure I have the procedures right..

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That is why I started this thread! Happy brewing!

absolutbmc said:

I'm looking to start a pumpkin beer this weekend and I was looking for some opinions. My main question is what will be a suitable base beer? I am torn between a brown ale, pale ale, and amber/red. Any thoughts or experiences? I am hoping for a beer with a nice head, mouth, and of course great pumpkin pie taste. Any thoughts will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance

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Like I said, a Scottish Ale works very well. If I was to do another one, I'd probably use Jamil's recipe and mash with 2-3 cans of pumpkin.

You can do it all at once if you have room in the grain bag or you can use two bags or two steps. I would combine them to save yourself time.

You are right that the partial mash is pretty easy and to re-iterate, will give the maximum benefit from your other ingredients as you are using the 6-row (because it has a higher diastolic power which will convert your adjunct - pumpkin into fermentable sugar).

The specialty grains that you normally use with an extract brew don't need to be mashed because the kilning process has already done this step for you, but there is no reason (that I know of) that this would hurt them.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out!

Regarding the pumpkin.

I was just going to stop at the local store and get whatever is cheapest in the natural section.

I'll let you know after this weekend's trip to the store

jcdillin said:

I brewed this kit last year and after a few months of aging everyone that tasted it, loved it.

Pumpkin Ale w/ 6 gm Munton's dry yeast :: Midwest Supplies Homebrewing and Winemaking Supplies

Of course this year i'm brewing AG so I don't know if i'm going to do it or not.

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As for aging this beer is it better to do it at room temperature or in the fridge. I currently bottle so after I wait the two weeks for it to carb should I just let it sit for a couple more weeks then chill and enjoy?

Alright, count me in! I'm doing a 2.5 gal batch of something similar to the Southern Tier Pumking ale, second batch so be easy on me!! I know it's just as easy to do a 5 but I'm doing 2 2.5's instead (Creme Brulee Stout clone for second) just to work on technique and I don't really want 5 gal's of either of these around, not really my prefered beers. Go easy on me but here's a rough plan of what I'm going to attempt on the 23rd. Pumpkin will be in the mash after roasting for 1 hr, just got beersmith still learning how to post recipes from that into here and add notes etc. Any feedack is appreciated. I think the grain bill is pretty solid but I'm way lost on the spices!!! Also, should I add the brown sugar to the mash or the boil, if I add to the boil I won't have an accurate pre-boil OG. Thought about doing half the spices in the boil and the other half in the secondary. Suggestions and comments appreciated!!

Southern Tier Pumking Clone
Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer


Type: All Grain
Date: 8/23/2009
Batch Size: 2.50 gal
Brewer: EuBrew
Boil Size: 3.49 gal Asst Brewer: Erica
Boil Time: 60 min Equipment: Brew Pot (7.5 gal) and Cooler (48 qt)
Taste Rating(out of 50): 35.0 Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00
Taste Notes:

Ingredients

Amount Item Type % or IBU
2 lbs Fruit - Pumpkin Caned (0.0 SRM) Adjunct 17.02 %
1 lbs Rice Hulls (0.0 SRM) Adjunct 8.51 %
7 lbs 8.0 oz Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 63.83 %
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM) Grain 4.26 %
4.0 oz Victory Malt (25.0 SRM) Grain 2.13 %
0.25 oz Magnum [14.00 %] (60 min) Hops 17.3 IBU
0.50 oz Sterling [7.50 %] (10 min) Hops 6.7 IBU
0.13 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
0.50 tsp Allspice (Boil 5.0 min) Misc
0.50 tsp Clove (Boil 5.0 min) Misc
0.50 tsp Vanilla Extract (Bottling 5.0 min) Misc
0.75 tsp Nutmeg Ground (Boil 5.0 min) Misc
1.25 tsp Ground Cinnamon (Boil 5.0 min) Misc
8.0 oz Brown Sugar, Dark (50.0 SRM) Sugar 4.26 %
1 Pkgs English Ale (White Labs #WLP002) Yeast-Ale



