It's pumpkin season!

[Plamondonbrews]

Hello,
As you might have guessed from the thread title, I'm considering brewing a pumpkin ale pretty soon.
Aside from finding a good recipe (if you'd like to share one of your own, I might try it, I'll decide on that later this week) I have one other main concern.
I don't want to spend too much money (8-10$ pumpkins???!!! who really wants to spend money on free things?) and I thought I'd take advantage of it being Hallowe'en to go free pumpkin hunting around the hood.
It is snowing outside (finally!) but I doubt the temperatures will drop much below -3, -4 overnight. I'm guessing that's still cold enough to partially freeze a pumpkin.
Basically, I'd like to know first, if I can still use the pumpkin after it's been frozen (my guess is yes) and second, wether that might change any caracteristics of the fruit maybe in the same way sugars get concentrated in ice wines and ice ciders. In both these cases however, the fruit hasn't been picked yet when freezing occurs so I don't know if this would have an effect on the pumpkins.

So there you have it, let me know what you think.
FYI, I'm a partial masher (hoping to jump on the all-grain wagon in spring) and this will be my 7th batch so far from being a pro but already getting some good results!








... And what's up with those forum rules? 5k fine, 1k fine... this is pretty hardcore stuff if we don't play by the rules.

 

[kanzimonson]

In general, when people make a pumpkin beer they're using the pumpkin varieties that are most conducive to making good pumpkin pie. The pumpkins that are sold for carving don't have the flavor that you're looking for.

Sorry, but you should be buying some "pie pumpkins" (hubbard variety, I believe), or just use the canned. The canning companies know which pumpkins are best.

 

[Plamondonbrews]

Thanks for the info, I had no idea that canned pumpkin was in fact hubbard squash. However, as amusing a fact that may be, I still want to use carving pumpkins. I know plenty of people who make great pumpkin pies using your regular jack-o-lantern type pumpkins and I like to make soups and muffins with the flesh so I figured I'd give it a try that way.
I do not wish to use pumpkin pie mix or even 100% pumpkin from a can, being how pumpkins are free after Halowe'en, and besides, it's fun to get the whole kitchen messy carving it out.
As far as flavour goes, I also prefer not to drink something that reminds me of blended pumpkin pie so I'll be using a lot less spices too.

 

[shamrockdoc]

HIJACK! Sorry LOL

I just got done brewing a pumpkin ale and used 6lb of canned pumpkin and man there is a ****load of trub in the primary I mean its up to the 3 gal mark! Is this normal? I guess ill be needing to rack out a couple of times to clear this out?!? Here's the recipe:


Category Specialty Beer
Subcategory Specialty Beer
Recipe Type Partial Mash
Batch Size 5.00 gal.
Volume Boiled 3.63 gal.
Mash Efficiency 72 %
Total Grain/Extract 7.06 lbs.
Total Hops 1.6 oz.
Calories (12 fl. oz.) 209.2
Cost to Brew $41.02 (USD)
Cost per Bottle (12 fl. oz.) $0.77 (USD)
Summary : Spiced Pumpkin Ale

1.61 lbs. Munich Malt info
0.40 lbs. Crystal Malt 40°L info
0.20 lbs. English Chocolate Malt info
4.84 lbs. Dry Light Extract info
0.8 oz. Northern Brewer (Whole, 8.00 %AA) boiled 60 min. info
0.4 oz. Goldings (Whole, 5.00 %AA) boiled 20 min. info
0.4 oz. Cascade (Whole, 5.50 %AA) boiled 2 min. info
4.84 lb. Canned Pumpkin (not included in calculations)
0.81 tsp. Irish Moss (not included in calculations)
Yeast : WYeast 1056 American Ale info

Camaralize Pumpkin (Bake at 350* for 1 hour) before use, add pumpkin to wort, at begining of boil.

Total Boil Time - 90min.

Spices to be added:
At 90 min -- 2tsp Cinnamon and 1 tsp Nutmeg.
At 20min -- 2tsp Cinnamon and 1 tsp Nutmeg
At 2min -- 2tsp Cinnamon, 1 tsp Nutmeg and 1tsp Allspice.

Add a Dash of Cinnamon just before stopping the boil.

Add Irish Moss with 15minutes remaining on boil. Add 1/2lb of rice hulls as well

 

[kanzimonson]

Yeah, that's why I'll never add pumpkin to the boil without using a strainer to get it out... Just let it settle as long as you can and bottle/keg as normal.

 

[Jewrican]

yeah that seems like a lot of pumpkin too. i dont have any experience making pumpkin ales as my first was just kegged yesterday but Terrapin and other breweries claim they use 1 lb per barrel which is 31 gallons. More wont hurt as many say it honestly doesnt add anything to the beer at all... some say it adds to mouthfeel.