Autumn Seasonal Beer Richard's Pumpkin Ale

I wasnt planning on racking to a secondary.. the LHBS said it wastn necessary to when I was buying my supplies. Should I rack it at the end of next week then and keep it in secondary for a week? if Im doing a secondaryI was jsut gonna rack to my bottling bucket, is that ok? or od I rack form secondary to the bottling bucket, or is that a skippable step?

Ill go ahead and skip rousing

If you are going to your bottling bucket, IMO you should bottle. So if you want to skip secondary, that's a personal preference, I don't see a problem in it. So let it settle really well, then bottle.

Will Do.. Thanks!!

The reason I suggested rousing was to get the pumpkin back into suspension for flavor purposes but I was under the assumption the pumpkin was added after the boil. Not sure the rousing will give more flavor after it has been through the boil but it should settle out quick enough.

Hey guys,

Just wanted to chime in to keep this post going. I made this recipe last Friday and the session went perfect. Instead of the expensive maple syrup I used 2lb amber DME. I used the exact grain bill as the recipe calls for (actually a little larger grain bill because my efficiency is usually a little lower). I bought two large cans of Libby's pumpkin pie filling and added right to the boil as directed. I also added the spices as directed by the recipe. I was a little scared to add more spice and throw everything off. Due to the little larger grain bill I did up my northern brewer from .75 to 1 oz. to balance the extra grain. My IBU was right on target. The color came out great and my OG was 1.068. I pitched the yeast dry to the top of the wort and aerated 30 minutes later. I had fermentation in about 6 hours with lots of blow off so I was glad to use a tube instead of a airlock. My fermentation temp was 69 F in my basement which is the only option for me this time of year in western Pennsylvania. Everything smelled great and tasted great out of the keggle so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that everything turns out well.

I will be transferring to the secondary on 9/11/08 and will post again then. Any questions, let me know and I'll do my best to help.

I made this about 3 1/2 weeks ago and i did a PM

20.8 2.50 lbs. Maple Syrup Generic 1.031 35
50.0 6.00 lbs. Generic LME - Amber Generic 1.036 9
25.0 3.00 lbs. Munich Malt Belgium 1.038 8
4.2 0.50 lbs. Crystal 40L America 1.034 40

Was the recipe that i used. I also used 3 cans of libbys pumpkin and everything else was the same. I did a full boil and put about 6 gallons into the primary my SG was right on the mark. I wanted to rack to secondary in 2 weeks but got busy and stayed in for 3. When i racked it over though there was so much Thick pumpkin goo on the bottom i only got about three gallons in the secondary. Should i have added that thick pumpkin mess to the secondary as well or has anyone else had this problem.

This smells amazing i just wish i got more into the secondary, any thoughts

I use a stainless braid on the exit tube of keggle. Should I leave it off to get more pumpkin into the carboy,also will this flow through a 3/8od cfc? I guess after reading the posts it sounds like the wort may be a bit thick or is it me .

fullstop22 said:

I use a stainless braid on the exit tube of keggle. Should I leave it off to get more pumpkin into the carboy,also will this flow through a 3/8od cfc? I guess after reading the posts it sounds like the wort may be a bit thick or is it me .

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Sorry for answering this late but I would recommend taking the stainless braid off if for no other reason than it might clog with all of that pumpkin sludge in the brew pot. Plus, I think it does help the pumpkin flavor to allow it to get into the fermenter.

Thanks Rich ! My son & I will be brewing this on Monday. We plan on using honey in place of the maple syrup as I receive a 5gal. bucket of honey free each year for letting a beekeeper put his hives on my property. Do you add pound for pound and when do you add it to the wort? I think last time I used honey I just put it in the wort before the yeast. THANKS again.

I just cracked the bottle on this after 2-3 weeks bottle conditioned. WOW!! very good flavor, my only gripe is that I had it up to the 5 gallon line (refer to my picture on one of the pages of this thread) and I only ended up with 3.5 gallons when I got it into the bottling bucket, so perhaps add more water then just the 5 gallon point or just settle with 3. I don't know if this will mellow out over time or not but the spices are definitely prevalent, Im not sure if its because I got such a smaller batch then I was going for or its just because it hasn't aged much, either way I will definitely be making this again, Kudos Rich

Timber said:

my only gripe is that I had it up to the 5 gallon line (refer to my picture on one of the pages of this thread) and I only ended up with 3.5 gallons when I got it into the bottling bucket, so perhaps add more water then just the 5 gallon point or just settle with 3

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Make 6.5 gallons, and then you should be closer after your rack.

