Autumn Seasonal Beer Punkin' Ale

[brewmaster12]

Will be brewing this tonight but with more pumpkin in the mash and Vienna malt instead of victory.. I'll be doing it as a 4 gallon BIAB batch and then I'll be adding 2 oz each of good vanilla extract and bourbon at bottling time! Will let you know how it goes!

 

[dustinp]

I brewed this yesterday following the recipe and adding some extra H2O for the pumpkin. I had 2 problems; the 1st problem is that my boil off was way more then usual. I started with 6.5 gallons for the 5 gallon final product which is about my normal during a brew, and I was almost a gallon short after the 60 min. boil! Never been that far off! Oh well, just added a gallon of water after boil and OG ended up at 1.066. Also, I did 1 Tablespoon of PP spice at 10 minutes and .5 Tablespoon at 5 minutes. It ended up a lot more spicy then I had hoped out of the hydrometer tube, but I am guessing that it will mellow after fermentation and some time. Hopefully I read Tablespoon right and it wasn't supposed to be teaspoon!! I am planning on a 2 week primary and 1 week secondary. Anyone have ideas for either of these issues?! Thanks!

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Will be brewing this tonight but with more pumpkin in the mash and Vienna malt instead of victory.. I'll be doing it as a 4 gallon BIAB batch and then I'll be adding 2 oz each of good vanilla extract and bourbon at bottling time! Will let you know how it goes!

Sounds like a good combination... but I think 2oz of vanilla extract will be waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much. That stuff is extra strong. I've also heard it's effect in the final product isn't that spectacular.

 

[Reno_eNVy]

I brewed this yesterday following the recipe and adding some extra H2O for the pumpkin. I had 2 problems; the 1st problem is that my boil off was way more then usual. I started with 6.5 gallons for the 5 gallon final product which is about my normal during a brew, and I was almost a gallon short after the 60 min. boil! Never been that far off! Oh well, just added a gallon of water after boil and OG ended up at 1.066. Also, I did 1 Tablespoon of PP spice at 10 minutes and .5 Tablespoon at 5 minutes. It ended up a lot more spicy then I had hoped out of the hydrometer tube, but I am guessing that it will mellow after fermentation and some time. Hopefully I read Tablespoon right and it wasn't supposed to be teaspoon!! I am planning on a 2 week primary and 1 week secondary. Anyone have ideas for either of these issues?! Thanks!

Neither of those sounds like issues to me, just solutions. And it is indeed Tablespoons, not teaspoons.

 

[Stevo2569]

Sounds like a good combination... but I think 2oz of vanilla extract will be waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much. That stuff is extra strong. I've also heard it's effect in the final product isn't that spectacular.

+1
Start low and work your way up at bottling. And use Real Vanilla Extract.

 

[Canadabrew]

Fruity esters? Hmm... what temperature did you keep them at? Also, I'm surprised the S-04 attenuated more than the US-05.

Yes yeast wise I also find it strange. I kept the temp in the low 60's which I thought was ideal.

I did also ferment these in cornies but wouldn't have thought that would have much to do with it. Anyway will leave them for another week or so then keg them up. Also no discernible spice taste so may add a little more.

Worse case ill tell people it's a crazy heffe

 

[brewmaster12]

+1
Start low and work your way up at bottling. And use Real Vanilla Extract.

Right after I wrote 2 oz I checked my notes and realized I decided I am going to add 1 oz and then taste to see where it is at.

 

[TimeBaby]

Brewed this up yesterday and I can't wait until the final result. A few notes on how mine ended up/might impart slight changes:

Since I could not find pumpkin for the life of me [and that I'd also been toying with the idea], I substituted pumpkin for butternut squash. I baked pre-cut chunks (totaling about 2.5lbs) with a bit of water at 350 for 1 hour (bumped up to 400 so I could get more Mallard/browning) then blended that into a puree and added to mash. Because of this, I'm calling the beer "Sasquash".

