Autumn Seasonal Beer Punkin' Ale

Williams 728
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If you can tell, see how old the extract you were using was. I have heard that old extract can contribute to "cidery" notes.
The spice blend as written should be very close to commercial versions like DFH Punkin. If it doesn't taste
Like that then I would start looking for what went wrong.
 
Brewskii said:
If you can tell, see how old the extract you were using was. I have heard that old extract can contribute to "cidery" notes.
The spice blend as written should be very close to commercial versions like DFH Punkin. If it doesn't taste
Like that then I would start looking for what went wrong.[/Q


I got the extract from Northern Brewer.It was also there brand I'm kind of at a lose.Thinking back to brew day everything went smooth.At bottling I tried a sample and it tasted awesome. The bottles were ran through my dishwasher, no soap, sanitize cycle high heat.
Hoping for the best here time will tell.
Click to expand...
 
Brewed this up last week. I made a few mistakes and as im still new to AG(this is attempt #2), i didnt quite reach the target OG. I hit 1.063 so i hope itll still drop down to 1.017 FG.

Also, i added 2 tbs of spice instead of 1.5 because it smelled delicious and i wanted more of that flavor to come out. I also didnt realize the pumpkin was supposed to be in the MASH and I added it to the boil. Any ideas how this might change things?

In any case, the color turned out gorgeous, it reminded me of UT's colors when i saw it in the carboy. It's been settling for almost a week now, so it's not so bright orange but still looks beautiful. Cant wait to taste. I plan on secondary this sunday and bottling a week after.

image-2632535113.jpg

This pic was right after I added yeast.



image-2696980226.jpg

Here it is 5 days later
 
So I'm tasting a not fully carbed pint of this right now. It was on gas for close to a week before my tank finally ran out, just refilled today and had to pull a pint.

Freakin delicious. Pumpkin pie juice around 6-7%. only bad thing is I only have a half keg!
 
Opened a bottle after three weeks and still tasting "hot" and spicey. I'm hoping it calms down with age. I had my fermentation freezer set at 68* with the probe taped to the bucket. I'm wondering if the fermentation temp inside the bucket was too hot.
 
Mine fermented 70ish, and after two weeks in the bottle its spot on. I added 2 tsp at the end of the boil, and an additional at bottling. I also added a cup of lactose and 1 oz. of vanilla at bottling too.
 
Hey thanks Reno. Kegged about a wk and 1/2 ago. One of the best pumpkins I've ever had. I added a lb of oats and used a 1/2 lb CaraPils along with a few other minor changes. Talk about head retention. Delicious.
 
I brewed this a few weeks ago and had a few questions, what went into the fermenter tasted just like a pumkin pie, but the first bottle I opened had little pumkin flavor not strong like on brew day and a hint of maple. Has anyone else noticed anything like that or could I have screwed something up? Its still very drinkable but not what I was expecting.
 
We brewed 20 gallons of this recipe today (better late than never, right?). Used 8 large cans of Libby's, which is 14.5 lbs. of pumpkin. Also, we used home toasted malt instead of Victory malt and used Cascade for the aroma hops instead of Hallertauer (only had 4 oz. left of Hallertauer and Cascade was the only low AA hop we had).

Even with the pumpkin in the mash, we opted to go without the rice hulls and our 120 qt Coleman Xtreme mash tun handled it like a champ. No stuck sparges at all and the color looked great. Held at 154F for the whole mash.

Our gravity was a little too high, around 1.074, probably because our high efficiency and the slight boost from the pumpkin (I'm guessing 2-4 points of gravity from the pumpkin when mashed).

We are fermenting these in 2 Sankes, so we decided to do a yeast experiment and do one fermenter with US-05 and the other with S-04. Pitched 4 packets in each but probably should have used 5 with the higher gravity. It started bubbling about 4 hours after pitching and 8 hours later, it's foaming over the airlock.

Thanks for sharing what will hopefully be a great beer Reno!
 
well i finally bottled this after i think 2-3 months in the primary... can't remember when i brewed this lol, forgot to take a hydro reading. but i think sitting on the pumpkin for so long messed with it. ah well, if all else fails i'll try it again!
t minus 2 weeks to testing!
 
We had our halloween party Saturday night and I had the pumpkin on tap as well as hard cider, pale ale and Rye IPA. The pumpkin keg was easily the most popular. Someone brought a mixed 12 pack of Saranac beer and it had their pumpkin in it. I normally love this pumpkin beer. We did a comparison tasting and everyone preferred the punkin ale. When I tried Saranacs after having this one I couldn't even tell it was a pumpkin beer, it had almost no flavor. My father is a coors drinker and I caught him drinking the pumpkin.
 
Currently got this mashing. Used real pumpkins, as canned pumpkin is not readily available here in Oz. Will be using #1332 Northwest Ale. Brewing this as a surprise contribution to an American friends annual Thanksgiving Party.

Thanks Reno for recipe and great thread.

