Critique my Pumpkin Ale Recipe...

Tis the season to be brewing up some nice fall themed beer! I'm going to be trying my first Pumpkin Ale this week (probably Tuesday since I don't have enough dry malt extract to get my yeast starter going tonight). Anyway, I wanted some input from you guys who have made pumpkin beers before about my recipe. Please let me know what you think!

6 Gallon Batch, ~80% efficiency
Grain
10.2 lbs 2-Row
1 lbs Crystal 60L
0.5 lbs Special Roast
1 lbs Brown Sugar (in the boil at 60 mins)

Hops
1 oz Northern Brewer 60 mins
1 oz Fuggles 15 mins

Special Ingredients
1 tbs of Pumpkin Pie Spice at 5 mins and another 0.5 tbs of Pumpkin Pie Spice at 0 mins
2 8 oz Cans of Organic Pure Pumpkin Puree in the Mash Tun with 0.5 lbs of Rice Hulls

Yeast WLP002 English Ale

I collected 7.5 gallons of wort for a Pre-boil gravity of 1.052 and ended up with 6.25 gallons after the boil with a gravity of 1.059
I think next time a 75 min boil would be helpful to hit my target gravity a little closer

is special roast the same thing as special b? if so, that sounds like a bit much, but otherwise looks solid

I would cut back on your late addition hops some and the special roast.Maybe add up to a tblsp of spice @30 min.

I don't think it's the same as Special B because Special Roast is only 50L and Special B is typically 140L or so.
Thanks!

jonmohno said:

I would cut back on your late addition hops some and the special roast.Maybe add up to a tblsp of spice @30 min.

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So maybe use only 0.75lbs of Special Roast and maybe only 0.5-0.75 oz of the 2 late hops?

I didn't really look at the hop schedule. with the new information that for me about special roast, i'd keep it the same. I would however take out the 5 minute addition entirely

Maybe .5 special roast, you do know its commonly in nut browns,porters probably stouts also?Personally i would try special b its used in abbey ales which seems more fitting. It is a carmel malt so you would use less 60, really i would use some of both. Unless you are going for a brown type pumpkin with the special roast in that case it seems like it would be lacking something.
I wouldnt go by the color special roast is going to give you a lot roastedness although special b isnt probably used in very big amounts either.

Would I be better off just using Amber instead of the Special Roast or adding some of both? I'm really looking for a dark orange color and lots of caramel flavor/aroma to compliment the brown sugar and spices.

I think you're grain bill will be fine where it is for all of that. maybe half a pound of crystal 80 might be good if you want to add a little something else

I always use 4 15oz cans of organic pumpkin puree and then roast for an hour in the oven at 350 degrees. Use 1 lb of rice hulls and never had a stuck sparge. With that being said the pumpkin I could take it or leave it. Ive brewed the same beer with and without the pumpkin. No noticable difference other than color. The Spice mix is what could make or break the beer. Commerical Spice mixes have a lot of ginger so beware.

Hopsaholic said:

I always use 4 15oz cans of organic pumpkin puree and then roast for an hour in the oven at 350 degrees. Use 1 lb of rice hulls and never had a stuck sparge. With that being said the pumpkin I could take it or leave it. Ive brewed the same beer with and without the pumpkin. No noticable difference other than color. The Spice mix is what could make or break the beer. Commerical Spice mixes have a lot of ginger so beware.

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That's interesting to know. I was wondering how much effect the actual pumpkin would have. I'm glad it does impart some color though. I guess I'll still plan on using it otherwise I can't really call it pumpkin ale

Hopsaholic said:

I always use 4 15oz cans of organic pumpkin puree and then roast for an hour in the oven at 350 degrees. Use 1 lb of rice hulls and never had a stuck sparge. With that being said the pumpkin I could take it or leave it. Ive brewed the same beer with and without the pumpkin. No noticable difference other than color. The Spice mix is what could make or break the beer. Commerical Spice mixes have a lot of ginger so beware.

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I've done an experimental side by side Using the same grainbill, no spices, and one batch with pumpkin in the batch, the other with none.

The color was by far the most noticeable difference, but the mouthfeel is significantly smoother and fuller using the pumpkin. There was also a pleasant vegetal taste in the pumpkin batch. It was very subtle and it wasnt "gotta have it good," but it definitely made for an additional taste.

No doubt the spices make it, but rest assured, the pumpkin adds lots of subtle notes that separate the good from the great!

To retain the pumpkin flavor just place about half in the mash and half in the last 10min of boil. The last pumpkin spice ale I did had 2 cans of pumpkin in the boil and the pumkin flavor was almost overwhelming.

Just wanted to update this thread...

I brewed this beer yesterday and I'm really excited to see how it turns out. The wort looked and smelled amazing when it was done. I used 2 (8 oz) cans of organic pumpkin puree from Whole Foods (the kind that's just pure pumpkin, no spices) and it seemed like the perfect amount for this sized batch. It gave the wort a very distinct and pretty orange color which I'm really excited about because I'm planning on serving this beer at our annual halloween party this year.
Also, for the grain bill I only went with 1/2lbs of the special roast and I think that was the correct choice. For the spices I actually added 1 tbs at 5 mins and another 1/2 tbs at 0 mins. The result was a very nice smelling wort, not overwhelming at all, but distinct.
For hops, I did away with the haulertau addition completely and left the northern brewer and fuggles as is.
I'll be updating this thread after I have my first taste and get some feedback from people at the party! Thanks for everyone's help!