Other than that, held my mash temps at 154 for 1 hour. I ended up with more pre-boil volume so I extended my boil for another 30min, but keeping the same addition schedule. SG was about 1.063 (after temp adjustment) and my hydro sample tasted amazing! Pitched 1 packet of S-05 into well aerated wort, and this morning I've already got a healthy krausen and rapid airlock activity.

I'm excited about this one.

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Brewed this up yesterday and I can't wait until the final result. A few notes on how mine ended up/might impart slight changes:

Since I could not find pumpkin for the life of me [and that I'd also been toying with the idea], I substituted pumpkin for butternut squash. I baked pre-cut chunks (totaling about 2.5lbs) with a bit of water at 350 for 1 hour (bumped up to 400 so I could get more Mallard/browning) then blended that into a puree and added to mash. Because of this, I'm calling the beer "Sasquash".

Other than that, held my mash temps at 154 for 1 hour. I ended up with more pre-boil volume so I extended my boil for another 30min, but keeping the same addition schedule. SG was about 1.063 (after temp adjustment) and my hydro sample tasted amazing! Pitched 1 packet of S-05 into well aerated wort, and this morning I've already got a healthy krausen and rapid airlock activity.

I'm excited about this one.

Sasquash! LOVE IT! :rockin:

Good thinking cranking it up to 400 to get some more Maillard... that really makes the squash/pumpkin stand out a bit in the final product.

Can't wait to see the results!

 

[brewmaster12]

Alrighty then... For anyone thinking about doing an All-Grain BIAB version, here's what went down when I did that last night. I realized in my 8 gallon brew pot there was no way I was going to be able to fit everything in the mash at the same time, because I bumped the amount of pumpkin up to 5 lbs.

Instead, I put all of the roasted pumpkin in a 5-gallon paint strainer and basically steeped it in the water as I brought it up to strike temperature. I was aiming for a stronger version of this brew so I wanted a thicker mouthfeel to go along with the higher ABV so I mashed at 158 for 60 minutes. When the water hit strike temp, I pulled the bag out with all the pumpkin and let it drain for a few minutes before moving on. After removing the pumpkin, the water had turned to a strong orange color, without any of the pulp left behind from the pumpkin. I then went ahead and mashed in as usual with my BIAB set-up. I added one lb of brown sugar with 50 min left in the boil, and then 1 tbls. of homemade pumpkin pie spice mix at 10 minutes left in the boil. Cooled and pitched with US-05 and finished around 11 PM last night. At 7 AM when I woke up, I was getting 2-3 bubbles per second so it was pretty exciting to see it take off that quick! Great recipe, and I'm hoping my changes will still result in a great beer! The color going into the fermenter was fantastic.

 

[brewmaster12]

Here was my final recipe for anyone who is interested.
Recipe Type: All Grain
Yeast: US-05
Yeast Starter: no
Additional Yeast or Yeast Starter: no
Batch Size (Gallons): 5
Original Gravity: 1.076
Final Gravity: 1.017
IBU: 33.0
Boiling Time (Minutes): 60
Color: 15
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 21
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 7


O.G. 1.076
F.G. 1.017
Efficiency: 70%
Color: 15 SRM
Bitter: 34 IBU


Grain bill
11.25 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 78.3 %
.60 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 4.3 %
.60 lb Vienna Malt (4.0 SRM) Grain 4.3 %
1.00 lb Flaked Oats (2.0 SRM) Grain 6.5 %
80 oz Libby's pumpkin (.5 Tbls Homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice Sprinkled on before baking) --- Bake at 350*F for 45-60 minutes (I steeped this in a 5 gallon paint strainer bag in my strike water as I brought it up to strike temperature. The result was a pumpkiny water-both in aroma and color- that I used as my strike water in the normal BIAB method)



Mash (batch sparge)
Single infusion, Medium body, Mash-out with 4 quarts at 212*F
24QT of 167*F water (step temp of 158)



Boil (60 minutes)
1.00 lb Brown Sugar (50 min)
1oz Willamette (4.8%) (60 min)
1oz Hallertaur (4.8%) (30 min)
1.0 Tbs Homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice (10 min)



Yeast
1 Pkgs SafAle American Ale (Chico) (DCL Yeast #US-05)

 

[FightingBob]

80 oz Libby's pumpkin (.5 Tbls Homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice Sprinkled on before baking) --- Bake at 350*F for 45-60 minutes (I steeped this in a 5 gallon paint strainer bag in my strike water as I brought it up to strike temperature. The result was a pumpkiny water-both in aroma and color- that I used as my strike water in the normal BIAB method)

What a great way to avoid a stuck sparge and get a pumpkiny flavor. Let us know how this turns out.