:mug:
 
10 days in the bottle and cracked a couple testers to taste with my brewing buds. All like it better than commercial examples. Of corse it's not yet fully carbed- kinda like sparkling cider. Gonna give it 2 more weeks b4 I let anyone else drink it. It's a keeper!
 
Rivenin said:
well i finally bottled this after i think 2-3 months in the primary... can't remember when i brewed this lol, forgot to take a hydro reading. but i think sitting on the pumpkin for so long messed with it. ah well, if all else fails i'll try it again!
t minus 2 weeks to testing!
Click to expand...
I'm sure it'll turn out amazing. I feel like this is a brew that can benefit from a long primary.

nyer said:
We had our halloween party Saturday night and I had the pumpkin on tap as well as hard cider, pale ale and Rye IPA. The pumpkin keg was easily the most popular. Someone brought a mixed 12 pack of Saranac beer and it had their pumpkin in it. I normally love this pumpkin beer. We did a comparison tasting and everyone preferred the punkin ale. When I tried Saranacs after having this one I couldn't even tell it was a pumpkin beer, it had almost no flavor. My father is a coors drinker and I caught him drinking the pumpkin.
Click to expand...
Dude this is amazing. So many huge compliments! Thank you, thank you, thank you.

kenlock said:
Currently got this mashing. Used real pumpkins, as canned pumpkin is not readily available here in Oz. Will be using #1332 Northwest Ale. Brewing this as a surprise contribution to an American friends annual Thanksgiving Party.

Thanks Reno for recipe and great thread.

:mug:
Click to expand...
That's awesome :rockin: I'm sure your Yank friend will appreciate it :D

Brewskii said:
10 days in the bottle and cracked a couple testers to taste with my brewing buds. All like it better than commercial examples. Of corse it's not yet fully carbed- kinda like sparkling cider. Gonna give it 2 more weeks b4 I let anyone else drink it. It's a keeper!
Click to expand...
Nice to hear it's so good after only 10 days in bottles. And yeah, give it time. It only gets better with age :ban:
 
well i was impatient....
i haven't had a home brew in close to 6 months so i cracked one open on haloween. of course it was flat... but that smell i was getting from primary during bottling time is completely gone now... i think it was the CO2 messing with my nose.

can't wait for another few weeks! i think i'll wait till thanksgiving and crack another to test.
 
Ok, my turn,
I cut over to secondary last night and I hit fg of 1.016. I can't be happier. The trub/
 
Ugh got a call, anyhow the cake/trub even smelled like liquid pumpkin pie, I'm really looking forward to thanksgiving man, this will be the beer of choice, thanks once again buddy!
 
Kegged my version of this today (I use a handful of different malts and proportions, but I use Reno's brown sugar additions and hop schedule). Smells great, as always!
 
Bottled my version of this after 4 weeks in the primary. I added a pound of oatmeal and a box of nabisco graham crackers to the posted recipe. The pumpkin hits you in the nose with a little alcohol and it tastes pretty good right now but I think it will benefit from a little more aging.
 
Is anyone using the Partial mash ver of this recipe with any success? I see everyone is enjoying the full mash version :) I am looking for a new project but i have not upgraded my equipment enough to be able to do a full mash yet.

any thoughts or recommendations? has any one posted a brew schedule? I browsed through the thread but i may have missed it.
 
I brewed the partial mash in August. It turned out great. The only change to the recipe was adding a tblsp of vanilla to the secondary.
 
Brewed this a while back for a halloween party we had. I brought 4 kegs of beer, with the only full one being the Punkin'. Killed all 4 kegs, but the Punkin' actually went first. People loved it. I didn't think we had a shot at killing the thing in one night when I had some more crowd pleasers (Honey Blonde, SNPA Clone and Irish Red) but it was tremendous.

Definitely making it into my yearly rotation
 
bottling this tomorrow, and was wondering if anyone has made a spice tea to add...was thinking of putting 1g of pumpkin pie spice, along with a tbsp of vanilla extract, or soaking vanilla beans in water?
 
Medevac_Chief said:
bottling this tomorrow, and was wondering if anyone has made a spice tea to add...was thinking of putting 1g of pumpkin pie spice, along with a tbsp of vanilla extract, or soaking vanilla beans in water?
Click to expand...

Not a bad idea. Try soaking the spice and vanilla bean in vodka or bourbon for a week then add to your bottling bucket
 
Medevac_Chief said:
bottling this tomorrow, and was wondering if anyone has made a spice tea to add...was thinking of putting 1g of pumpkin pie spice, along with a tbsp of vanilla extract, or soaking vanilla beans in water?
Click to expand...

Did a Secondary on vanilla beans for this and it was great. Remember to split the beans and scrape out the seeds though or the impact will be minimal.
Like Reno says, a tincture is a good way to go especially for bottling to avoid any infections. A short soak in vodka will suffice for sterilization purposes but the flavor impact will increase with a lengthy soak.
 
