Harvest Pumpkin Ale

Just finished brewing a nice Harvest Pumpkin ale in time for Oktoberfest. The one thing I noticed is I may have had a little too much pumpkin in the recipe and it may have overpowered the pumpkin spices.

Ingredients,
6lbs. Muntons Ex-Light Dry Malt Extract
Crystal Malt.
Pale Malt,
1 oz. Willamette hops (60 min.)
1 oz. Hallertauer hops (15 min.)
Pumpkin spices (all spice, cinnamon, nutmeg) (15 min.)
3 cans of Whole Foods Organic Pumpkin (each can is 14 oz.) (15 min.)
(recipe called for 2 1/2 lbs. of pumpkin)
White Labs WPL002 English Ale Yeast
Pumpkin also sits in primary for 5 days

OG states it should be 1.047 however I hit 1.060
FG states it should be 1.012.
ABV shows 4.5%

Question - if my FG also hits 1.012, will that mean my ABV is actually higher? What would cause this? I know that the temps here in Phoenix are quite high (today around 110F at brew time).

Thoughts on the recipe? It's an extract kit and the sample I took had an overwhelming pumpkin flavor but I don't know if that will mellow once the beer ferments.

Thanks!

It will mellow. Everybody always makes them with 1 or 2 cans of pumpkin and says they wish they added more. If you hit 1.012 it will be higher ABV. About 6.5% or so. Those pumpkin ales get really great if you can leave it in the bottle for a few months.

I also just finished a pumpkin ale. The higher abv should be good with this style of beer. Also from what I have read the pumpkin flavour will fade and actually not even be very noticeable, Just the spices.

Thanks. I hope all turns out well. I will transfer to secondary on Thursday (5 days) and let sit for a week or two in the secondary prior to transferring to bottles.

I am interested in brewing your recipe as well. Would you be able to tell me quantity you used for the spices?

Pumpkin Ale

7 lbs. light malt extract
1/2 lb crystal malt 40 L
1/2 lb Munich malt
1/4 lb toasted malt

1 oz Galena hops (at first boil)
1/2 oz Mt. Hood (w/ 25 min left)
1 oz Tettnang (w/ 5 min left)

1 wyeast london ale yeast

1.5 tsp Nutmeg
1.5 tsp Allspice
..5 tsp Cinnamon
2 whole cloves

I put the spices in at the last 10 min of the boil and the yams in the last 30 min.

I want to try a Pumpkin Spice. Can I just buy the canned pumpkin from the grocery store? Do I have to put them in a grain bag or do I just put the pumpkin pieces in with everything else? Do you then just leave the pumpkin in the wort when it ferments..?

I have only been brewing for a little under a year so my advice may not be the best.
That being said, I have done alot of research on this and asked many questions.

What I did is got the canned yams( I couldnt get pumkin), put them on a cookie sheet and baked them at 350 for 1 hour. I then added them loose into my boil in the last 30 min. Siphoned the wort into my fermentor minus as much of the sediment as possible, Let them sit for about a week in the primary then rack to the secondary for 2 weeks.

I just did a pumpkin spice latte stout (all grain) and I throw the canned pumpkin right in the mash....makes for a slow sparge but I'm pretty pleased with the results thus far - it goes to the secondary tonight with some cold brewed coffee

This was my recipe:

6 lbs. Muntons Ex-Light Dry Malt Extract
1/2 lbs. 40 L Crystal Malt (Grain)
1/2 lbs. Pale Malt (Grain)
1 oz Willamette hops (Bittering) (60 min.)
1 oz Hersbrucker hops (Flavor) (15 min.)
1 tsp. Nutmeg (15 min.)
1 tsp. Allspice (15 min.)
1 tsp. Cinnamon (15 min.)
1 tsp. Dried Ginger (15 min.)
3 cans Whole Foods Organic Pumpkin (no additives) (15 min.)
1/2 tsp Irish Moss (15 min.)
1 White Labs WPL002 - English Ale Yeast

The Pumpkin stays in it's bag and sits in the primary for 5 days. After 5 days, transfer to a secondary fermenter and stay for 10-14 days.

Hoppy brewing,

Jerry

I just transferred from primary to secondary and I noticed quite a bit of yeast still in the bucket but it did ferment somewhat. The taste was quite sour - probably from the yeasts that haven't finished. Question: Is is normal for a beer to have a sour taste in the primary? I was concerned with the beer as I didn't see a vigorous bubbling from the airlock but I could smell the beer beginning. I'm just going to go with it and bottle after 2 more weeks. Hopefully, it will all come out OK but let me know your thoughts.