whats the best way to do pumpkin flavoring???

[andyrobertson]

for a five gallon iv seen people adding spices then pumpkin spice.. then iv seen people use real pumpkin and ether put it in the mash or put it in the kettle? what is the best way to get a really good strong pumpkin flavor.. also if you have a good recipe hit me off with it please! making a ton of pumpkin and spice beers this winter.

 

[Nightshade]

Using pumpkin in the mash is what I have done in the past, it adds body and a silky texture to the finished product as well as flavor. The spices accentuate the overall flavor of the beer reminding one of pumpkin pie or something similar.

 

[funnycreature]

I just made this pumpkin ale:

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 6.78 gal
Post Boil Volume: 6.24 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.50 gal
Bottling Volume: 5.10 gal
Estimated OG: 1.072 SG
Estimated Color: 13.5 SRM
Estimated IBU: 22.1 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 68.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 74.4 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
11 lbs Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 1 74.6 %
1 lbs Victory Malt (25.0 SRM) Grain 2 6.8 %
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 3 3.4 %
8.0 oz Oats, Flaked (1.0 SRM) Grain 4 3.4 %
4.0 oz Special B Malt (180.0 SRM) Grain 5 1.7 %
60.00 oz Pumpkin, canned (Mash 60.0 mins) Other 6 -
1.00 oz Hallertauer [4.30 %] - First Wort 60.0 m Hop 7 14.2 IBUs
4.0 oz Brown Sugar, Dark (50.0 SRM) Sugar 8 1.7 %
1.00 oz Hallertauer [4.30 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 9 6.4 IBUs
0.50 tsp Yeast Nutrient (Boil 15.0 mins) Other 10 -
0.50 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 mins) Fining 11 -
0.50 oz Willamette [5.20 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 12 1.6 IBUs
0.50 oz Tettnang [8.00 %] - Aroma Steep 0.0 min Hop 13 0.0 IBUs
2.0 pkg American Ale (frozen stock) (Wyeast Labs Yeast 14 -
1 lbs Honey (1.0 SRM) Sugar 15 6.8 %
4.0 oz Brown Sugar, Light (8.0 SRM) Sugar 16 1.7 %
2.00 Items Vanilla beans (V. fragrans) (Secondary 1 Spice 17 -


Mash Schedule: Decoction Mash, Double
Total Grain Weight: 14 lbs 12.0 oz
----------------------------
Name Description Step Temperat Step Time
Protein Rest Add 18.61 l of water at 139.4 F 130.0 F 25 min
maltose rest Add 6.62 l of water at 194.5 F 145.0 F 90 min
dextrinization re Decoct 4.05 l of mash and boil it 154.0 F 60 min
Mash Out Decoct 7.28 l of mash and boil it 168.0 F 15 min

Sparge: Batch sparge with 2 steps (Drain mash tun, , 1.95gal) of 168.0 F water
Notes:
------
ADJUNCTS:
Bake pumpkin at 350 °F for 60 min (until brown on top) and add to strike water.

Heated honey in 1 cup of water to 160F for 5 min, then added to fermenter on 8/6.
Autoclaved brown suger in 500 mL of water; added half on 8/7, other half on 8/8.

Add spice tea (cinnamon, allspice, ginger etc) to taste when in secondary.

FERMENTATION:
Started at 20.5 °C.
Set to 19.0 °C on 8/11.
Set to 18.0 °C on 8/12.

I will add the spices when I rack to secondary but many put them into the boil. I can tell you that the pumpkin doesn't seem to impart any flavors; that's why many brewers just leave it out. Look for a podcast on the brewing network about pumpkin and spice beers. Some good information in there.

 

[Zamial]

Read through https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f76/samhain-pumpkin-ale-140674/ . While it is a long thread it is what I have based my pumpkin recipes from. I have made pumpkin beers for the last 3 years and have never done it the same way.

I think that toasting canned pumpkin is a waste of time and I end up with some of it charred. As such I now add it into a bag into my boil. The big issue with these beers I have found is that the spices add a more pumpkin flavor/association than the pumpkin does. The best piece of advice I can give is use Denny's Fav 50 yeast or cut the spices in 1/2 and use a Belgian strain, anything does not taste as good. and if you are going to add pumpkin into a MLT use rice hulls.

 

[Broham1]

What does pumpkin taste like to you? Tomost, at least in the US, what we associate with "pumpkin" flavor is really "pumpkin SPICE" flavor. Pumpkin, by itself, is actually quite bland.

That said, I Like to use real pumpkin in my ale for the body and texture/mouthfeel. I dust with brown sugar, roast, and toss in the mash.
The spices I use are:
Ginger
Cloves
Allspice
Nutmeg
Cinnamon
Vanilla

 

[Genuine]

I basically make a nice rich amber ale, out 60oz of baked pumpkin with brown sugar and pumpkin pie spices in with the mash. Then at shut down I put 1tsp of pumpkin spices. After fermentation, I "dry spice" with 1.5tsp. Makes a beautiful beer that has that wonderful pumpkin aroma and flavor.

 

[kingwood-kid]

The best piece of advice I can give is use Denny's Fav 50 yeast or cut the spices in 1/2 and use a Belgian strain, anything does not taste as good.

This is excellent advice. I made a pumpkin beer last year--eschewing any traditional spices--using WY3787 (WLP530) a generous amount of Saaz, and an ungodly amount of canned pumpkin in the fermenter. Wonderful beer, even I lost a lot of it to pumpkin absorption. And yes, toasting canned pumpkin is a waste of time, as it's heavily roasted before canning.