All this talk of Pumpkin Ale... Recipe Wanted!

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Orpheus

Orpheus

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I'm looking for a tried and true recipe for a Pumpkin Ale. The ones I have enjoyed have been quite spicy and flavorful, so the more the beer tastes like biting into a pumpkin & pumpkin spicy piece of pumpkin pie the better!

Also, I'm an extract brewer and am unable to find real pumpkins at the moment.
 
heres the one I did over the 4th of July. Im so pleased with it that Im sending it off to Sam Adams

The Great Pumpkin

A ProMash Recipe Report

BJCP Style and Style Guidelines
-------------------------------

23-A Specialty Beer, Specialty Beer

Min OG: 1.010 Max OG: 1.200
Min IBU: 0 Max IBU: 100
Min Clr: 0 Max Clr: 90 Color in SRM, Lovibond

Recipe Specifics
----------------

Batch Size (Gal): 5.50 Wort Size (Gal): 5.50
Total Grain (Lbs): 10.75
Anticipated OG: 1.054 Plato: 13.38
Anticipated SRM: 5.3
Anticipated IBU: 22.2
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75 %
Wort Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Grain/Extract/Sugar

% Amount Name Origin Potential SRM
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
74.4 8.00 lbs. Pale Malt(2-row) America 1.036 2
9.3 1.00 lbs. Crystal 10L America 1.035 10
9.3 1.00 lbs. Muntons LME - Wheat England 1.037 3
4.7 0.50 lbs. Cara-Pils Dextrine Malt 1.033 2
2.3 0.25 lbs. Biscuit Malt Belgium 1.035 24

Potential represented as SG per pound per gallon.


Hops

Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
0.50 oz. Cascade Whole 5.75 11.5 60 min.
0.50 oz. Saazer Whole 4.30 7.7 45 min.
0.50 oz. Cascade Whole 5.75 3.1 15 min.


Yeast
-----

White Labs WLP008 East Coast/Alt Ale

Notes
-----

2 TBLSP Nutmeg

3 TBLSP Allspice

3 Sticks of Cinnamon


2 large cans of 100% Pure Pumpkin Pie Filling
1/2 in mash, 1/2 in boil

here it is in the primary.

3394-4thofJulyWeekend014.jpg
 
RichBrewer said:
How much pumkin is that? 10-12 pounds?
I'm afraid I put too much in at over 3 1/2 pounds. (I used 2 large cans)
Click to expand...


oops, I didn't change that up. It started off with 10-12#s of raw pumpkin, but we quickly changed our mind anbd went with 2 large cans of pure pumpkin pie filling.
 
Chimone said:
oops, I didn't change that up. It started off with 10-12#s of raw pumpkin, but we quickly changed our mind anbd went with 2 large cans of pure pumpkin pie filling.
Click to expand...
How much finished beer are you going to get from your batch? I was hoping for 5 gallons but I seriously doubt that at this point. I may have to brew another batch.
 
I came out with a tad over 5 gallons. I used a strainer when racking to the primary and got most of the pumpkin out that way. And since half was in the mash, the trubb really wasnt that bad.
 
Damn Chimone, that looks pumpkin'O'licious!


I think I have time to do one for Halloween yet. I never thought to do one until I saw your picture. Good job! I may add some more "pie" spices, but your recipe looks awesome.

:mug:
 
Spyk'd said:
Damn Chimone, that looks pumpkin'O'licious!


I think I have time to do one for Halloween yet. I never thought to do one until I saw your picture. Good job! I may add some more "pie" spices, but your recipe looks awesome.

:mug:
Click to expand...


Ok just finished bottling it. If I were to do it over again right now I would change a few things.

1. one more can of pumpkin and maybe some 6 row to the mash. Ive heard adding pectin starts the conversion of the pumpkin also. Ive lost alot of pumpkin flavor. Its still there but since I didn't convert it's starches to sugars, alot fell out

2. about 8-10 ozs of Lactose. A pumpkin cream ale would have been nice.

3. cut the nutmeg amount in half. And add more cinnamon

4. brought the biscuit up to 1/2 pound.

I cant wait to redo this one
 
Chimone said:
Ok just finished bottling it. If I were to do it over again right now I would change a few things.