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Nice I've been hoping someone would post their BIAB experience with this recipe

 

[brewmaster12]

Checked it tonight when I got home. 24 hours after pitching the airlock looks like a machine-gun! Took a whiff of the air coming out the airlock and it smells perfect. Pumpkin, spice, and all that other good stuff

 

[absoluthamm]

Mine should be ready to bottle this weekend. Any suggestions for priming?

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Meh, just use regular corn sugar and try to not make it too carbonated or you may lose some mouthfeel. Shoot for 2.2 - 2.5 volumes of CO2.

 

[brewmaster12]

Meh, just use regular corn sugar and try to not make it too carbonated or you may lose some mouthfeel. Shoot for 2.2 - 2.5 volumes of CO2.

I've heard brown sugar is good but I think there is enough already going on with this one..

 

[Reno_eNVy]

I've heard brown sugar is good but I think there is enough already going on with this one..

Yeah there's definitely enough brown sugar in this one already

Just a general reminder about priming, never do it by volume!!! Sugar (especially brown) is quite compactible and the 3/4cup measurement is always going to weigh differently. Get a cheap kitchen scale and do it right :rockin:

 

[onipar]

Yeah there's definitely enough brown sugar in this one already

Just a general reminder about priming, never do it by volume!!! Sugar (especially brown) is quite compactible and the 3/4cup measurement is always going to weigh differently. Get a cheap kitchen scale and do it right :rockin:

Also, something I learned the hard way, make sure of how much beer you have before boiling up your corn sugar. I forgot about loss due to trub in my recipe, and I primed for 4.8 gallons, but only had 4.5 gallons. Not the worst, but still, probably be a bit more carbonated than I wanted.

 

[Waterboy42]

I was building my own recipe and stumbled upon this thread. Almost identical! I swapped out the Victory for biscuit, and am using Northern Brewer for hop additions. Can't wait to brew this on Friday!!

I was planning on a 14 day primary and a 7-10 secondary, depending on how it clears up. Curious to why you had the primary/secondary schedule you did Reno?

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Thanks for the interest, Waterboy.

The reasoning for the schedule is because a) 21 days is the absolute minimum I give every beer I make, and b) the 3 days secondary was only for when I used gelatin.

The batch I made this year has been in primary for about 26 days now and I don't plan on using a secondary. Secondary only seems necessary for me if I'm aging, dry hoppping, using gelatin, spicing, etc.

 

[Waterboy42]

I take it no gelatin then? If so, interested to hear how it clears up.

 

[Brewskii]

I am brewing this this weekend but I have never had a stuck sparge...I think that if it's going to happen this is the one. I ordered 1# of rice hulls (never used em before) for a 5 gallon batch in a 10 gal cooler w/false bottom. Does that sound right? You guys are scaring me with the stuck sparge stories. I plan on filling the kettel as slowly as I can.

 

[Reno_eNVy]

I take it no gelatin then? If so, interested to hear how it clears up.

Well this is the first time doing this recipe with temperature control, so I've been slowly lowering the temp down to 40 so i can cold crash without shocking the yeast.. that is, instead of using gelatin. I will certainly post the results.

 

[Reno_eNVy]

I am brewing this this weekend but I have never had a stuck sparge...I think that if it's going to happen this is the one. I ordered 1# of rice hulls (never used em before) for a 5 gallon batch in a 10 gal cooler w/false bottom. Does that sound right? You guys are scaring me with the stuck sparge stories. I plan on filling the kettel as slowly as I can.

A pound will suit you well, just be sure to soak and rinse them first.

