Pumpkin ale tricks?

[joe10pa]

I'm brewing 2 5 gallon batches of a pumpkin ale. This is my first time attempting a fruit beer. Any tricks or tips anyone would recommend to really impart a great pumpkin flavor. Real pumpkin over canned? Pumpkin spice? At what points should I add some of these flavors to get the best flavor detainment? Any help is appreciated!

 

[ronjonacron]

Im on my phone so its near impossible to link threads, but the spice beer category inth ere cipe database is filled with a ton a pumpkin beers filled with tidbits of imformation, like for some reason baking canned pumpkin before you mash or boil it. Good luck!

 

[harry_the_face]

I would recommend putting the pumpkin in primary for the best flavor and to prevent a horribly stuck sparge. Did it in primary the first time and it came out great. Did it in mash and had a stuck sparge from hell. I even used rice hulls but it turned into cement.

 

[dave1226]

I've only made one pumpkin brew and that was about 2 years ago. We used canned pumpkin and we baked it first and added it to the boil. Then we added a few shots of rum to the secondary. It turned out wonderful and people are still asking for a repeat, only I don't like to repeat brews. There's prolly a million ways to do what you want, that's the beauty of brewing. I know that doesn't really answer your question but don't be afraid to try anything when it comes to brewing. Find an idea like you just did and then look up the different ways to make it and then just try one. From there you can figure out what you need to do different next time (more pumpkin, add it to primary, add it to mash or whatever you desire). Cheers!

 

[dave1226]

I've only made one pumpkin brew and that was about 2 years ago. We used canned pumpkin and we baked it first and added it to the boil. Then we added a few shots of rum to the secondary. It turned out wonderful and people are still asking for a repeat, only I don't like to repeat brews. There's prolly a million ways to do what you want, that's the beauty of brewing. I know that doesn't really answer your question but don't be afraid to try anything when it comes to brewing. Find an idea like you just did and then look up the different ways to make it and then just try one. From there you can figure out what you need to do different next time (more pumpkin, add it to primary, add it to mash or whatever you desire). Cheers!

Made a pumpkin brew once