My Pumpkin beer public service announcement

[J187]

Have you ever heard of "Pie Pumpkins"? Well, you probably should be using them. That's right, not all pumpkins are created equal.

Pie pumpkins are any one of several varieties of pumpkin grown for eating rather than decorating. Pie pumpkins are smaller and more dense than decorative pumpkins. Recipes calling for pumpkin may use canned or fresh pie pumpkins, but should never have decorative pumpkins used as a substitute.

In North America, decorative pumpkins are carved into jack-o’-lanterns in honor of Halloween. Pumpkins bred for this purpose are usually meant to be very large, mostly hollow and flat-bottomed for stability. The side effect of the large growth is that the flesh of the pumpkin is usually watery and bland. Although the seeds inside decorative pumpkins are excellent for toasting, the flesh should not be eaten, as it is usually tasteless. Common varieties of decorative pumpkin include Howdon biggy and Connecticut field.

Pie pumpkins are small and dense and usually have a medium or dark orange color. They usually appear in markets and grocery stores in August and September, and continue to be sold through November. The most common variety of pie pumpkin is the deliciously flavorful sugar pie, but other good eating pumpkins may include winter luxury, deep red, and golden cushaw.

If you intend to use pumpkin flesh in your brew, THIS is the secret!

 

[JohnnyRay]

Good info, thanks!

 

[TopherM]

My pumpkin beer public service announcement:

NOW IS THE TIME TO BREW THEM! Don't wait until Oct. 1 and decide you want one for Halloween!

 

[ill4delph]

Brewing mine today actually

 

[And1129]

I'm planning a few pumpkin brews coming up and i'm gonna do some experimentation with them!

 

[KyGooglenerd]

Posting links to favorites recipes would be extremely cool! TIA!

 

[jleiii]

The Hubbard Squash is commonly used for Pumpkin pie. I've not used it in beer, but it makes a great pie. Worth considering for beer.

I got 2 others last fall from a farmers market, both similar in shape to jack-o-lanterns, but smaller, and very dense. One was orange, and the other more like tan. Both made excellent tasting puree, and 1 went into my pumpkin beer, but sorry I can't recall what varieties they were. I have some in the freezer for this years brew.

And, they are all squash.

 

[J187]

Yes, multiple brewers use squash in place of pumpkin when they brew before pumpkins are in season.

 

[jleiii]

Yes, multiple brewers use squash in place of pumpkin when they brew before pumpkins are in season.

Since all pumpkins are squashes, they probably all come into season about the same time - fall. Other kinds of squashes ripen all season.

 

[Arrheinous]

Sweet potato finds its way into some 'pumpkin' beers and it's usually more available year-round.

 

[TopherM]

My club did a pumpkin beer experiment last year where we did batches of pumpkin beer with the same base and spices, but used canned pumpkin, roasted fresh pumpkin, butternut squash, fresh yams, and sweet potato (all from the local grocery store). We also did the pumpkin both in the mash and boil to test those methods.

In the finished product, no one was really able to identify which was which in a blind test, and the canned pumpkin was voted the best in the blind test by about 70%.

We concluded that it's the mouthfeel and proteins that you get from all of the heavy starches that matters the most, and what most people perceive as "pumpkin" isn't really the pumpkin meat, it's the pumpkin pie spices. So use whatever pumpkin-like starch you have available and/or feel most comfortable with.

 

[drinkindinkins]

Last year my brew shop had an excellent pumpkin beer on tap and I decided to recreate it. The recipe called for pumpkin purée out of the can.

First go around was an epic failure as it clogged the air lock and blew my glass carboy. Nasty mess in my small apartment.

Tried again but was really not happy with the beer. Very cloudy beer and mediocre end result.

This year I am going to try a better filtering process and use fresh pumpkins.

Thanks for the tip!

 

[Arrheinous]

Last year my brew shop had an excellent pumpkin beer on tap and I decided to recreate it. The recipe called for pumpkin purée out of the can.

First go around was an epic failure as it clogged the air lock and blew my glass carboy. Nasty mess in my small apartment.

Tried again but was really not happy with the beer. Very cloudy beer and mediocre end result.

This year I am going to try a better filtering process and use fresh pumpkins.

Thanks for the tip!

The other part of PSA should be that a pumpkin beers can end up with a ton of trub in the fermenter leading to lower volumes of wort in the end.

 

[william_shakes_beer]

I tries pumpkin ber 3 or 4 times in my brewing career. Never happy with the result, I guess I'm pumpkin illiterate.

