Using a pumpkin as a fermentor?

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This is a perfect excuse to purchase a blowtorch. Something every beer brewer should never be without. To the OP: note the linked process ended up kegging the beer to carb. My sense is you were looking for a display with "colored water and beer bubbling away.." perhaps you brew your conventional process and bottle/keg to carb, then carve a serving vessel the morning of the event and fill it to dispense.
 
or, if you can't figure out a way make fermentation work in the pumpkin, which as is evidenced in the link, can happen, and you are wanting to serve out of the pumpkin, you could do this:

carve pumpkin, remove innards. put some sort of cup in the middle that has a bunch of those little LED lights in it. then put water around the cup, and dry ice. somehow attach a picnic tap (maybe like a "tongue" coming out of the mouth...pushing down on the tongue pushes down the spigot). that would be neat for halloween, and wouldn't ruin perfectly good beer if something were to go wrong.
 
KevinW said:
It's a new craze, vegetable/fruit fermentors!

Just think what you could do with a wheat in a watermelon?

Kind of a bizarre idea but as long as the fruit flies don't get the better part of the beer it seem quite possible!

My inner voice still is asking, why:confused:
Click to expand...

+1 to whyyy???? I think you will have a lot of sanitation risks going this route - and mind you this is only for your primary...so its not like many people will see it. Any flavor you extract this way I think would be minimum since the pumpkin isnt cooked. Honestly I'd take your old jack-o-lantern (or fresh pumpkin), roast it, and add it to your mash/boil/primary to get the flavor. I did my own variation of this recipe that is going well so far - my only recommendation is to transfer the pumpkin to the primary with your wort.

Sorry to be a Debbie Downer but just my $0.02
 
BeerChef17 said:
+1 to whyyy???? I think you will have a lot of sanitation risks going this route - and mind you this is only for your primary...so its not like many people will see it. Any flavor you extract this way I think would be minimum since the pumpkin isnt cooked. Honestly I'd take your old jack-o-lantern (or fresh pumpkin), roast it, and add it to your mash/boil/primary to get the flavor. I did my own variation of this recipe that is going well so far - my only recommendation is to transfer the pumpkin to the primary with your wort.

Sorry to be a Debbie Downer but just my $0.02
Click to expand...

Why not? Let people experiment!
Most great discoveries come from weird ideas, besides, many of us are tired of brewing the same batch over and over, same everything.
Remember, when the zombie time comes, we are going back to stone age tech and those with guns and beer will prevail, perhaps with a pumpkin or melon fermenter:tank:
 
nilo said:
Why not? Let people experiment!
Most great discoveries come from weird ideas, besides, many of us are tired of brewing the same batch over and over, same everything.
Remember, when the zombie time comes, we are going back to stone age tech and those with guns and beer will prevail, perhaps with a pumpkin or melon fermenter:tank:
Click to expand...

Well said! Why? BECAUSE!
 
nilo said:
Why not? Let people experiment!
Most great discoveries come from weird ideas, besides, many of us are tired of brewing the same batch over and over, same everything.
Remember, when the zombie time comes, we are going back to stone age tech and those with guns and beer will prevail, perhaps with a pumpkin or melon fermenter:tank:
Click to expand...

Very True...I havent brewed enough batches yet so I'm still content with staying in my box for now lol. Plus if it doesnt work I can say "told ya so";)

If you are going for it I would go with the vodka/grain alcohol idea for sanitation - the alcohol will help pull some flavor into your wort
 
When asked why he wanted to climb mount Everest Edmund Hillary replied "because it's there" or something to that effect, I say go for it because you can say you did it. Having one good reason is better than I can say for doing half the things in my life. Good luck my friend
 
I'm thinking the inside of the pumpkin wouldn't have any nasties in it. I really don't see a need to sanitize it. Make sure you take lots of pictures when you're doing it.
 
Just a thought:

First off I think this would totally work, and would be awesome!

Second I can't get the idea out of my head that you could probably "bottle" in a pumpkin too, especially if you were willing to go for a very light carbonation. It would go something like this: carve out a hole to bung size. Add a very light sugar solution to the primary. Transfer out of the primary pumpkin into the bottle-pumpkin using a siphon. Insert solid bung and SECURE - maybe a wrap or two of black-tape (?). I think if the pumpkin walls are thick enough it should hold up just maybe store in a large box with a plastic liner just in case. Serve by popping the bung and pouring right out of the pumpkin.

Maybe it's only worth trying with a small portion... But it sure would be cool if it worked. If not at least you'd get to say you exploded a pumpkin!
 
mttgilbert said:
Just a thought:

First off I think this would totally work, and would be awesome!

Second I can't get the idea out of my head that you could probably "bottle" in a pumpkin too, especially if you were willing to go for a very light carbonation. It would go something like this: carve out a hole to bung size. Add a very light sugar solution to the primary. Transfer out of the primary pumpkin into the bottle-pumpkin using a siphon. Insert solid bung and SECURE - maybe a wrap or two of black-tape (?). I think if the pumpkin walls are thick enough it should hold up just maybe store in a large box with a plastic liner just in case. Serve by popping the bung and pouring right out of the pumpkin.

Maybe it's only worth trying with a small portion... But it sure would be cool if it worked. If not at least you'd get to say you exploded a pumpkin!
Click to expand...

Brilliant!
 
A rubber bung like this may work. As pressure builds inside, it pushes the bung up making a tight seal, like the bungs used in the tap-a-draft metal 5L kegs.:drunk:

ppkbong.jpg
 
mttgilbert said:
Just a thought:

First off I think this would totally work, and would be awesome!

Second I can't get the idea out of my head that you could probably "bottle" in a pumpkin too, especially if you were willing to go for a very light carbonation. It would go something like this: carve out a hole to bung size. Add a very light sugar solution to the primary. Transfer out of the primary pumpkin into the bottle-pumpkin using a siphon. Insert solid bung and SECURE - maybe a wrap or two of black-tape (?). I think if the pumpkin walls are thick enough it should hold up just maybe store in a large box with a plastic liner just in case. Serve by popping the bung and pouring right out of the pumpkin.

Maybe it's only worth trying with a small portion... But it sure would be cool if it worked. If not at least you'd get to say you exploded a pumpkin!
Click to expand...

You have to empty the pumpkin out first though.
 
That's true! Major oversight on my part... So, what's the biggest bung you can buy and is it fist sized?
 
bottling in little mini pie-pumpkins sounds awesome....but it would be ridiculously expensive and we would have to drink 5 gallons of beer in a matter of weeks. plus someone has already mentioned that pumpkins start to degrade at temperatures below 50 degrees, so there would be no good way to refrigerate them :(
 
i wouldn't even worry about the airlock. just put the lid on there and let it go for 3-4 days and transfer. use a nice big yeast starter
 
Saw this today...

http://***********/component/resour...brew Stories/1720-pumpkin-to-tunkin-last-call

Mentions some nasty raw vegetal tastes in the finished product. There is a reason why you never see anyone just cut up and eat a raw pumpkin...kinda foul tasting.
 
My father showed my bro how to do this when we were young. You hollow out the punkin,put in your fermentables,put the lid back on. Then you pour melted wax over it with the punkin in a shallow pan. I forget how they compensated for no airlock,though. It's been some 30+ years since I saw it. Old time thing for sure. But you put it on the shelf in the basement or root cellar to ferment. The wax keeps things together,as the punkin will get soft as it ferments away the meaty part.
And larger punkins can be cooked down for pie or side dishes...they just aren't as flavorful as the smaller ones. There also is no such thing as a "pie punkin" variety. Just use the smaller ones for better flavor.
 

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