Dogfish Head Punkin Ale?

[BeaverBrewer]

So I'm drinking a Dogfish Head Punkin Ale, and enjoying it quite a bit, even though it's August :cross:. It seems close to the time when brewing such a beer would be appropriate. After a half-assed search, I did not find any existing recipes. So can anybody help me out here? The label states: "A full-bodied brown ale brewed with real pumpkin, brown sugar, allspice, cinnamon, and nutmeg." It is 7% ABV. So what do you think, can you help a nubbin out?

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Well, the brown ale recipe is up to you (personally I'd use at least a pound of brown malt and a bit of special b) but as for the punkin, we have two very large ones growing in the hopes of doing this.

In previous years we added a can of pumpkin filling to the boil and then a can into secondary. Good luck!

 

[Duckfoot]

Check out Yuri's Thunderstruck Pumpkin Ale... Sorry I am too lazy to post the link at the moment...

Just make my second batch (AG this time, extract last time) and looking forward to good things from it...

Good luck!

 

[BeaverBrewer]

Ha Reno that looks epic! You gotta let us know how that turns out.

And thanks for the link duck, that looks pretty spot on for what I'm looking for.

This beer is gonna get punk'd.

 

[BeerBalls]

Those pics are friggin' hilarious! Who knew that brewing equipment could be so cheap!

I was just scouring the interwebs for a Punk recipe also - no luck. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. I'm ready to start planning my first seasonal.

 

[rsmith179]

I was actually just talking to the owner of the LHBS I go to regarding using a pumpkin as a mash tun. He loved the idea! Gonna have to try this one this year. Not too keen on using another pumpkin as the primary though. Although it looks cool, I'm not quite sure that I want to run the risk of an infection.

 

[BNVince]

According to the label it is brewed with pumpkin (obviously), brown sugar, allspice, cinnamon, and nutmeg at 7% abv and 28 ibu.

I guess the grain bill is what is at question here. If I remember correctly, the punkin had a very strong spice aroma and taste and a lot of alcohol twinge in my opinion. I don't remember it being very malty at all. Maybe base a recipe around that?

 

[Madkins]

I brewed a pumpkin brown ale last year and will do one again this month for the fall. My brown ale recipe was pretty basic, so do what ever you'd like but I recommend throwing in some crystal 60 or above or some carafoam to give you some body to compliment the bitterness of the spices. I used a can of pumpkin puree, just threw it right into secondary. Only problem was that the puree soaked up so much beer. By time it was done I lost about a half gallon (spit it out you bastard!). So this year I hope to use whole pumpkin and add it to the boil around the 5 min mark like you would any kind of spice or just not even using any pumpkin (more on that below). Speaking of spice, the key with pumpkin beer is that when you drink it you are reminded of a pumpkin type of food because of the addition of aromatic spices found in pumpkin dishes (cinnamon, nutmet, brown sugar etc). Go easy on the spice, it doesn't age well and becomes very bitter. The spice is key because I don't know why you would want to drink somethign that taste like pumpkin; have you ever eaten a pumpkin plain with no spices, very very boring. So, when you think pumpkin beer, it's not about the pumpkin, it's about what reminds you of pumpkin.

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Madkins, great suggestions but I feel that a Cinnamon-Nutmeg-Brown will not remind me of pumpkin....

Beerballs, BeaverBrewer, yeah I've been itching to do the pumpkin-equipment beer all year! But I think I may keep it in the primary-pumpkin for only 4-5 days... just enough to finish up the majority of primary fermentation so I don't have to worry about the pumpkin getting haggard.

 

[sdsferraro]

Not saying this is exact, but this is from xtremebrewing.com and they have alot of Dogfish clones'

Pumpkin Ale
Price: $39.00

Description:

Our Xtreme Kits include all the ingredients per the recipe to make 5 gallons. The Xtreme Kits for the Pumpkin Ale kit includes all of the following per the recipe plus or minus optional items: Ingredients:
2 lb 6 row pale barley crushed
2 Grain bags
2 tsp Gypsum
30 oz canned pumpkin (optional)
3.3 lb light liquid malt extract
3.3 lb amber liquid malt extract
1.5 oz hop pellets
1/2 oz hop pellets
1 tsp Irish moss
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground allspice
1 WLP001 liquid or Safeale US05 dry yeast (optional)
5 oz priming sugar
1 packet of caps, enough for more than 50 bottles
2 packets sanitizer

 

[BeerBalls]

Thanks for the recipe - anyone have any thoughts on the hops?