HELP!!! i racked this onto another can of libby pumpkin in the primary. Decided to go with a 14day primary to hopefully be ready in time for thanksgiving. Hydrometer is broken, so no samples. Transfering to bottles today, and when I tasted it on the way into the bucket, it was really sour. WTH?!?! anyone else have this problem and if so did it mellow out? I really hope this batch isn't ruined....:confused:
 
^ I can't be much help as I mashed my pumpkin with the grains. Before I threw it out I would bottle it though and see how it ages. Sucks about the hydrometer.Has it dropped clear?


Reno_eNVy said:
Not a bad idea. Try soaking the spice and vanilla bean in vodka or bourbon for a week then add to your bottling bucket
Click to expand...

I always thought Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum would make a nice tincture with vanilla beans but I haven't tried it yet. I have two kegs ready to carb. I may just do this in one of them for a little taste test.
 
Medevac_Chief said:
HELP!!! i racked this onto another can of libby pumpkin in the primary. Decided to go with a 14day primary to hopefully be ready in time for thanksgiving. Hydrometer is broken, so no samples. Transfering to bottles today, and when I tasted it on the way into the bucket, it was really sour. WTH?!?! anyone else have this problem and if so did it mellow out? I really hope this batch isn't ruined....:confused:
Click to expand...

Meh i'm sure it isn't ruined. I have two theories:

1) It's only been 14 days. This is a high gravity, spiced beer with an adjunct so it will take longer to lose the "green beer" taste.

2) Did you cook (bake or boil) the can of pumpkin before racking on top of it? Because that could surely be a problem.
 
Reno, no I didnt cook the pumpkin that was racked on top of. hopefully with time this will mellow out to be a somewhat drinkable beer. all the reviews said it was amazing and thats why i chose it.
 
Medevac_Chief said:
Reno, no I didnt cook the pumpkin that was racked on top of. hopefully with time this will mellow out to be a somewhat drinkable beer. all the reviews said it was amazing and thats why i chose it.
Click to expand...

Well thank you for giving it a shot!

You may still have great beer yet. Just give it a full four weeks on the yeast cake so the yeasties can clean up and make the flavors meld and mellow
 
Reno,
I had a pumpkin porter that I brewed up with 2 cans of organic pumpkin. Just 100% pumpkin, not pie mix. It soured.

I'm pretty new to brewing, but my friend who is an accomplished brewer was helping, and I can say that everything was very clean and sanitized. I do not have any concerns about contamination. I bottled almost a month ago, and continue to sample. It's not changing. Maybe the canned pumpkin? Very sad, it smells wonderful, but is not drinkable.
 
RickBK said:
Reno,
I had a pumpkin porter that I brewed up with 2 cans of organic pumpkin. Just 100% pumpkin, not pie mix. It soured.

I'm pretty new to brewing, but my friend who is an accomplished brewer was helping, and I can say that everything was very clean and sanitized. I do not have any concerns about contamination. I bottled almost a month ago, and continue to sample. It's not changing. Maybe the canned pumpkin? Very sad, it smells wonderful, but is not drinkable.
Click to expand...

Could you please list your brewing process, including cleaning, sanitation, cooking, cooling and yeast... maybe something will explain the sour. It's usually due to a lapse of cleaning or sanitation.
 
I got this into bottles yesterday and ill keep y'all abreast of how it turned out. I primed with 5 oz of brown sugar and added a tad more pie spice to the bucket before putting into bottles(loved the smell wanted more to come through). My final gravity reading was 1.022 so i ended up a little light in the ABV percentage but hopefully will still go down well.
 
Still new to ag brewing but would appreciate any feedback as to how much spice was added and what kind that came out great. Not going for an over powering flavor but enough to taste. Also should it only be added to the secondary?
 
Well you really don't even need to use a secondary unless you are using gelatin.

But, as per the recipe, add 1.5 Tbsp mccormicks pumpkin pie spice with 5-10 minutes left in the boil.

If you want more spice up front then take another Tbsp and soak it in vodka for a week. Then strain the liquid out and add that at bottling or kegging time
 
So I've made this beer twice now. The first time just like the recipe said and it was very good, but a little too much spice, even after aging. The second time I made it I used only 1 tablespoon of the pumpkin pie spice and I used biscuit instead of victory and it turned out amazing. I think next time I make it I'll add at least half a pound of carapils though.
 
millaj92 said:
So I've made this beer twice now. The first time just like the recipe said and it was very good, but a little too much spice, even after aging. The second time I made it I used only 1 tablespoon of the pumpkin pie spice and I used biscuit instead of victory and it turned out amazing. I think next time I make it I'll add at least half a pound of carapils though.
Click to expand...

Try a lb of oats too. It will make the head retention and mouthfeel amazing.
 
How many oz of priming sugar has everyone been using for this?? I used 5 oz but doesn't seem to be carbonating. Unsure whether it is too little sugar or the temps of 55 to 60 in my garage are too low and preventing it.
 
That might be on the lower end. I bottle condition in my basement around 70° and never have had any problems. sometimes an xtra few weeks does it some good. How long has it been?
 

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