Autumn Seasonal Beer Punkin' Ale

Williams 728
Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Pics

1414785280419.jpg


1414785290419.jpg
 
Time for an update. Brewed a 5 gal partial mash of this recipe in early August. Fermentation temp got a way from me for a day or so (I have since learned my lesson!), resulting in what I think were some fusel issues. A little over two months in the bottle, and wowzers, is this thing good...and right in time Halloween!

I will definitely be making this again next year!

Thanks for the great recipe.

image.jpg
 
I'm glad it worked out for you! Many things in the brewing world can be fixed with time. :mug:
 
Snowden said:
Time for an update. Brewed a 5 gal partial mash of this recipe in early August. Fermentation temp got a way from me for a day or so (I have since learned my lesson!), resulting in what I think were some fusel issues. A little over two months in the bottle, and wowzers, is this thing good...and right in time Halloween!

I will definitely be making this again next year!

Thanks for the great recipe.
Click to expand...

no lacing or head? looks like a flat brew, but the color looks spot on.
 
I've brewed this over 6 times now over the past few years and I wanted to share one thing that I believe makes this awesome recipe even that much better.
I've used a few different spices but, "The Spice Hunter Pumpkin Pie" spice has by FAR made the best batches! Way more complex pumpkin pie spice flavors. In case anyone was interested, the ingredients are:
Cinnamon, Ginger, Lemon peel, Nutmeg, Cloves, Cardamom, Star Anise, Fennel, Black Pepper.
Anyways, I wanted to share with anyone else that might want to try it as well! Thanks again for the recipe Reno!

spice hunter.jpg
 
Greetings from balmy Singapore!

Brewed this mid-October - modified the recipe slightly by adding more brown sugar and using Brett Trois yeast (full details of the recipe here: https://www.brewtoad.com/recipes/punkin-ale-25)

Here are the abridged stats:

OG 1.074
FG 1.012

I am not much of a canned food person, so I used lovely Australian blue pumpkins instead (http://comusmd.com/pumpkin_jaradale.html)

The brew is quite potent, pulling ~8.3% ABV.

Had guests over and everyone loved the beer - thanks Reno!! :mug:

Pumpkin beer.jpg
 
cpa4ny said:
Greetings from balmy Singapore!

Brewed this mid-October - modified the recipe slightly by adding more brown sugar and using Brett Trois yeast (full details of the recipe here: https://www.brewtoad.com/recipes/punkin-ale-25)

Here are the abridged stats:

OG 1.074
FG 1.012

I am not much of a canned food person, so I used lovely Australian blue pumpkins instead (http://comusmd.com/pumpkin_jaradale.html)

The brew is quite potent, pulling ~8.3% ABV.

Had guests over and everyone loved the beer - thanks Reno!! :mug:
Click to expand...

Nice! i was wondering when someone would post about using a brett fermentation on this! Cool!
 
I cracked and tried one after only a week and a half in the bottle and damn! It was great! Smelled just like pumpkin pie! Delicious recipe thanks again!
 
I entered this into a comp and although I didnt win, it scored a 40, cant wait to see the judging sheets.
 
kenoglass said:
I entered this into a comp and although I didnt win, it scored a 40, cant wait to see the judging sheets.
Click to expand...

One judge said he couldnt taste any pumpkin but the other did. The one national judge also wants to hear how I achieved this excellent balance and fresh spice character. So seems like good feedback and a great beer thanks Reno!!
 
Hey, Reno - About to bottle this after 2 months (ok, 7 weeks, but next week is booked) in primary. Do you use bottling sugar, and if so what amount?
Or do you just keg?

<edit> Nevermind, I found the earlier thread about the bottling calculator... and the 3.75 oz of brown sugar. :)
 
Last edited:
leftcontact said:
Hey, Reno - About to bottle this after 2 months (ok, 7 weeks, but next week is booked) in primary. Do you use bottling sugar, and if so what amount?
Or do you just keg?

<edit> Nevermind, I found the earlier thread about the bottling calculator... and the 3.75 oz of brown sugar. :)
Click to expand...

Glad I could help :D :D :D
 
Snowden said:
How did it taste? Spices still there? The batch I made in July seems to keep getting better and better.


Sent from my iPod touch using Home Brew
Click to expand...

The spices had faded, but still there for sure. The vanilla was subtle.

Mine had some carbonation creep up on it, so it was a bit effervescent. The spices seemed to start fading after about 6 months then level off.
 
Hey Reno, been meaning to post for a while. This year I decided to try the pumpkin ale recipe from Brewing Classic styles and I have to say I much prefer your recipe. I will be switching back to your recipe next fall. Not bad, head to head you beat the great Jamil Zainasheff!

Merry Christmas all.
 
Well, I am looking into a pumpkin ale for fall and this one seems great! Has anyone added a little bit of vanilla to this recipe?
 
chuckcomm said:
This is also better than Northern Brewers Smashing Pumpkin Ale :)
Click to expand...