1. one more can of pumpkin and maybe some 6 row to the mash. Ive heard adding pectin starts the conversion of the pumpkin also. Ive lost alot of pumpkin flavor. Its still there but since I didn't convert it's starches to sugars, alot fell out
Click to expand...
That's why I let as much pumpkin into the fermenter as possible. I was hoping it would add to the flavor. The down side? I may only get about 3 or 4 gallons of beer out of it.
 
RichBrewer said:
That's why I let as much pumpkin into the fermenter as possible. I was hoping it would add to the flavor. The down side? I may only get about 3 or 4 gallons of beer out of it.
Click to expand...

yea, I wish I had the same amount of pumpkin flavor as i started off with. If I turned the pumpking into fermentable sugars, the aroma and flavor would still be present.

Have you heard anything about using pectin?
 
Chimone said:
yea, I wish I had the same amount of pumpkin flavor as i started off with. If I turned the pumpking into fermentable sugars, the aroma and flavor would still be present.

Have you heard anything about using pectin?
Click to expand...
That is one thing I have not heard about. I would think there would be a lot of starches in the pumpkin that could be converted. May be interesting to try.
 
RichBrewer said:
That is one thing I have not heard about. I would think there would be a lot of starches in the pumpkin that could be converted. May be interesting to try.
Click to expand...

the starch conversion is why its recommended to bake the pumpkin at 350F for about an hour before a brewing with it. supposed to give it better flavor and more clarity.
 
RichBrewer, what AG recipe did you use? Your post didn't include it. I am finalizing a recipe now:

8 lbs Pale malt
2 lbs Biscuit (for noticable biscuit flavor)
2 lbs Munich (orange color and malt)
Rice hulls
2 cans pumpkin (one in mash, one in primary)
Mt. Hood hops (~17 IBUs, although I was thinking of doubling that)
cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves (need recommendations for amounts)

Thoughts?

I just brewed a Witbier, and couldn't help notice the very wide range of spices in recipes, most notably 1 oz. coriander vs. 1 tsp. (quite a difference!) I'm looking for something more on the subtle side.

Scheduled to brew in September.

Jeff
 
JeffNYC said:
RichBrewer, what AG recipe did you use? Your post didn't include it. I am finalizing a recipe now:
Here's mine. It's the last post on the page. :mug:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=11430

I'll update this as I progress. Right now I'm leaning toward straining the pumpkin on my next batch so it doesn't go into the fermenter but I won't decide that until I rack to the secondary and see how much beer I get and how it tastes.
Click to expand...
 
RichBrewer said:
JeffNYC said:
I'll update this as I progress. Right now I'm leaning toward straining the pumpkin on my next batch so it doesn't go into the fermenter but I won't decide that until I rack to the secondary and see how much beer I get and how it tastes.
Click to expand...


Yea Im waiting to hear how yours turns out. If both of ours loose flavor, next time Im going to do something to convert the pumpkin so it will be fermentable.
Click to expand...
 
Chimone said:
RichBrewer said:
Yea Im waiting to hear how yours turns out. If both of ours loose flavor, next time Im going to do something to convert the pumpkin so it will be fermentable.
Click to expand...
That's the beauty of Homebrewtalk.com. We can compare notes and get twice the information and twice the experience. I love it.
Click to expand...
 
That's the beauty of Homebrewtalk.com. We can compare notes and get twice the information and twice the experience. I love it.
Click to expand...

You're telling me! My head is fairly spinning with the possibilities for this one. When I'm ready to go I'll bake the pumpkin, and be sure to add extra spices (I like spicy!)

Those pictures look good enough to eat!
 
i have some questions about the pumpkin ale recipe on audioholics:
http://www.audioholics.com/showcase/DIY/PumpkinAleRecipe.html

great story and everything, but the 5 gallon recipe at the end makes me nervous. it seems like a LOT of spices, and after plugging it into beeralchemy, it looks like an OG of 1.068, with 75 IBU's, which seems over-hopped for a brown ale base (the typical pumpkin beer base, no?).

anyone ever try this recipe? anyone have any thoughts on it?
 
hunteraw said:
i have some questions about the pumpkin ale recipe on audioholics:
http://www.audioholics.com/showcase/DIY/PumpkinAleRecipe.html

great story and everything, but the 5 gallon recipe at the end makes me nervous. it seems like a LOT of spices, and after plugging it into beeralchemy, it looks like an OG of 1.068, with 75 IBU's, which seems over-hopped for a brown ale base (the typical pumpkin beer base, no?).

