Adding Pumpkin??

[jslive4now]

Thinking about adding some pumpkin to an extract kit that only has the spices (Morebeer kit).. Question is this.. Add to Steep or boil?? Cook in oven first to Caramelize? Worried about clearing after fermentation.

Thanks!

 

[DocScott]

You can do any of the things you suggested. If I were you, doing an extract batch, I'd steep it. Doing that won't leave you with too much extra trub.

I'll also add that you won't get much in terms of flavor or fermentables from the pumpkin. I always add a bit to my pumpkin beer for "authenticity". You can caramelize it if you want, but since it doesn't add much flavor anyways, I don't think it is really worth it - other people will say you should roast it though.

 

[bobeer]

I made an extract pumpkin porter a few years ago and I baked the pumpkin at 350 for an hour with some spices sprinkled on top and then added it at 15 minutes in the boil. It's up to you really.

Like the Doc said.. . you wont get much flavor out of adding pumpkin. You'll mostly get a smoother mouth feel. Your pumpkin flavor will come from the spices. Which you can add in boil, in secondary or at bottling/kegging time. There are a couple different ways to add the spices too. Some make a spiced tea and some just add the spices directly to the wort/beer. If you do a search on this you'll find plenty of threads about it. Good luck!

 

[cernst151]

I did a pumpkin beer with something like 96oz of canned pumpkin in the secondary and you couldn't taste it at all. I talked to someone at Northern and they suggested putting it in the boil for at least 15 minutes to caramelize. I haven't tried it yet but that's what they suggest.