I tries the Smashing Punkin last year and it was ok, a little shy of spices. But I added pumpkin to it. It had a squashy taste, but not overbearing. Definitely trying this recipe this year.
 
treacheroustexan said:
Brewing this on Saturday in hopes it will be ready for fall!
Click to expand...

It will definitely be ready for fall! This beer is ready pretty quickly. After fermentation I usually fine with gelatin and it is good to go within a few weeks of kegging/ bottling.

Great recipe!!
 
glick said:
It will definitely be ready for fall! This beer is ready pretty quickly. After fermentation I usually fine with gelatin and it is good to go within a few weeks of kegging/ bottling.

Great recipe!!
Click to expand...

It is ready pretty quick, however as OP said it does get better after about 6 months, I had a case set back from last fall I was going to save for this October, but I moved & didn't brew for 2 months and ended up getting into it about a month ago, even better than I remember it being last fall.

Too bad I only have 2 bottles left now :(
 
Alright, I can't really read through 195 pages of stuff but I sure tried. Beersmith told me to only mash with 4 gallons, but I think I will mash with 5 gallons and then sparge until I hit my pre boil volume. Any other tips you guys have?
 
I mixed the pumpkin in with the mash water as i was heating it. It seems to get better distributed through the grains and didnt stick. Then again the rice hulls probably helped too. Also that way you do not really have to account for the temperature difference of the pumpkin in the mash as it is at the same temp as the water.
 
DrunkleJon said:
I mixed the pumpkin in with the mash water as i was heating it. It seems to get better distributed through the grains and didnt stick. Then again the rice hulls probably helped too. Also that way you do not really have to account for the temperature difference of the pumpkin in the mash as it is at the same temp as the water.
Click to expand...

I may try that! Sounds like a good idea. Did you still bake the pumpkin?
 
DrunkleJon said:
I mixed the pumpkin in with the mash water as i was heating it. It seems to get better distributed through the grains and didnt stick. Then again the rice hulls probably helped too. Also that way you do not really have to account for the temperature difference of the pumpkin in the mash as it is at the same temp as the water.
Click to expand...

I noticed that if you used canned pumpkin, your chances of a stuck sparge skyrocket. Try and use fresh pumpkin whenever possible I think. Much less issues. Just my thoughts.
 
StoutNoDoubt said:
I noticed that if you used canned pumpkin, your chances of a stuck sparge skyrocket. Try and use fresh pumpkin whenever possible I think. Much less issues. Just my thoughts.
Click to expand...

Hmm... I used canned, mixed it in with the strike water where it practically dissolved entirely while heating, and stirred it in using the amount of rice hulls specified in the recipe. I dont even think that draining the tun was noticably any slower than usual.
 
I literally just read through every page.... I bought all of my ingredients today. Can't wait to brew saturday! Minus the people who add the pumpkin to the strike water, what is a good strike water temperature for the grain, rice hulls and pumpkin? Not sure what I am gonna do yet but I know I don't want to mash at a too low of a temp.
 
Sorry to bump but my Hallertaur that I bought are only 2.7% alpha, bringing me to only 11 ibu's instead of the original 19. Big deal? or should I add my 5 minute hop addition earlier in the boil to get more bitterness? Brewing in an hour or so. Opinions would be great! Thanks.
 
treacheroustexan said:
Sorry to bump but my Hallertaur that I bought are only 2.7% alpha, bringing me to only 11 ibu's instead of the original 19. Big deal? or should I add my 5 minute hop addition earlier in the boil to get more bitterness? Brewing in an hour or so. Opinions would be great! Thanks.
Click to expand...

You would have to move a late addition much closer to 60 in order to bump the IBUs noticeably. Those late additions add flavor and aroma, but little bitterness.

Depending on the IBUs of your late additions, you might be able to move a small amount of them to 60 to get closer to the original. If you don't have something like Beersmith, you can use a website like Brewer's Friend's recipe builder to see how much you should shift. It will calculate the IBUs.
 
Currently mashing in. At 154 F with 40 minutes left! Going well so far, smells amazing in there.


Edit: Everything went terrific, currently chilling in my bathtub while I go to a cookout at my parents for fathers day. Will pitch the yeast when I get home! My apartment smells FANTASTIC.
 
So I had some complications and chilled my wort overnight instead of instantly and pitching :( So I brewed yesterday and then put the hot wort into a sanitized pail and sealed it and let it cool overnight and just pitched. My OG was 1.062, so I really hope it turns out. I have used this method several times in the past and no issues but we will see.
 

Similar threads

S
Autumn Wheat Ale
Replies
5
Views
1K
kwilson16
kwilson16
PashMaddle
Brew day #2 is done.
Replies
22
Views
1K
lumpher
lumpher
Zippy123
Feedback on recipe to split mash for two different beers
Replies
2
Views
454
Zippy123
Zippy123
zinn
How does my creamy pumpkin ale recipe look?
Replies
4
Views
1K
Leezer
Leezer
luckybeagle
Pumpkin beer with lutra Kveik? Anyone done it?
Replies
2
Views
574
leedspointbrew
leedspointbrew
InkBird 300

Latest posts

Back
Top