Recent content by mhayes

I have a 10 gallon mash tun. When I make these large batches I usually have around 20 pounds of grain plus the pumpkin needs to be mashed as well. It is quite complicated, but you can put the pumpkin in your mash water in the pot to begin with. When you get it to strike in temperature and...

I think that they would produce relatively similar results. I have tried sever yeasts with this style of beer and have been most satisfied with the U.S. 05. It finishes so clean when fermented at the right temps (62-65 in my opinion) with no diacetyl. The malt flavor is preserved more so than...

I don't think the gelatin is going to hurt anything. If anything it will accelerate the clearing process but in my experience with pumpkin beers they need to be called crashed for a very long time before they really clear up. By a long time I mean something like 3 to 4 weeks. I know that is...

That is what I have done. Also, if you are doing all grain, I would put the pumpkin in the mash. I have tried putting the pumpkin in the secondary but was disappointed with the results. Pumpkin beer has so many protein solids that it took a really really long time for it to clear up even after...

I took this idea and changed it a bit If you put enough pumpkin, lactose is not needed. I always bake up the leftover pumpkins after Halloween and freeze them for this beer. If you add 15 lbs for a 10 gallon batch, the result is amazing. I always minimize the spices and maximize the pumpkin...

As far as pumpkin absorbing water, you don't have to worry about it too badly. If you use canned pumpkin, this is a non issue. If you are doing the purist thing, skin and bake your left over Halloween pumpkins, cut them into small chunks, and bake them at 375 for 90 minutes. Do your strike...

I have used both with good results. It seems a waste not to use those big carving pumpkins if you have them. I think the key is to roast them in the oven at 350 for an hour or so to caramelize the sugars. One of the best ones I have ever made was with carving pumpkins. I used 17 lbs of it to...

I would just mash the pumpkin separately and use a big strainer to get the wort out. A side benefit of this is that you can put the pumpkin in a casserole dish and bake it later for your supper. More or less, when you are doing a pumpkin beer you have to do a double mash. As for molasses, I...

I have had the same issue with honey. It is 100% fermentable but just takes too long. I have gotten great results with Belgian candi sugar. Just make your own at home and have it on hand. Get a 10 or 25lb. bag at the price club and spend a little time cooking it up. It will keep quite a...

I liked your general idea, but I wanted to put my own spin on things. I made a 10 gallon batch. I used 16lbs of leftover Holloween pumpkins that I roasted. My 10 gallon cooler will not hold all the grain and the pumpkin, so I mashed the pumpkin up and boiled it separately. I got 4 gallons of...

This sounds delicious. My question is why did you add so much honey? Every time I have used honey, the honey doesn't finish fermenting until after it has been in the bottle. These bottles are either over carbonated or explode. Could you not achieve the same effect by adding Belgian candy...