 

[glick]

Last year my brew shop had an excellent pumpkin beer on tap and I decided to recreate it. The recipe called for pumpkin purée out of the can.

First go around was an epic failure as it clogged the air lock and blew my glass carboy. Nasty mess in my small apartment.

Tried again but was really not happy with the beer. Very cloudy beer and mediocre end result.

This year I am going to try a better filtering process and use fresh pumpkins.

Thanks for the tip!

My first pumpkin beer was also mediocre at best, but I found that fining with gelatin post fermentation makes a HUGE difference in both taste and appearance.

 

[DrunkleJon]

Pumpkin mainly seems to contribute a beautiful orangey color in addition to the mouthfeel. The spice is where most of what people preceve as pumpkin comes from. You really think they put actual pumpkin in those starbucks coffee-dessert things now do you?

This is a great pumpkin recipe. Though mine got an accidental brett infection last year and is still delicious.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f76/punkin-ale-145060/

 

[Arrheinous]

I'm thinking of doing a pumpkin 'lambic' this Labor Day in time for next year's Halloween. Replace the 30% unmalted wheat for canned pumpkin in the mash and allow the larger trub to carry over into the fermenter to age the beer on as if it were the fruit addition.

It'll be a monster of a sparge.

 

[DrunkleJon]

I toast the pumpkin puree then mix it with my strike water for better temperature control and mixing into the mash. Definitely remember to use rice hulls.

 

[cheezydemon3]

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!





FALL





Good info!

 

[Arrheinous]

I toast the pumpkin puree then mix it with my strike water for better temperature control and mixing into the mash. Definitely remember to use rice hulls.

Any advantage to letting the first runnings (and then precious sugars) out and then adding the pumpkin to the mash before sparging? That'd minimize the impact of all the starches on hitting the OG and allow the grain bed to filter out all the pumpkin slime without the sugar making the wort thicker.

 

[DrunkleJon]

Dunno honestly. I figure I want to get everything out of the pumpkin I can if I am going to be dealing with the slower sparge steps so may as well deal with the potential stuck sparge every time. Maybe the enzymes will be able to do some work on the pumpkin mass, I dont know.

 

[frogman]

Tip for dealing with those stuck sparges.

I got sick and tired of getting a stuck sparge whenever I made pumpkin beer, so I racked my brain and this is what I came up with.

Then night before I heat my water to 150 deg and add it to my 5 or 10 gallon gott cooler. I then mix in my canned pumpkin, put the lid on and let it sit overnight, stirring a few times before bed. The next morning all of the pumpkin will have settled to the bottom leaving you with orange pumpkin flavored water. Just grab your racking cane and siphon the water off the pumpkin, reheat and mash in. You get all the pumpkin flavor and color without the stuck sparge.

 

[Arrheinous]

Then night before I heat my water to 150 deg and add it to my 5 or 10 gallon gott cooler. I then mix in my canned pumpkin, put the lid on and let it sit overnight, stirring a few times before bed. The next morning all of the pumpkin will have settled to the bottom leaving you with orange pumpkin flavored water. Just grab your racking cane and siphon the water off the pumpkin, reheat and mash in. You get all the pumpkin flavor and color without the stuck sparge.

That's pretty slick. Can you tell any difference versus putting the whole thing in the mash?

 

[frogman]

That's pretty slick. Can you tell any difference versus putting the whole thing in the mash?

Sorry for the late reply.
Not at all, you get the flavor and the color from the pumpkin without the stuck mash. If you think about it you are just mashing the pumpkin separate from the grain, basically making a pumpkin tea overnight. The next morning the pumpkin will have settled to the bottom. All you have to do is siphon the tea off, reheat to your strike temp and mash in. Even if you suck up a little of the pumpkin off the bottom it won't be enough to create a stuck mash. I make about 20 gallons of pumpkin beer a year for myself and friends and used to dread it until I came up with this. Give it a try I think you'll be happy with the results. I'm making a 5 gallon batch tomorrow, I can take a few pics of the process and post them tomorrow.

 

[BraneDead]

I do something similar. I bake a couple cans of pumpkin, throw it into a nylon bag, and leave the bag in my kettle as I heat my strike water. If you leave it in there long enough, and move it around, the water definitely turns orange and takes on the pumpkin texture. Sure beats those ridiculous stuck sparges!

 

[hnycrk]

Brewing my pumpkin ale this Sunday. Can't wait.