Brewed this today. Got a little over 6 gallons into the primary and it smelled great. Can't wait to try it in October.

I am a noob at brewing would this be to hard to brew? Pumpkin beer is my all time fav would really love to brew my own!

Pumpkin beer and football are the few things I look forward to during fall. It's great that you've got the judges thoughts in there too. I'm planning on making a double batch of this as well as a punkin porter. I'll post back once it's brewed.

Has anybody "rushed" this beer? As in, if I brew it this week, how much should I scale back the spices so it's not overpowering come Halloween?

I'd like to try the Extract version of this as my second brew. I have a couple of questions. First of all, the recipe says to ferment at 72deg for 13 days, then 38deg for 32 days, then secondary of 21 days at 72. What is the purpose of the 38deg for 32 days, and is it possible to make this beer without it? I don't have the capability to ferment at temps that low yet. I was thinking I could do two weeks in the primary three in the secondary, and three after bottling instead. all at around 70deg?
Is this a workable solution? Any input would be great. I'd like to brew this next week after I bottle my wheat, So it could be ready by early Nov.
Thanks!

You should be fine to ferment at ale temps only. I chilled mine to clarify it before kegging and bottling.
Enjoy brewing this!

I plan to make this with a few tweaks:

-Using MO as my base malt
-Instead of 8oz C40, I'm using 4oz C20 + 4oz C120
-I'm going to try mashing my pumpkin this year
-I want the spices to shine through a little more so I'm making a tea based on your amounts + a tbd amnt of ginger and clove. (I love those two)
-I'll be adding a few tbs of maple extract. I've used this before in beers where maple was desired because I have heard that the syrup just doesn't really get the flavor into the beer. I've had good results.
-I may be serving this on beergas through the stout faucet, but only after I drink it for a little while from a regular tap. I've heard that any particulate in the beer can clog the restrictor plate in the stout faucet, and I've seen the fibrous gunk that settles out of pumpkin beers.

Thanks RichBrewer! I think I'll brew this weekend.

I Just thought I'd update this, mainly for the other newbs contemplating this. I brewed an all extract version of this yesterday. I used 7lbs of light DME just as recommended, in place of the American 2row, and Munich. and I steeped the Crystal 40. I also substituted honey for the maple syrup on a 1 to 1 basis. I don't know if there is a difference in the fermentability of honey, and maple syrup, so that might affect it some. Everything else was the same. My OG came out to 1.070 which seems to be pretty close to what it should be. It's currently fermenting away downstairs. I'll update at the end of October when I try the first one if anyone is curious how it turned out.

I'm betting that the honey will be about the same or maybe slightly more fermentable than the maple syrup. Should be good!
Keep us updated.

Brewed 10 gallons Thursday with the roommates, but subbed the maple syrup with golden brown sugar (because we're cheap), and toned down the spices just a little (because we plan on drinking it in only a couple months). Like everyone else said it fermented hard and fast. Completely fermented out by Sunday. It was nice to have a recipe to work around, thanks Rich!

That's interesting. I Specifically bought a used Carboy, and a blowoff tube setup because evreyone was saying this beer fermented hard, but Mine is fermenting nice and steady. I have 1 1/2 inch of Krausen, and a constant stream of bubbles but no blowoff yet. It's been going steadily since Sunday morning.

Coastarine said:

I plan to make this with a few tweaks:

-Using MO as my base malt
-Instead of 8oz C40, I'm using 4oz C20 + 4oz C120
-I'm going to try mashing my pumpkin this year
-I want the spices to shine through a little more so I'm making a tea based on your amounts + a tbd amnt of ginger and clove. (I love those two)
-I'll be adding a few tbs of maple extract. I've used this before in beers where maple was desired because I have heard that the syrup just doesn't really get the flavor into the beer. I've had good results.
-I may be serving this on beergas through the stout faucet, but only after I drink it for a little while from a regular tap. I've heard that any particulate in the beer can clog the restrictor plate in the stout faucet, and I've seen the fibrous gunk that settles out of pumpkin beers.

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The hydrometer sample from this showed big promise. Much better than last year's attempt. I was impressed by how much my one 15oz can of pumpkin in the mash came through to the flavor, especially since I couldn't smell it during the boil. I was intrigued by the flavor of it though, if I didn't know it was from the pumpkin I might have thought it was a belgian yeast. I pitched and fermented with US-05 at a strictly controlled 68*F so I know I didn't get esters from that. I have yet to add my spice tea, so I'm really looking forward to the final product.

