Pumpkin ale dilemma's

[VincentxH]

In the near future I'd like to brew a pumkin ale. I use extract as of yet and I'll probably use steeping malts.

A lot of people talk about the mouth feel from adding pumpkin during mashing, so as an alternative I want to make a pumpkin purée to steep. Pumpkin doesn't seem to add a lot of sugars looking at nutritional info, only 12 grams or so of carbohydrates per 100 grams.

Would this be a viable alternative for mashing pumpkin?
And what exactly creates the mouthfeel?

The second thing I'd like to do is to chill the wort after hopping and spicing to 63C (F 146) and add a mash bag with freshly grated pumpkin and pasteurize it for 30 minutes in the wort. Retaining a lot of the aroma's and taste of fresh pumpkin. Then I'd like to keep that bag in the wort during primary.

Any comments on that?

I don't really care a lot about problems with clearing, though suggestions are welcome. I'm mainly after creating an ale that's spiced nicely with a great pumpkin flavour.

 

[Natdavis777]

I think your first idea with steeping the mashed pumpkin is a fine idea. As for the keeping the mashed pumpkin in the primary, I don't think it is needed. The complex sugars extracted from the pumpkin will aid in mouthfeel because they won't be fermented by the yeast. I know some brewers use yams/sweet potatoes in place of pumpkin and yield similar results.

I've only tried one pumpkin ale. And I mashed with sweet potatoes. Unfortunately that batch was infected and pitched because a lot of hose water got into the beer when a hose on my IC decided to blow. So I cannot comment on how well the sweet potatoes contributed to the beer.

There are commercial examples that don't use any pumpkin, and rely completely on spices, such as shipyard pumpkinhead (my preferred choice)


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[kyt]

I made a pumpkin beer last fall, and I used frozen puree (that was actually from the year prior) in boil. It was pressure cooked, then pureed, and bagged hot. I didn't get any noticeable infection from it. Near the end of the boil I put it in, still frozen. Which did of course cause it to stop boiling. I just kept it on the heat until it started to boil again, then pulled it to chill.
I made that one in the kitchen, I think it was only 4-5L small batch.

 

[BrewerinBR]

Steeping the pumpkin will work and will get you the mouth feel your looking for but not much of the pumpkin flavor or spice flavor will come through. In addition to steeping the pumpkin I recommend that after fermentation completes and you reached final gravity you taste your testing sample and determine just how much pumpkin and spice flavor came through. Then take a 16 ounce can of pumpkin (make sure it is 100% pure pumpkin) put it in 2 quart pan add 1 quart of water and bring to a boil turn off heat and add the spices in the amount you think necessary based on taste test. You can throw in some hops if you like. Cool this in an ice bath as quickly as you can and add it to the fermenter and mix in gently with a sanitized spoon. Then allow it to sit for 7 to 10 days. Then bottle/keg ... you may want to use a sparge bag when racking to your bottle bucket or keg to help clarify it a little.

I make 10 gallons of pumpkin ale every year and it is a big hit. I am all grain and live in the sticks so I can get pie pumpkins from the Amish farmers near by. I quarter them and cook them on an open fire until soft. I then let them cool and peel and cut them up. Three quarters goes into the mash and the last quarter I boil until its a mush and add spice and hops and add it to the fermenter after fermentation completes.

 

[VincentxH]

That's a great idea to just create a pumpkin and spice "syrup" I can even add the sugar needed to carbonate it ^^

 

[JF_HBrews]

Steeping the pumpkin will work and will get you the mouth feel your looking for but not much of the pumpkin flavor or spice flavor will come through. In addition to steeping the pumpkin I recommend that after fermentation completes and you reached final gravity you taste your testing sample and determine just how much pumpkin and spice flavor came through. Then take a 16 ounce can of pumpkin (make sure it is 100% pure pumpkin) put it in 2 quart pan add 1 quart of water and bring to a boil turn off heat and add the spices in the amount you think necessary based on taste test. You can throw in some hops if you like. Cool this in an ice bath as quickly as you can and add it to the fermenter and mix in gently with a sanitized spoon. Then allow it to sit for 7 to 10 days. Then bottle/keg ... you may want to use a sparge bag when racking to your bottle bucket or keg to help clarify it a little.

I make 10 gallons of pumpkin ale every year and it is a big hit. I am all grain and live in the sticks so I can get pie pumpkins from the Amish farmers near by. I quarter them and cook them on an open fire until soft. I then let them cool and peel and cut them up. Three quarters goes into the mash and the last quarter I boil until its a mush and add spice and hops and add it to the fermenter after fermentation completes.

^ x2 - I like to add a second round of pumpkin and spices in the secondary (late primary really as i don't usually secondary).

 

[MNDan]

I haven't added pumpkin to my pumpkin beers in years - haven't really noticed a difference and they turn out great! The "pumpkin" flavor comes from the spices and how they mesh with your specialty grains.