Beer Profile

Est Original Gravity: 1.101 SG
Measured Original Gravity: 1.010 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.032 SG Measured Final Gravity: 1.005 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 9.14 % Actual Alcohol by Vol: 0.65 %
Bitterness: 24.0 IBU Calories: 43 cal/pint
Est Color: 12.6 SRM Color: Color


Mash Profile

Mash Name: Single Infusion, Full Body, Batch Sparge Total Grain Weight: 11.25 lb
Sparge Water: 1.57 gal Grain Temperature: 72.0 F
Sparge Temperature: 168.0 F TunTemperature: 72.0 F
Adjust Temp for Equipment: TRUE Mash PH: 5.4 PH

Single Infusion, Full Body, Batch Sparge Step Time Name Description Step Temp
60 min Mash In Add 14.06 qt of water at 167.0 F 152.0 F

EuBrew, I think the pumpkin is about to go through enough, what with the roast and mash and boil and all. No need to cane it as well!

bummer. I am not brewing this weekend Mine will have to wait.

KingBrianI said:

EuBrew, I think the pumpkin is about to go through enough, what with the roast and mash and boil and all. No need to cane it as well!

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Sorry if I "misremembered" what I wrote, I'll take a look and edit if necessary but I am not boiling, just roasting and adding to mash. Want to avoid all the trub by adding to mash instead of boil.

EuBrew said:

Sorry if I "misremembered" what I wrote, I'll take a look and edit if necessary but I am not boiling, just roasting and adding to mash. Want to avoid all the trub by adding to mash instead of boil.

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I was just playing with you. You had "caned pumpkin" in your recipe instead of "canned". Bad joke.

what is the benefit of baking the canned pumpkin??? How long should it be baked? 30mins at 350?

Boerderij_Kabouter said:

bummer. I am not brewing this weekend Mine will have to wait.

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Thats a bummer

absolutbmc said:

what is the benefit of baking the canned pumpkin??? How long should it be baked? 30mins at 350?

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A lot of things I've read when researching this suggest roasting at 350 for an hour to get some carmalization going but I'm a newb so don't trust me, that's why i posted here in case someone that actually knows what they are doing thinks I'm way off base.

Eubrew, I think that looks pretty good and I am with you on trying to keep the trub down by mashing and not boiling.

My only thought regarding spices is that it's better to have subtle notes then a bombshell of spice. Granted this is personal opinion of SWMBO, I mean my opinion. I think that this usually makes it more accessible for other drinkers as well. However, I tend to take the approach of brew a batch taste, modify on next batch (this is my first pumpkin so I'm going a little light on the spice).

Is that a boxer?

My understanding is that you bake the pumpkin to get some carmalization of the sugars.

k2brew said:

Eubrew, I think that looks pretty good and I am with you on trying to keep the trub down by mashing and not boiling.

My only thought regarding spices is that it's better to have subtle notes then a bombshell of spice. Granted this is personal opinion of SWMBO, I mean my opinion. I think that this usually makes it more accessible for other drinkers as well. However, I tend to take the approach of brew a batch taste, modify on next batch (this is my first pumpkin so I'm going a little light on the spice).

Is that a boxer?

My understanding is that you bake the pumpkin to get some carmalization of the sugars.

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I looked at as many recipes as I could stand and scaled the average for a 5 back to 2.5 but you're right, rather not have it kick me in the junk errrr nose....

I think I'll do half in the boil and add the other half in secondary as a tea if it needs more oomph.

Yeah, he's a boxer. My little 70lb tard thinks he weighs 7 lbs!!

From the first post - from the Lakefront brewery
"For a five gallon batch, this equals only .016 pounds of pumpkin pie spice, .011 pounds of cinnamon, and .003 pounds of nutmeg.) Obviously, the spices you add are very limited in quantity."

