Ferment in a pumpkin!

[SchillingBrewing]

So I've heard of people trying this before and decided I'd like to see what it's all about. I'm making a partial grain pumpkin american wheat beer. Although the majority of the beer will be fermented in a typical fermentation vessel, I thought it would be fun to ferment a small position in a pumpkin just to see what the difference in flavor would be.

So I'm curious, has anyone tried this before and resulted in a successful brew? And what kind of advice and pointers should I be aware of?

 

[TravisF]

So I've heard of people trying this before and decided I'd like to see what it's all about. I'm making a partial grain pumpkin american wheat beer. Although the majority of the beer will be fermented in a typical fermentation vessel, I thought it would be fun to ferment a small position in a pumpkin just to see what the difference in flavor would be. So I'm curious, has anyone tried this before and resulted in a successful brew? And what kind of advice and pointers should I be aware of?

I like weird stuff like this. I'm anxious to see what kind or response you get from people who have tried it.

I would have some concerns based on how jackolanterns look after being carved for a few day (moldy/rotten)

If you try it please report back on how it goes!

 

[unionrdr]

Pop learned this from the old timers. Clean out a pumkin & fill it with sugar. Put the lid back on & cover it completely in melted wax. The sugar & the meat of the pumkin ferment away,leaving the waxed skin & hooch. Best to put it in a shallow pan or something just in case.

 

[bethebrew]

That sounds like it would blow up.

 

[jro238]

I haven't ever tried this before, but it sounds like a fun idea.

A few thoughts on preventing a rotting pumpkin:

I would definitely try to seal back up where I cut the top off the pumpkin--the wax idea from union sounds good--or even just duct tape. You could probably poke a little hole for an airlock to avoid any explosions.

I know a few people who spritz/dunk their carved pumpkins with/in a bleach solution which evidently makes them last a lot longer (not surprising when you think about it). I suppose you could try this in a no-rinse sanitizer.

Lastly, probably want to keep fermentation on the short side...I would probably aim for under a week (just a guess).

Now that I've thought about this I'm liking the idea more and more. Maybe i'll give it a shot with my pumpkin ale I'm brewing in a couple weeks...

 

[lucasxp]

Wow that's a new one for me! Please let us know how it turn out!!

 

[worthogg]

When it's done fermenting you can stick a spigot in at the bottom of the pumpkin and serve out of it. That would be pretty sweet if I liked pumpkin beers...I guess you'd have to carb it first and then put it back in the pumpkin but that could be accomplished in a couple of days with a CO2 tank. Good luck!

 

[SchillingBrewing]

I like weird stuff like this. I'm anxious to see what kind or response you get from people who have tried it.

I would have some concerns based on how jackolanterns look after being carved for a few day (moldy/rotten)

If you try it please report back on how it goes!

I am very excited to try it. I thought of trying it for the pumpkin wheat beer I just did but decided I'll try it on another batch soon.

 

[SchillingBrewing]

When it's done fermenting you can stick a spigot in at the bottom of the pumpkin and serve out of it. That would be pretty sweet if I liked pumpkin beers...I guess you'd have to carb it first and then put it back in the pumpkin but that could be accomplished in a couple of days with a CO2 tank. Good luck!

I was thinking the same thing! That would be awesome if you could serve the beer from a pumpkin!

 

[SchillingBrewing]

Pop learned this from the old timers. Clean out a pumkin & fill it with sugar. Put the lid back on & cover it completely in melted wax. The sugar & the meat of the pumkin ferment away,leaving the waxed skin & hooch. Best to put it in a shallow pan or something just in case.

That's an interesting idea. I've been looking for good ways to keep the pumpkin from rotting or falling apart during fermentation. I'll look into that idea.

 

[SchillingBrewing]

I haven't ever tried this before, but it sounds like a fun idea.

A few thoughts on preventing a rotting pumpkin:

I would definitely try to seal back up where I cut the top off the pumpkin--the wax idea from union sounds good--or even just duct tape. You could probably poke a little hole for an airlock to avoid any explosions.

I know a few people who spritz/dunk their carved pumpkins with/in a bleach solution which evidently makes them last a lot longer (not surprising when you think about it). I suppose you could try this in a no-rinse sanitizer.

Lastly, probably want to keep fermentation on the short side...I would probably aim for under a week (just a guess).

Now that I've thought about this I'm liking the idea more and more. Maybe i'll give it a shot with my pumpkin ale I'm brewing in a couple weeks...

I was even thinking of just starting with a portion of a batch. Like ferment just enough for a six pack and the rest will go in a usual fermenter. Then you wouldn't waste an entire 5 gal batch or more if it all went tits up.

 

[unionrdr]

Or add the fermented pumkin juice to a batch of punkin ale...might give a lil more punkin flavor.

 

[SchillingBrewing]

I have even been tossing around the idea of using the pumpkin for a secondary just to give a little more flavor after it is done fermenting.

 

[Hello]

Now I really like the idea of pumpkin + sugar= hooch and toss it into the pumpkin brew.

 

[m_stodd]

Pop learned this from the old timers. Clean out a pumkin & fill it with sugar. Put the lid back on & cover it completely in melted wax. The sugar & the meat of the pumkin ferment away,leaving the waxed skin & hooch. Best to put it in a shallow pan or something just in case.

I'd be amazed if this turned out well. IIRC, very little of the pumpkin flesh will ferment, but covering it completely in wax may keep it from rotting.

There are some threads about it here. Some people managed to have their pumpkins stay in tact I think, but I don't think anything turned out drinkable: http://www.reddit.com/r/Homebrewing/search?q=pumpkin&restrict_sr=on

 

[pjj2ba]

I've thought about doing this. I would do it as minimally invasive as possible. I'd just make a hole big enough for the siphon tube. I'd leave all the "guts" in there. It is fairly sanitary inside - if left undisturbed. There might be a few endophytes inside but I bet they won't be a problem

 

[TheHairyHop]

Pop learned this from the old timers. Clean out a pumkin & fill it with sugar. Put the lid back on & cover it completely in melted wax. The sugar & the meat of the pumkin ferment away,leaving the waxed skin & hooch. Best to put it in a shallow pan or something just in case.

The use of "hooch" completed this post for me

 

[SchillingBrewing]

I've thought about doing this. I would do it as minimally invasive as possible. I'd just make a hole big enough for the siphon tube. I'd leave all the "guts" in there. It is fairly sanitary inside - if left undisturbed. There might be a few endophytes inside but I bet they won't be a problem

That could probably work pretty well. If anyone tries any of these ideas. Please post your results. I'm sure many people are curious to how it would go.

 

[blackflagbrew]

Visit www.reddit.com/r/homebrewing and ask those guys about the great "pumpkin gin experiment of 2012".