anyone ever try this recipe? anyone have any thoughts on it?
Click to expand...
I am also wondering about the 6-8 pounds of pumpkin. I know that they are roasting it on cookie sheets but even then that's a lot of pumpkin.
It is assertively hopped and they have added quite a bit of spices. I would say that it is too much but this is my first attempt at one of these so who knows. I intentionally reduced the bitterness in mine in order to bring out the spices and pumpkin flavor.
We all need to compair notes when we are done to perfect our beers.
 
I was thinking about that when we came up with our recipe. We didn't want hops to be part of the flavor or aroma at all being that we were going for a pumpkin ale. Which is why we went with cascade and saaz which are both low AA% hops.

the spices will take over the flavor which is why you hear alot of people saying how they want to give it a couple months to let it all mellow.

But as for the pumpkin, well Im convinced there is a easier way than dealing with 6-8 pounds, and then cooking the whole lot for an hour or so. Either with 6 row, or something else, you should be able to get away with using canned. It is 100% pumpkin, just easier to work with. Its just getting it to convert into fermentable sugars to retain the flavor in your beer that is the hard part. If you can convert it, then you could possibly get away with using less pumpkin and still get the flavor you want.
 
Chimone said:
But as for the pumpkin, well Im convinced there is a easier way than dealing with 6-8 pounds, and then cooking the whole lot for an hour or so. Either with 6 row, or something else, you should be able to get away with using canned. It is 100% pumpkin, just easier to work with. Its just getting it to convert into fermentable sugars to retain the flavor in your beer that is the hard part. If you can convert it, then you could possibly get away with using less pumpkin and still get the flavor you want.
Click to expand...
I'll be interested to see what you find out. :mug:
 
well ok, maybe im just being stubborn. maybe caramalizing the pumpkin may be the way to go. I just read that article and those guys spread the canned pumpkin on a cookie sheet and did it that way. They used 6row too....hmmmmm

there has to be more on the web though.

Oh, and I really like their addition of a little bit of chocolate malt. I almost added some to mine, and Im really wishing I had. Whatever, Im just going to have to do this one again.
 
yeah without a doubt i think carmelizing/baking is the crucial step. Besides the plethera of knowledge from that audioholics article/how-to the guys at american brewmaster mentioned the same thing to me. Im brewing a pumpkin ale this weekend and im definalety going to use that audioholics link as a basic framework as far as all the boiling intervals and times for hops and spices and pumpkin of course. except im not gonna use the exact hops, and grains. and i also found some whole nutmeg and brewers cinnamon sticks :)

anyone making a pumpkin ale for the first time, that link is the next best thing since.... brewing beer itself! http://www.audioholics.com/showcase/DIY/PumpkinAleRecipe.html
 
I brewed that audioholics recipe last week, but I substituted Biscuit malt for the Vienna, and used Challenger for the bittering hop rather than Cascade.

It IS assertively hopped, but my hope is that the bitterness will provide a spine for the biscuit/spice flavors to ride on, rather than it being all about the bitterness. Ideally, the bitterness and the biscuit will be perceived simultaneously, then the hops and spices will come on and maybe the cinnamon will linger longest. That's my hope. I'm new to this.
 
Why not just use a pumpkin flavoring instead of dealing with the hassle of using whole pumpkin? Guaranteed stuck mashes if you try to mash the pumpkin. I have only had sucess by baking the pumpkin and adding it to the boil. I know this only extracts flavor and very little sugars from the pumpkin. BUT converting pumpkin starch seems to be a very hard thing to do. So why even try when you can add the Pumpkin Flavoring and a dash of food coloring when bottling. Hey....it is not all "Natural" but it does produce a damned fine Pumpkin Ale.



http://shop.bakerscatalogue.com/det...11156343264255?id=1748PUMKIN&pv=1156343264528
 
Here's what I came up with, brewing today or tomorrow. It's a little higher hopped than most I've seen, but I'm hoping the floral notes of the hops complement the spice additions.

