Midwest Pumpkin Ale Kit

I'm going start my second brew this weekend...the Midwest Pumpkin Ale kit. Does anyone have any tips/pointers for this kit? I'm planning on using canned (pure) pumpkin since whole pumpkins are not in season yet. I have a reunion the first weekend of October and I was wondering if there is any chance this will be ready by then? Any input is appreciated...thanks.

 

This was the very first beer I made when I started brewing a few years ago. It's a pretty straightforward kit from what I remember. I put the pumpkin to the boil in a nylon sack and I don't think it added much. I've since gone all grain and have made 2 more pumpkin beers in which I add the pumpkin to the mash. One thing I do with my pumpkin beers is to split the spice addition to half at flameout and the other half at bottling/kegging.

You should have no problem drinking it the first weekend of October.

 

Thanks xerotime. How long was the pumpkin in the boil? The entire time or just at the end? Did you bake the pumpkin first?

 

I kept it in the boil for the last 30 minutes but again, I don't think it adds much doing it that way. Since I no longer extract brew I now bake it in the oven and add to the mash.

 

Update: I bottled the Pumpkin Ale after 5 weeks in the fermenter. The brew looks, smells, and tastes fantastic. There was a good amount of trub in the bottom of the fermenter so I only got 46 bottles out of it. I will strain it better next time when tranfering from the brew kettle. Another lesson learned.

 

I brewed a pumpkin ale last weekend. They're already selling pumpkins here in SC. I roasted 2 small pumpkins at 350 for a half hour. Peeled, cut them up, put them in a nylon bag with my hour long mash, and boiled like normal.