Midwest Pumpkin Ale Kit

[KeydetBrewer]

I'm going start my second brew this weekend...the Midwest Pumpkin Ale kit. Does anyone have any tips/pointers for this kit? I'm planning on using canned (pure) pumpkin since whole pumpkins are not in season yet. I have a reunion the first weekend of October and I was wondering if there is any chance this will be ready by then? Any input is appreciated...thanks.

 

[xerotime]

This was the very first beer I made when I started brewing a few years ago. It's a pretty straightforward kit from what I remember. I put the pumpkin to the boil in a nylon sack and I don't think it added much. I've since gone all grain and have made 2 more pumpkin beers in which I add the pumpkin to the mash. One thing I do with my pumpkin beers is to split the spice addition to half at flameout and the other half at bottling/kegging.

You should have no problem drinking it the first weekend of October.

 

[KeydetBrewer]

Thanks xerotime. How long was the pumpkin in the boil? The entire time or just at the end? Did you bake the pumpkin first?

 

[xerotime]

I kept it in the boil for the last 30 minutes but again, I don't think it adds much doing it that way. Since I no longer extract brew I now bake it in the oven and add to the mash.

 

[KeydetBrewer]

Update: I bottled the Pumpkin Ale after 5 weeks in the fermenter. The brew looks, smells, and tastes fantastic. There was a good amount of trub in the bottom of the fermenter so I only got 46 bottles out of it. I will strain it better next time when tranfering from the brew kettle. Another lesson learned.

 

[UnderPressure]

I brewed a pumpkin ale last weekend. They're already selling pumpkins here in SC. I roasted 2 small pumpkins at 350 for a half hour. Peeled, cut them up, put them in a nylon bag with my hour long mash, and boiled like normal.