Imperial Pumpkin stout advice

[mattyb85]

Hey fellow brewers,

On friday I'll be brewing up a ~12% Imp. Pumpkin Stout.

Recipe:
10 lbs Maris Otter
10 lbs Golden Promise
1 lb Chocolate Malt
1 lb Flaked Barley
4oz Black Debittered Malt
4 oz Roasted Barley
5 lbs Roasted Pumpkin
0.75 lbs Molasses
2oz Chinook for 60m
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Wyeast 1388 Belgian Strong Ale

I'm looking for some advice/opinions. Two things I know this forum has plenty of.

First thing: Im toying with the idea of starting my mash around midnight on thursday and then draining and sparging Friday morning around 8 when i wake up. I know if the temp drops too low i run into the risk of souring the mash. I plan to mash @ 156 F and the mash volume should be around 9.57 gallons of my 10 gallons MLT so I dont think i should have too much of a temp drop mashing in-doors overnight. Regardless what are your thoughts on that?

Secondly: I want to use some cinnamon and nutmeg in this beer along with the 5 lbs of pumpkin ill be roasting in the oven (yes im using canned cuz im brewing this too late) I was originally going to use the spices in the boil during the last 5m however today i thought i might add them to the pumpkin when i roast it. I was going to use 1 tsp of cinnamon and .5 tsp of nutmeg for the 5 gallon batch and sprinkle 4oz of dark brown sugar on top for sh*ts and giggles. Am i using enought spices for the 5 gallon batch? Should i put them in the boil or roast them in the pumpkin?

And.... GO!

 

[skunkfunk]

I'm not qualified to offer any advice, but I'm curious as to what your mash process will do.

What do you expect to happen?

 

[mattyb85]

Well im sure ill definitely get full conversion. I was hoping to do the mash the night before to cut down on my brew time the next day as Id like to get in 2 partial mash batches as well. The main worry i would have would be the mash souring. Im not using a ton of dark malts, i think 2 lbs at most out of the 23 lbs grain bill. Since ive never done an overnight mash i wanted some advice and opinions from people who have.

 

[Seven]

One suggestion is to mash, collect the wort, then bring the wort to near boiling immediately after mashing to kill any bugs that may sour the wort overnight. Cover and resume brewing the next day.

 

[DuckiesRevenge]

What I've read suggests that of it stays above 140 you will be fine. How many degrees do you lose per hour? That might give you your answer. If I did it I'd be worried if it got too 135. But above that I wouldn't fret much. It will likely be fine.

 

[jro238]

Never tried an overnight mash so can't really comment on that.

For spices:
I have added mine at flameout in the past but think I might start doing a tincture to add to the keg or at the end of fermentation. The only reason for this is that I have had one or two beers that have come out slightly over spiced. I wouldn't personally add any spices before the end of the boil because a lot of their aroma and more complex flavors will be driven off.

 

[Slow_Day]

+1 to add the spice tincture post fermentation. Better control over the amount of spice flavor.

 

[mattyb85]

I usually only lose a couple degrees over a 60-90m mash with a half full mash tun. I should have a completely full mash tun with this brew and it will be indoors so i dont think i will lose even 10 degrees over the 8hr mash. Im mashing @ 156 so i think it would at most drop down to 145.

I think im going to add brown sugar and some spices to the pumpkin when i roast it. If i need to add more spice after the fact ill add it during secondary.

 

[dangerbrew]

I usually add the spices to my pumpkin ale at knockout and it works out fine and a tsp. or two should be ok for a batch that size and of that body, but no more than that. Also the nutmeg might end up being stronger than you think so I'd just use a little at first and take notes. The cinnamon's usually pretty pleasant if you don't go overboard.

As far as putting the spices in with the roast pumpkin, might work out pretty well. I'd give it a shot at least and see what it's like and the brown sugar will add a nice dimension too I think (which should end up carmelizing in the oven). I will say you've got a lot going on in that beer though. It might be difficult to pick up on some of the subtler flavors in it with so many different tastes floating around.

 

[VTBrewer07]

Add 1lb or more of rice hulls or expect a stuck sparge!!

I did a pumpkin ale this past weekend with 10lbs of roasted and pureed pumpkin mashed in, and it wasn't pretty. The grain bed was like cement, and I had plenty of water in the mash. Wasn't a ton of fun for my first AG brew.

 

[mattyb85]

Yeah rice hulls are definitely going in. I have a pump but I don't think I'll use it on this brew. Slow drain will be done for sure

 

[Indian_villager]

I wouldn't mash that long. Too many people rambling about tannins and I have not taken the chance on it to say otherwise. Why not drain the mash and then toss in a campden tab into the wort and boil the next day?