 

[homebrewin]

brewed this on 08/12 bottled on 09/02 - definitely needs to carb up a bit more as for tasting notes- mine has a medium body with an almost perfect balance of hops and sweetness leaning towards the sweet side, the spices compliment the sweet nicely, i will brew it again sometime and when i do the only change I would make it to increase the spices by a bit
here's a crappy pic :rockin:

 

[BrewNinja1]

Brewing this as we speak. Got 30 minutes left on the boil. Mashing this thing was a beast. Sticky doesnt even begin to describe it! Tried running my pump on my direct fire mash tun and ended up with clay. Had to stir every couple of minutes. Ended up a little low on pre-boil gravity (according to beersmith...not sure how accurate it was since it was before adding the brown sugar), but we will see where it ends up when its done. Cant wait to give this a try.

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Well that sounds frustrating, BrewNinja! Did you use rice hulls?

 

[ZACKARU]

Reno Envy-

Where in Reno did you find your cans of pumpkin ?

 

[Waterboy42]

brewed this on 08/12 bottled on 09/02 - definitely needs to carb up a bit more as for tasting notes- mine has a medium body with an almost perfect balance of hops and sweetness leaning towards the sweet side, the spices compliment the sweet nicely, i will brew it again sometime and when i do the only change I would make it to increase the spices by a bit
here's a crappy pic :rockin:

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/194/photo3jzr.jpg/

How much did you use for spice additions?

 

[homebrewin]

1.5 T of mccorm

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Reno Envy-

Where in Reno did you find your cans of pumpkin ?

Found the last two cans at Scolari's about a month ago. I have no idea of the selection right now but next time I go to a store I'll be sure to check.

However, I did notice that there are pumpkins outside of the Raley's in Golden Valley.

Good to see another Renoite(?) on here!

 

[Waterboy42]

Went to three stores in Minneapolis today. Nada. Zilch. Nothing. Plenty of spiced Libbey's but no plain! Thankfully I got a rain check on a shipment coming in tomorrow AM

 

[baron]

Went to three stores in Minneapolis today. Nada. Zilch. Nothing. Plenty of spiced Libbey's but no plain! Thankfully I got a rain check on a shipment coming in tomorrow AM

Whole Foods has Organic plain canned pumpkin-- not sure about Mn , but they had ton in Columbus, oh

 

[psusoccer21]

When I was looking last week, Target was the only place that carried canned pumpkin.

 

[brewmaster12]

If you have a restaurant supply store nearby borrow a membership card from a friend... They stock 6 lb cans of unspiced pumpkin year round!

On a side note... Air lock activity has completely slowed. Probably going to transfer to secondary after 2 weeks just to help it clear up a little. Looks and smells fantastic!

 

[Reno_eNVy]

If you have a restaurant supply store nearby borrow a membership card from a friend... They stock 6 lb cans of unspiced pumpkin year round!

This is good to know, thank you brewmaster! :rockin:

To ZACKARU and anybody else in the Reno/Sparks area: Resco on Plumb Lane doesn't require a membership, just say you work at [insert local restaurant] and they'll let you right in.

 

[jbfrank]

So I read the original recipe and appreciate the extract recipe notes. Bit I'm still confused ... so I can add all the pumpkin stuff in my boil? I apologize if I missed a similar post or this seems stupid ... but just trying to figure out how to make this work. Any and all advice/instructions welcome!

 

[Reno_eNVy]

You can certainly put the pumpkin the boil. You're just going to get a ton of trub in your primary fermentation vessel so shoot for 5.5 gallons for your batch volume.

 

[brewmaster12]

So I read the original recipe and appreciate the extract recipe notes. Bit I'm still confused ... so I can add all the pumpkin stuff in my boil? I apologize if I missed a similar post or this seems stupid ... but just trying to figure out how to make this work. Any and all advice/instructions welcome!

You could try doing what I did and basically treat the pumpkin as a specialty grain an steep it in your water as you heat it up. Just make sure you put it in a paint strainer or grain bag so you can get it all out when you go to boil.