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

[Orpheus]

Actually in the process of brewing mine now! Grains are steeping as we speak!

 

[Yuri_Rage]

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.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

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!

 

[Exo]

OMG I love your hop-bag.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

OMG I love your hop-bag.

It's ok...we're both homebrewers and know what you meant. Don't say that too often to other dudes...you might get punched!

I totally stole the idea from brewhead after reading his post yesterday.

 

[dewey316]

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.

 

[Orpheus]

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!

 

[Cap'n Jewbeard]

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.

 

[Evan!]

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?

 

[Evan!]

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!

 

[Orpheus]

I didn't bother to strain it. I used bags for all the hops and grains (which I usually don't do) just because I knew this one was going to be a mess.

When done, I just poured the entire contents, unstrained, into the primary. I added an extra gallon or so of water just in case. Came out at 1.052.

 

[Cap'n Jewbeard]

Hey- I have answers to both! Hooray!

1) It depends how much spiciness you like. Generally, it's safe (and a good idea) to spice so that it tastes a bit spicier than you like before you bottle/secondary it, because it will mellow and blend as it progresses. So, take it to about the level you want, then give it a small boost above that, and it should sit well against the hop bitterness (assuming you have a good backbone of hops in there).

2) Actually, don't strain it. Just give it time to get the sediment in a layer (a HUGE layer, but a layer nonetheless) and then rack it with the tip of your racking cane/autosiphon just above that sediment layer. You've got to hold it there. It's ugly and annoying, but it could be worse- and you will lose a good deal of volume to taht sediment, but that's what happens with pumpkin solids.

 

[Evan!]

Hey- I have answers to both! Hooray!

1) It depends how much spiciness you like. Generally, it's safe (and a good idea) to spice so that it tastes a bit spicier than you like before you bottle/secondary it, because it will mellow and blend as it progresses. So, take it to about the level you want, then give it a small boost above that, and it should sit well against the hop bitterness (assuming you have a good backbone of hops in there).

2) Actually, don't strain it. Just give it time to get the sediment in a layer (a HUGE layer, but a layer nonetheless) and then rack it with the tip of your racking cane/autosiphon just above that sediment layer. You've got to hold it there. It's ugly and annoying, but it could be worse- and you will lose a good deal of volume to taht sediment, but that's what happens with pumpkin solids.

Yeah, I probably filtered out like 4 cups of gunk before I gave up. I anticipated losing volume from the solids, so I went a bit heavy on the water & malt.

So, um, considering that it's already fermenting as we speak, what do you think about adding spices to the secondary?

 

[Yuri_Rage]

I used a grain bag for the pumpkin that I put into the boil. Much of the pumpkin leeched through the bag, but the bigger solids were contained. I didn't strain the wort as it went into the fermenter.

 

[Cap'n Jewbeard]

So, um, considering that it's already fermenting as we speak, what do you think about adding spices to the secondary?

I say (as above), it's a good idea, especially if the spices seem faint to you now (because they will only get more subtle later).

You have two options- you can either chop up/grind up the spices and rack the ale onto them when it's time for secondary (essentially "dry-hopping" the spices), or you can brew up a spice tea (throw the spices in a couple of cups of water, boil for a few minutes, remove spices) and dump that "tea" into the secondary with the ale. This could also be done before bottling.

See my note re: level of spiciness to use as a guide. Enjoy!

 

[Evan!]

Also: it looks pretty damned cloud right now. I know it will settle out, but do you recommend adding finings to secondary? I've never used finings before---do they have any negative effect on natural carbonation? Will they cause too much yeast to settle out?

 

[Evan!]

Thanks, Funky---you're on da ball

 

[Cap'n Jewbeard]

Well, that is something you and I will discover together, my friend- mine is just freshly into secondary (as of yesterday), and I was thinking of hitting it with some isinglass.

I think (someone correct if I am wrong) that it won't really affect the end produce, aside from clarity, but I could be wrong. Next time, I should remember to do the irish moss in the boil.

 

[Evan!]

Well, that is something you and I will discover together, my friend- mine is just freshly into secondary (as of yesterday), and I was thinking of hitting it with some isinglass.

I think (someone correct if I am wrong) that it won't really affect the end produce, aside from clarity, but I could be wrong. Next time, I should remember to do the irish moss in the boil.

I did use moss in the boil, but I'm afraid that it won't be enough. I ask because, as you know, I'm relatively new to this, and I don't have any finings onhand...and I'm putting together an AHS order as we speak.

 

[Cap'n Jewbeard]

Yeah, I say, try the isinglass. I've never used Moss before, I don't know how much of what you want it will accomplish.

By AHS you mean annapolis home brew? They are my boys! They got me started from their brick-and-mortar store.

 

[dewey316]

Well, I cooked mine up this weekend.

May I was you you guys got for your OG readings? I topped mine off with water, up to the full 6.5gal (Knowing I am going to lose a lot). My OG was only 1.051, which sounds pretty good. I am just not sure how the pumpkin in there is effecting that reading. I can say, if the smell of the wort is any indication, this will be a great beer!

I am not sure if I want to post the recipe yet, as I have no idea if it will turn out well or not. If you guys are interested in what it, let me know, I can post it. But, I almost want to hold of, until I get to drink this, and make sure it is good.

 

[Evan!]

Funky,

Austin Homebrew. $5.99 flat shipping. Key.

dewey: if there were still alot of solids suspended when you took your hydro readings, I'd say they may have affected it.

 

[dewey316]

I figured it would effect it, I am not sure how much of it is fermentable (if any), etc.

Interesting enough, It doesn't seem to have that large of an effect. The calculations I did, showed I should have about a 1.054 OG reading, based on my grain bill, and extract, I ended up at 1.051.

 

[hunteraw]

I hit 1.055, here. It's been a week in the fermenter and it's still pretty cloudy. How long did it take for peoples' to clear?

 

[Yuri_Rage]

Mine was 1.051, and it's down to 1.012 after only 3 days (pitched a fresh yeast cake from a previous brew). Mine's pretty clear already, but I'm using a really flocculant yeast (WL002 English Ale).

 

[Evan!]

After 2.5 days in the fermenter, it's still cloudy as hell. I guess i'll leave it there till it clears and settles some...though, the fermentation is full-bore right now, so it's bound to be stirred up.

 

[dewey316]

Evan,

Mine is on Day 4 now. Fermentation has slowed down. I have about 4" of pumpkin stuff at the bottom, it seems to be really settling out now. I image you will have less one yours, as you caught a bunch it with your funnel screen.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

Just tapped the keg of my Thunderstruck Pumpkin Ale. Quite tasty, but the spices are just a tad strong. Hopefully they mellow with time. I bottled about half of it using the Blichmann Beer Gun. It worked very well. If there's not a product review for it, I'll post one and link to it here. Happy pumpkin season!

 

[disaffected]

If there's not a product review for it, I'll post one and link to it here.

There is a review of the Blichmann Beer Gun, but you could always add your observations.