 

[HellenicHomeBrewer]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f76/thunderstruck-pumpkin-ale-ag-extract-versions-26699/

 

[aeonderdonk]

Well, the brown ale recipe is up to you (personally I'd use at least a pound of brown malt and a bit of special b) but as for the punkin, we have two very large ones growing in the hopes of doing this.

In previous years we added a can of pumpkin filling to the boil and then a can into secondary. Good luck!

That.............looks..............awesome!

 

[BeerPressure]

Wouldnt there be a HUGE risk of infection by fermenting inside a pumpkin??

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Wouldnt there be a HUGE risk of infection by fermenting inside a pumpkin??

Post #9, sir....

But I think I may keep it in the primary-pumpkin for only 4-5 days... just enough to finish up the majority of primary fermentation so I don't have to worry about the pumpkin getting haggard.

Make a strong starter, ensure fermentation starts quick. The mad amounts of CO2 and alcohol being created will keep stuff safe until, like I said before, primary fermentation has completed.

And just like coconuts, the interior of the pumpkin is sterile. So just get it done quick before stuff has a chance to grow!

 

[aeonderdonk]

Post #9, sir....
And just like coconuts, the interior of the pumpkin is sterile. So just get it done quick before stuff has a chance to grow!

hmmmm coconut beer

 

[illinibrew04]

Grain bill...I saw a clone recipe online that claims to get this beer "VERY close". I don't know what that means but here it is...
Ingredients:
10 lbs pale 2 row malt
1 lbs Special Roast
1 lbs Crystal 60
2-large cans libbys pumpkin - in the mash

1 lbs brown sugar - 60 min
1 ounces Hallertauer - 60 min
1 1/2 TBS PUMPKIN PIE SPICE, boil 15 minutes
1 tablet of whirlfloc – 15 minutes
1 oz. Hallertauer finishing – 5 minutes

Wyeast American ale yeast

If you want to get it to 1.070, though you might need to add more 2-row by beersmith's calculations. Also, FWIW, in his book Extreme Brewing, Sam Calagione uses 1 tsp. each of allspice, cinnamon and nutmeg at 5 min. left in the boil for his punkin porter. Hops for the porter are Hallertau (60 min), Cascade (20 min) and Hallertau (5 min)

 

[krenshaw]

ok, reviving an old thread..

Well, the brown ale recipe is up to you (personally I'd use at least a pound of brown malt and a bit of special b) but as for the punkin, we have two very large ones growing in the hopes of doing this.

i didn't notice any reviews of the finished product from this pumpkin MLT.. anybody else do something like this and can post some taste results.. also for any other recipes for the brown ale that may be included in here? SWMBO's favorite beer is DFH Punkin so this would actually be one she would enjoy helping to make, instead of just reaping the benefits

 

[KozHops]

Take a look at Reno's recipe for Punkin ale here: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f76/punkin-ale-145060/.

I have this in the secondary and am bottling it tonight so I can't give any reviews but it sure smells good.

 

[Reno_eNVy]

ok, reviving an old thread..



i didn't notice any reviews of the finished product from this pumpkin MLT.. anybody else do something like this and can post some taste results.. also for any other recipes for the brown ale that may be included in here? SWMBO's favorite beer is DFH Punkin so this would actually be one she would enjoy helping to make, instead of just reaping the benefits

Sadly, I didn't end up doing the pumpkin MLT myself.... it got way too hot at the end of that season followed by snow right after.... so we lost our crop. But I did assist a friend in doing so. There really doesn't seem to be an advantage, per se, but it's just plain fun (and weird.) We gave it 5 days in the pumpkin and then racked to secondary.... there was no infection.


And thanks for the link KozHops!