5 lbs Amber Dry Extract
1 lbs Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L
8.0 oz Biscuit Malt
4.0 oz Wheat, Flaked
30.00 oz Pumpkin, Canned (Boil 60.0 min)
1.00 oz Cascade [5.50%] (60 min) 20.0 IBU
1.00 oz Cascade [5.50%] (20 min) 12.1 IBU
1.00 oz Fuggles [4.50%] (15 min) (Aroma Hop-Steep)
0.25 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 min)
0.50 tsp Nutmeg (Boil 5.0 min)
1.00 tsp Allspice (Boil 5.0 min)
1.00 items Cinnamon Stick (Boil 5.0 min)
2.00 items Cloves, Crushed (Boil 5.0 min)
1 Pkgs English Ale (White Labs #WLP002) - pitching on fresh yeast cake

Est OG: 1.053
Est FG: 1.015
32.1 IBU
14.3 SRM

EDIT: Added a "spice tea" to the clearing tank - 1 Tbsp Pampered Chef Cinnamon Plus steeped in 1 cup of water
FURTHER EDIT: I would've scaled the addional spices back to 1 1/2 tsp if I had it to do over again. They are just a bit too strong for me.
 
Also steeping grains + half the pumpkin right now. I'll add the rest of the pumpkin at the start of the boil. Substituted Vienna for the Biscuit Malt I was going to use since the LHBS had just run out of Biscuit Malt. Figured it couldn't hurt, and the Vienna might help the color. Using 60 oz (4 small cans) of pumpkin instead of the earlier 30 oz version. I'm going to add little coriander to the spice mix as well.
 
Well, I've just finished brewing and cleaned everything up. My pumpkin ale has officially taken the name Thunderstruck Pumpkin Ale because of the massive summer thunderstorm that hit halfway through the brew. Note the downpour in the background of the pic. All's well so far, though. Tastes mighty fine for wort!

4688-thunderstruck.JPG
 
I am going to try my hand at one of these today. I am going with my own version of the recipe's given here, and combining a couple of those, and modifing a little. Hopefully All goes well. As much as I calculate everything out right, it always seems that come brew time, I end up just dumping things in, and then having to recalculate everything after i am done.

I'll let you guys know what I ended up doing, and of course how it turns out.

A bit of a hint of what I have planned...

5.7 lbs Light DME
2.0 lbs Munich
0.5 lbs Crystal 40L
4.0 lbs Pumpkin

1oz Norther Brewer @ 90min
.5oz Goldings @ 30min
.5oz Cascade @ 2min

Calculations here who an OG of 1.052 (of course, with the pumpkin in there, it will be higher, I had no idea how to figure the pumpkin in the mix.) and about 37 IBU.
 
My Pumpkin Ale smelled just like baking pumpkin pie the whole time it was boiling. MmmmMmmmMMMm!

Been about 12 hours and the smell coming off the very busy airlock still smells heavenly!

Fall can't come too soon!
 
Just wanted to report some happy pumpkin-news!

I racked the Country Bumpkin Pumpkininny Ale to secondary (as I expected, lost about 2 gallons to pumpkin sediment- eep!), and tasted it (warm, mostly flat):

Bitterness: Exactly as I hoped- present, but there as a spine for the biscuit flavor
Spices: Subtle- they're there, but they aren't as assertive as I had originally thought. The nutmeg is really there upfront, but the cinnamon kind of lingers in the back with the hops. I had thought I wanted a really spiced-up brew, but I think I'll take it where it is.
Color: Darkish orange. Wonderful

I think this is going to be very, very nice. I may let it sit in secondary for a month, then bottle end of september and drink through end of October/beginning of November. It's a Small Batch.
 
What do you guys think about adding more pumkin spice in the secondary? I brewed a P/M Punkin Ale over the weekend, and the wort tastes delicious...but the pumpkin seems to be overpowering the spices. And I didn't skimp! So I was wondering, what would happen if I added spices, kinda like dry-hopping, to the secondary fermenter?
 
Also, how did you guys strain yours? Trying to get that wort, so thick form all the pumpkin, through that fine screen on the funnel was a nightmare. I went through like 4 or 5 hours of just sitting there with a butterknife, running it back and forth over the screen while it sloooowly dripped through...then I almost went insane, and decided to just toss the remainder of the solids into the fermenter. F'it!
 

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