I'm thinking of trying this. I'm not sure if it will be ready by the end of Novemberish though.

Just put this together a little under 2 wks ago, sg of 1.065,fg of 1.009. Tasted sample and it was a little hot but should smooth out. I did not get a hint of pumpkin that much though. and the spices I back down to about 2/3 and even that seemed a little unoticable. Hopefully this smooths out after a few weeks and the pumpkin will join the spices and be good. If not I will add a little more spice during kegging.

I think that the burn from the alcohol drowned the rest of the flavor out. I did use notti for yeast but that was the only difference.

I didn't add any spices during the boil, as I outlined earlier, so two days ago I made a spice tea as follows:

Boil 8oz water, kill heat, wait 1min.
Add 1tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ginger, 1/4 tsp nutmeg.
Let it steep for 5 mins, then add to secondary (tea and spices).

I also added about 1.5oz of maple extract.

Today I took a taste: AWESOME. I'm really excited for this one. I also am noticing that putting the pumpkin in the mash means a clear beer much sooner. Last year I boiled the pumpkin and it took forever to clear, leaving a big layer of pumpkin trub in the secondary. This year It is only 5 days into secondary and it is already pretty clear. I wasn't able to taste the maple at all. I have another half ounce which I will add but I don't expect that I'll taste it. Maybe I'll buy another 4oz bottle and add the whole thing to see if I taste it then.

I'm planning on making this tommorrow. At what point did you put in the maple syrup? Maybe if it is added at the end of the boil the flavor will come through more? But then will 2.5 lbs be too much?

strangebrewer said:

I'm planning on making this tommorrow. At what point did you put in the maple syrup? Maybe if it is added at the end of the boil the flavor will come through more? But then will 2.5 lbs be too much?

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I added the Maple Syrup at flame out. Maybe add more maple syrup or even add it after primary fermentation dies off? I'm just not sure.

Threw 2 carboys in the keezer a few days ago, and I'm hoping to get about 12 gallons out of this batch, since I think we did a good job of whirlpooling and had minimum trub. Probably kegging tomorrow during the brew day. I'm stoked for this brew to be on tap!

Made it today, I added 1 pound maple syrup at flameout, and plan on adding about another pound or so when I rack it. Best smelling beer I ever made!

Coastarine said:

I didn't add any spices during the boil, as I outlined earlier, so two days ago I made a spice tea as follows:

Boil 8oz water, kill heat, wait 1min.
Add 1tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ginger, 1/4 tsp nutmeg.
Let it steep for 5 mins, then add to secondary (tea and spices).

I also added about 1.5oz of maple extract.

Today I took a taste: AWESOME. I'm really excited for this one. I also am noticing that putting the pumpkin in the mash means a clear beer much sooner. Last year I boiled the pumpkin and it took forever to clear, leaving a big layer of pumpkin trub in the secondary. This year It is only 5 days into secondary and it is already pretty clear. I wasn't able to taste the maple at all. I have another half ounce which I will add but I don't expect that I'll taste it. Maybe I'll buy another 4oz bottle and add the whole thing to see if I taste it then.

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Any more updates?? How did it turn out in the end with the spices and completely conditioned??

This was a good beer! I served it through a stout faucet which I since sold. This year's pumpkin ale will be on conventional CO2 and will be a very similar recipe. I never really enjoyed more than one pint of it at a time, and by the end of the keg got a little sick of it (hah) but it's a seasonal, almost novelty style to me. The spice level was good, but I'm going to be experimenting with spice tincture instead of tea. I'll probably just dump a bit of pumpkin pie spice in a mason jar with vodka. I'll be using that for the occasional spiced cider also.

I plan on making this beer my first all-grain attempt. Nothing like baptism by fire, right?

I think I'm all set up to brew this, but is there any specifics I should know about, considering this is my transition from Extract to All-Grain?

Just finished reading through this thread and have decided to make this beer for my wife as she loves pumpkin beer. After reading through everyone's comments I put in a few changes to Beersmith and this is what I came up with.

TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (35.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 6.50 gal
Boil Size: 8.50 gal
Estimated OG: 1.067 SG
Estimated Color: 7.9 SRM
Estimated IBU: 23.8 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 80.00 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
12 lbs Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 82.76 %
2 lbs Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 13.79 %
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 3.45 %
1.00 oz Northern Brewer [7.00 %] (60 min) Hops 15.3 IBU
1.00 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] (30 min) Hops 8.4 IBU
0.33 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 15.0 min) Misc
0.50 tsp Clove, Ground (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
1.50 tsp Allspice, Ground (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
1.50 tsp Nutmeg, Ground (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
2.50 tsp Cinnamon Ground (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
4.00 lb Roasted Pumpkin (Boil 90.0 min) Misc
1 Pkgs SafAle America Ale (DCL Yeast #US-05) Yeast-Ale


Mash Schedule: My Mash
Total Grain Weight: 14.50 lb
----------------------------
My Mash
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
60 min Step Add 18.13 qt of water at 164.8 F 153.0 F
10 min Mashout Heat to 168.0 F over 8 min 168.0 F


I thought about doing the spice tea, but I think I am going to just put them in there for the boil on the first try. I am going to use fresh whole spices and grind them down just before I pitch them in the boil. I am also going to get some local pumpkins and roast them myself. Kuhnhenn Brewery by me made a pumpkin a few years back and it was the best I had ever had. He said they used fresh spices and roasted pumpkin. I just upped the MO grain to compensate for the lack of maple syrup and upped the EK Golding to 1oz to get the IBU's close to the original. I should have time to make this over the weekend and I will post back with results.

For some reason HBT will not let me upload a .bsm file, so if you want the Beersmith file just send me a PM and I will email it to you.

I have been reading this thread and a few others. The spice payload seems to run the gambit.

This recipe:
2.50 Tsp Cinnamon Spice 10 Min.(boil)
1.50 Tsp Nutmeg Spice 10 Min.(boil)
1.50 Tsp Allspice Spice 10 Min.(boil)

or

Another one I found:
1 t. cinnamon (5 min)
1/2 t. allspice (5 min)
1/2 t. ground ginger (5 min)
1/4 t. nutmeg (5 min)
1/4 t. clove (5 min)

My question is, does the higher amount in this recipe and the longer it boil time of 10 minutes help to level out the spice aroma/flavor? As opposed to the other spice payload where it is a lower amount and almost at the very end of the boil.

Very curious.

Either way this one is on deck. I may change the up the grain to this:

9.50 lbs. American 2-row America
2.00 lbs. Munich Malt(2-row) America
2.00 lbs. Crystal 60

The Crystal 60 seems to help make up for the sugars provided by the maple syrup. It seemed that almost everyone that used it said the flavor washed out. I am toying with changing even the 2-row to MO. Opinons appreciated!

Pikeman

Made this beer about 2 weeks ago. I followed the original recipe pretty closely, but used Wyeast 1056 American Ale.

Here are some of my observations thus far:
Collected 6.25 gal as directed and ended up with 5.5 in the bucket with all the additions. I needed a blow off tube as it blew off about .2 gals worth of crap in the 1st 72 hours. My OG was 1.069...after 5 days it registered at 1.010 in the primary. I couldn't believe my eyes. I took a 2nd sample and it was the same. So I racked it into a secondary glass carboy leaving behind about .75 gals of orange trub (the most stuff I've ever seen on the bottom). It's now sitting at 35F degs and most of the particulates seem to have fallen out of suspension.

One thing I noticed when I was cleaning the primary fermenter was the bottom of the trub had a lot of the spices in it, yet the flavor of them is still in the secondary...interesting.

I plan on kegging it. It'll be my first kegged beer. Can't wait, I'm expecting it to be ready around Turkey Day.

Ugh...I can't do cinnamon in pumpkin pie. In fact, I make my own old-fashion pumpkin pies from scratch because I can't stand any of the pumpkin pies on the market today (a 100+ year old WVa recipe from my grandmother; which I believe includes allspice). They have cinnamon or too much nutmeg, or a spice which just overpowers the pumpkin and ruins the entire pie. Her recipe is PERFECT...so I'll take a look at her old recipe later today (spice-wise) and try out a one gallon batch to see how it tastes and tweak the spices as needed.

DY

I was looking for a pumpkin ale recipe to play around with and found this one. I kept the mash and boil schedule the same, upped the grain bill a bit (basically rounding up in converting to metric), subbed 0.75kg brown sugar and 0.25kg medium DME for the maple syrup, and nugget hops for both additons. I got a fairly high OG of 1.072, and upped my IBUs a tad as well, but I have a long time to mature it before the fall.

The wort sample tasted great, however, so I wonder if it will even make it to the summer!

I plan on brewing this summer so it will be ready for fall.
I have concerns on how I am going to cool it.
I love my plate chiller but have read stories about it easily clogging up.
Should I avoid using the plate chiller on this beer?
How detrimental would it be to the flavor of the beer to leave the hop strainer attached and use the chiller?