Does anyone carve pumpkins?

[Roadie]

I've found that once carved my pumpkins don't last more than a day so I won't be carving until Halloween afternoon. Not sure what I'm going to carve this year but was thinking about Yoda again since Star Wars is a big deal again.

 

[Melana]

I saw a really cool death star pumpkin online during my search for inspiration.

 

[LoneTreeFarms]

I saw a really cool death star pumpkin online during my search for inspiration.

I've seen that one it looks like it would take forever!! I usually like to drink a beer or two while I'm carving, but I don't think I would be able to stay sober with the amount of time that would take, haha.

 

[Roadie]

I've never done a shaded one before mine are simple cut-through and that takes me long enough!

 

[Melana]

I've never done a shaded one before mine are simple cut-through and that takes me long enough!

I'm going to attempt a shaded pumpkin tonight.

 

[Homercidal]

I love carving, but not sure I have the time. I actually am thinking about brewing a batch of beer and fermenting inside the pumpkin.

or maybe just hollow out a pumpkin, drill a hole and insert a spigot, and fill it with carbonated beer and have a pumpkin firkin. I'd combine the names and call it a "Pump-kin"! (Ha ha, I'm just kidding. I'd actually call it a "Fir-kin".

I've done the shaded before and they aren't as hard as you might think. I've even taken a drawing/photo and imported into Photoshop and created the "Pumpkin Masters" style template from scratch. Once you have the, the rest isn't too hard.

 

[Melana]

I love carving, but not sure I have the time. I actually am thinking about brewing a batch of beer and fermenting inside the pumpkin.

or maybe just hollow out a pumpkin, drill a hole and insert a spigot, and fill it with carbonated beer and have a pumpkin firkin. I'd combine the names and call it a "Pump-kin"! (Ha ha, I'm just kidding. I'd actually call it a "Fir-kin".

I've done the shaded before and they aren't as hard as you might think. I've even taken a drawing/photo and imported into Photoshop and created the "Pumpkin Masters" style template from scratch. Once you have the, the rest isn't too hard.

Beer? Who has time for that? Actually I am wishful for a serene brew day.

 

[KPBrews]

or maybe just hollow out a pumpkin, drill a hole and insert a spigot, and fill it with carbonated beer and have a pumpkin firkin. I'd combine the names and call it a "Pump-kin"! (Ha ha, I'm just kidding. I'd actually call it a "Fir-kin".

http://drinkingmadeeasy.com/cool/tips-and-tricks/how-to-make-a-pumpkin-keg/

How to make a Pumpkin-Man!
https://www.facebook.com/ZaneLamprey/videos/10152500615368635/

 

[gratus fermentatio]

I've found that once carved my pumpkins don't last more than a day so I won't be carving until Halloween afternoon. Not sure what I'm going to carve this year but was thinking about Yoda again since Star Wars is a big deal again.

Keep carved pumpkins in the fridge when not on display & they'll last a lot longer. You can also cover parts without rind with plastic wrap to help keep it from drying out & shriveling so fast, keep an eye out for mold though.
Regards, GF.

 

[Melana]

No need for refrigeration here....

 

[DrunkleJon]

Helped my niece with this one this weekend. She drew it, I did the knife work. It's Harry Pumpkin

View attachment 1446034763573.jpg

 

[Natdavis777]

Some pumpkins I did a few years ago

 

[DrunkleJon]

What'd you use a dremel to cut those out? We had such thick walled pumpkins that I would have ended up punching my hand through it trying to get that close of cuts.

 

[LoneTreeFarms]

Some pumpkins I did a few years ago

very nice! it takes a while with that much detail, atleast for me it does but I'm all thumbs, haha.

say your primary says pb stout. which recipe did you end up going with? looking at doing up a pb and a choc milk stout in the future. just put deception stout in the keg but haven't sampled it yet.

 

[hunter_le five]

 

[m_c_zero]

Tried to do a hop this year:

 

[Natdavis777]

say your primary says pb stout. which recipe did you end up going with? looking at doing up a pb and a choc milk stout in the future. just put deception stout in the keg but haven't sampled it yet.

This beer was tricky. I used my milk stout recipe without the lactose. Pulled some wort before I killed the boil, mixed in 16oz of PB2, brought it to a boil on the stove, cooled some, then added half to each carboy (10gal). Cooled and transferred the remaining amount of wort as normal. After fermentation, I added another 1lb of PB2 to each carboy and let sit for another 7 days, crashed and kegged. The sample I pulled had a little peanut butter nose and flavor, but not significant enough. Since I was already adding a chocolate tincture to each keg, I figured this would cover up some of the PB flavor, so I ended up adding 2oz of PB extract to each keg. Helped tremendously. The beer was good, but was still a touch on the bitter side, so I added 8 of the small reeses cups to a sanitized bag per keg, and have them suspended by a string. Rounded everything out perfectly. Overall, I wasnt too satisfied with the PB2 in the beer. Seems like you need to add a crapload. Ill just stick with it in my protein shakes.

Sorry for being so lengthy. (If I had a nickle...:cross

 

[banesong]

Tried to do a hop this year:

Sure you aren't in Colorado or Washington state?


Edit.... Okay, never mind. Sure people will think it is a hop?

 

[Homercidal]

So...

Are you going as Headless Andy Samberg, or Headless Justin Timberlake?

 

[Roadie]

What'd you use a dremel to cut those out? We had such thick walled pumpkins that I would have ended up punching my hand through it trying to get that close of cuts.

Usually we thin the walls of the pumpkin where we will be cutting. I personally use a steel ice cream scooper to thin the walls and it does a really good job.

 

[Psylocide]

Usually we thin the walls of the pumpkin where we will be cutting. I personally use a steel ice cream scooper to thin the walls and it does a really good job.

Thin from the inside, I'm assuming?

I'm planning on doing one with some intricate cuts today, thinning sounds like a good plan.

 

[Melana]

I've now broken a few pumpkin saws. going to see if they have something suitable at Lowes.

 

[Psylocide]

I've now broken a few pumpkin saws. going to see if they have something suitable at Lowes.

I use a drywall knife, works awesome.

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1446128098.447625.jpg

 

[Melana]

OK. how do you do the super small cuts?

 

[Psylocide]

OK. how do you do the super small cuts?

Very carefully?

Kidding, I don't do really intricate ones that often, so may not be the best for those cuts. But I'm going to give it a shot tonight.

 

[PDevlin75]

My offerings to the pumpkin gods this year...

 

[Melana]

Those are awesome! good job!

 

[PDevlin75]

Why, thank you!

I tried using a drill to put holes in the pumpkin so I could fake the appearance of carved lines, in addition to carving out areas. It didn't work as well as I would have liked - You have to be close to see it. Still worked well enough though!

 

[reynolds5520]

I've now broken a few pumpkin saws. going to see if they have something suitable at Lowes.

I use this handle from Lowes with a narrow jigsaw blade. Works great and much more comfortable to hold for extended periods of cutting.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_247218-16878-60151___?productId=1070275

 

[reynolds5520]

For thinning the inside, ice cream scoop for large areas, melon baller for small areas.

On designs where I'm not cutting through, or for precise detail cuts on the skin I use a pencil handle exacto knife.