Couple questions about extract kit

[metanoia]

I just picked up a Pumpkin Brown extract kit from my LHBS, and I had a few questions. I plan on brewing tomorrow.

First, the bittering hops in the package (all put together by the LHBS) should have been pellets, but the plastic bag they came in is almost entirely powder. They hops still look nice and fresh, and there's no aroma from the bag, so I'm wondering if using crushed hop pellets will have any adverse effect on my brew.

Second, like a recent poster on here, I'm interested in turning the kit into something a little different. Currently it consists of 6lb of Light LME, plus steeping grains (1/2lb Caramunich and 1/2lb Chocolate Rye). The kit suggests using 8lb of pumpkin (similar to what I used last year for the same kit) and includes a pack of "pumpkin pie spice."

If I use the LME and steep the grains, I think I'll end up with more or less a typical brown ale, right?. Any suggestions on a different direction I could take this than pumpkin? Perhaps some kind of spices to make it more of a gingerbread brown for the holidays?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Colorowdy]

Hops are fine.
I would try a little bit of molasses, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

 

[metanoia]

Thanks Colorowdy, I'll look into getting the right quantity of those ingredients into the brew.

 

[707]

You can take a cinnamon stick (5" crushed), a vanilla bean chopped (or a Tbsp or so of vanilla extract), and some nutmeg and cinnamon (or that spice pack). Soak them in a cup of vodka. Put the mixture in a jar with a lid and let it sit. Add it to your beer the night before bottling day, or at the same time as your priming sugar for that matter. If you add at bottling time, I would run it through a sanitized strainer to separate out the chopped cinnamon and vanilla bean.

 

[metanoia]

I did a bunch of poking around these forums and the interwebs while waiting for water to boil today pre-brew. I decided to throw in 8oz of molasses along with the first 3-4lb of LME before boiling (after steeping grains). 1 tsp each of allspice and nutmeg were tossed in at flameout and given 5 minutes before chilling.

Took a taste after taking the OG reading (nailed it), and I'm liking the sweetness with the bit of spice and chocolate/coffee tones. I'll sample after 2 weeks or whenever fermentation is done and see how much of a cinnamon and vanilla flavor I want to impart.

Thanks for the advice you guys.

 

[707]

Sounds like you're gonna have a mighty fine beer on your hands! Cheers