1st effort at partial mash - recipe critique

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wedraper

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hey guys. i'm going to make a pumpkin ale for the holidays. i've found some very interesting recipes, and have made my own "frankenstein" recipe. i'd like some of you gurus to have a look and tell me if i have the right idea.

Ingredients:
Partial Mash:
- ½ lb. 2-row malt
- ½ lb. Carapils malt (or wheat malt?)
- ½ lb. crystal malt (40L)
- 3 lbs. pumpkin in 1” cubes (seeds and skin removed)
Base:
- 3.3 lbs. light malt extract
- 3.3 lbs. amber malt extract
- Leftover maltodextrin from last batch (~4 oz.)
- 1 cup light brown sugar
Hops:
- Bittering: 1 oz. Mt. Hood (60 minutes)
- Flavoring: None
- Finishing: ½ oz. Cascade or Hallertauer (15 minutes)
Adjuncts:
- Cinnamon, Ginger, Cloves, Nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon Irish Moss
Yeast:
- Wyeast #1056 American Ale yeast
- Starter: Boil ½ quart water for 10 minutes, add ½ cup DME, boil for 10 minutes
Priming Sugar:
- ¾ cup corn sugar

Instructions:
1. Prepare yeast starter 72 hours in advance
2. Roast pumpkin cubes in oven for 30 minutes at 325 F
3. Boil as much water as possible for 15 minutes
4. Bring 1.5 gallons of boiled water to 155 F
5. Add crushed grains and prepared pumpkin (in straining bag) to water, rest 1 hour at 155 F
6. Remove bag, wash grain bag with 1 gallon of 160 F water
7. Bring grain/pumpkin “tea” to boil
8. Remove heat, stir in malt extracts, maltodextrin, and brown sugar
9. Bring back to boil for 2 minutes, add 1 oz. Mt. Hood hops
10. Boil for 30 minutes, add 1 teaspoon Irish Moss
11. Boil for 15 more minutes, add ½ oz. Cascade/Hallertauer hops
12. Boil for 13 more minutes, add spices, boil for 2 more minutes
13. Cool wort rapidly in water bath
14. Transfer wort to fermenter, bring volume to 5 gallons with water, aerating at the same time
15. Pitch yeast, stir, ferment at 68-72 F until done
16. Dissolve ¾ cup corn sugar in 2 cups of boiled water, add sugar water to bottling bucket
17. Siphon fermented wort from fermenter into bottling bucket without splashing
18. Bottle condition for 2-4 weeks
 
Step 4, you'll need to bring your water to 160F before adding the grain. It will cool off slightly.
 
It's better to have to raise the mash temp then lower it, if you're shooting for 155 then I agree, 160 is a good bet. I'd suggest adding the irsh moss or whirloc at the 15 minute mark rather than 30. And, I'd suggest using some wheat in the mash as well as carapils. Maybe 10% or 20% of the grainbill.. and cut the carapils down to .25lb since you've got some wheat in there as well. My favorite pumpkin beer (shipyard ale pumpkinhead) says "wheat beer" right on the label. I certainly don't think wheat would be out of place.. might keep it nice and light so the spices and pumpkin flavor can stand out. I'd also suggest that you take it easy with the spice, you can always add more in the secondary but then only way to lessen the spice is to let it age.. and we all know how hard it is to do that. While you didn't provide the SRM or IBU's I think you should keep the bitterness below 25.... maybe 18 or 20 and keep the SRM between 10 and 16. You don't want the malt or hop profile to stand out.. the beer is supposed to be mild and all about that pumpkin pie flavor. Let us know how it turns out.
 
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