From the New Holland Brewery (Note: I love their Pumpkin Ale)

As they are doing a lightly hopped beer "More important are the spices. We use ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. I recommend spicing with 30 or less minutes left in the boil. Add it before this and you’ll boil away flavor and, most importantly, aroma."

I have a 65lb 1 year old Flashy Fawn who is a very pathetic lap dog. He is also kind of a jerk who has recently started talking back at us... Brewing has gotten in the way of training.

My .02

I brewed my first pumpkin ale about three months ago, and I am planning on bottling it tonight. Granted, it may taste like garbage, so I can only contribute to the process. However, I can tell you that my brew day went very smooth, and the color and clarity are very good after sitting in the carboy for 3 weeks. I have the recipe at home, but it was basically Jamil's pumpkin spice beer scaled to 6%ABV for my system. The recipe measured the color at 11 SRM.

The pumpkin.
First, I skipped the pumpkin in the mash. I was at Smuttynose in NH earlier this year and I asked them about their pumpkin beer. It is one of my favorite examples of the style. They said they just bake the canned pumpkin for 1 hour and add it to the boil. I followed their advice. Simply, pumpkin has no flavor and very little smell. If anything, it just smells and tastes like squash. I wanted a beer that tasted like pumpkin pie, not a beer that tastes like zucchini. Please note, I was not under the dilusion that baking would somehow convert the pumpkin either. The grain bill provided all the fermentables I needed. Why did I add pumpkin at all? I just do not think it can be called a pumpkin beer if there was no pumpkin in the recipe. Shipyard uses no pumpkin in their Pumpkinhead. In fact, it is just a spice extract. That really pissed me off. I used one 15 oz can for a 5g batch, just so I could look at myself in the mirror the next day. In fact, I gave the baking dish a couple shakes of pumpkin pie spice when it was in the oven. I thought Thanksgiving came early.

The spice.
I used 1/2 tsp of "pumpkin pie spice" at 1 minute. I agree that you get more aroma at flame out, but I wanted the boil to kick things around a bit. I thought about doing a type of dry-spice addition in the fermenter, but since this is my first attempt, I wanted to stick with less-is-more. I think it is important to remember when you formulate a recipe; make a good beer first, and then spice it. Too many people are putting the pumpkin and spice issues first, and the grain and hop bill second. The resulting threads are all about stuck/failed sparges and over-spiced beer. My goal is a nice amber beer that you drink and think to yourself, "This is a good beer, and it tastes a little like pumpkin pie".

Finally- it has been said before, but you will have a ton of junk in the bottom of your fermenter after 3 weeks. I will probably come up just short of two cases of bottled beer, so plan accordingly.

Boerderij_Kabouter, I would definitely be up for a Pumpkin Swap if there are people interested.

jfowler1, ie devil's advocate, your post very accurately reflects my brewing philosophy. Make a sure you have a good beer and then tinker with it. Regarding your junk... which I have heard is ugly and smells like squash... this is why I'm going to do a partial mash and not put the pumpkin in the boil (fingers crossed) hopefully this will keep the trub to a reasonable level.

General thought; after rereading some of the earlier posts I'm not convinced that baking the canned pumpkin is necessary (although I will probably still do it) it only seems really necessary when you are using fresh pumpkin.

I did not bake my pumpkin on my first attempt. I will this year because it is an easy step and I don't think it can hurt.

If you were to bake pumpkin puree, mixing it up periodically, until it was mostly dried out, could that prevent it from sticking up the sparge, or do you think it would just turn back into goop as soon as strike water hits it?

PS. An experienced brewer friend suggested that if you plan to add vanilla extract, you should wait until after the boil and add it once chilled to between 170-180F or cooler, otherwise it will mostly cook away.

I too am wanting to brew me up some pumpkin ale. I absolutely love Buffalo Bills version and would be tickled s#@tles if anything I produced was close.
My question is, Does anybody think that a Belgian Blonde wound be a terrible base and then come up with a spice note?
What made me think that was the biscuit note of Fat Tire.
Well, what do you all think?