My Pumpkin Themed Beer

[SteveHeff]

Here's my fall beer of choice. I brewed this about 6 weeks ago. I'm very happy with the flavor and the color. Very good clarity with a slight touch of haziness. I used 19 oz of baked pumpkin puree in the mash as well as 2 Tbs of pumpkin pie spice. Turned out "festive" (per a fellow brewer) without being too spicy.

Anybody else in the South Jersey/Philly area that would like to leave constructive feedback, PM me. I always enjoy sipping some beers with friends.

 

[SteveHeff]

Lighting: either makes your beer look fantastic or drabby. Still tastes very nice.

 

[Hello]

Sounds and looks delicious.
I do have to ask, is that a vase in your counter top or is the plant just happy to see you?

 

[castillo556]

Sounds awesome to me!

 

[SteveHeff]

Sounds and looks delicious.
I do have to ask, is that a vase in your counter top or is the plant just happy to see you?

Funny. The one side of the counter has a bar side and the other is a food prep side. Looking at it after you say that, I see exactly what you're talking about!

 

[PIEHOLEBREWINGCO]

How about the reciepe if its so great?

 

[SteveHeff]

How about the reciepe if its so great?

No problem. Here she is for a 5 gallon batch:

8# Maris Otter
1# C60
8 oz Biscuit malt
4 oz Flaked wheat
19 oz pumpkin puree.

1 oz Goldings at 60 min
1 oz Cascade at 10 min.

OG: 1.048 (my actual)
FG: 1.012


First thing I did was to bake my pumpkin puree, in the oven, at 400 degrees for about 30-40 minutes. Or until it was nicely dehydrated.

I took the pumpkin puree and added it to the mash. I also added 2 heaping Tbs of pumpkin pie spice to the mash. I use Trader Joe's spice. It worked pretty well. I mashed at 153 for 75 minutes 12.5 qts of water, batch sparged with 4.75 gallons, single infusion.

Boil for 60 minutes, or until volume has been reached. Cool and pitch Safale S-04, or whatever yeast you like. Primary for 14 days. I bottled without a secondary (first time I've tried it) and had very good results. Bottle conditioned for 5 weeks, although a traditional 2-3 weeks should work well.

It's worth noting that the Cascade hops add a bit of spiciness to the flavor. It's not bad or overwhelming but I would certainly use a different hop, something more subtle/mild and appropriate for the style when I brew this again.

 

[PIEHOLEBREWINGCO]

Thanks ill give it a try

 

[waldzinator]

No problem. Here she is for a 5 gallon batch:


I mashed at 153 for 75 minutes 12.5 qts of water, batch sparged with 4.75 gallons, single infusion.

Did you have any problems with a stuck sparge? I noticed you don't have rice hulls in your ingredients list. Last pumpkin batch I made, I nearly cried. Then again, I didn't bake the puree.

 

[SteveHeff]

Did you have any problems with a stuck sparge? I noticed you don't have rice hulls in your ingredients list. Last pumpkin batch I made, I nearly cried. Then again, I didn't bake the puree.

I didn't run into any issues with my sparge. I have a rather robust manifold that helps out quite a bit, though. If I was using a braided line or a small manifold, I would certainly throw in a few hand fulls of rice hulls.

I also broke up the pumpkin before tossing into the mash. I mixed it in well but I didn't push it down towards the bottom of my mash tun too much. I don't know if that helped but it didn't present me with any issues.

The biggest reason I added to my mash instead of my boil kettle is that I wanted my beer to be more clear than the last time I made a pumpkin ale. It really paid off. Even after running a secondary of 4 weeks for the last time I made this, it never cleared up as well as this did directly from primary. I think the results would be similar whether you mash or boil the pumpkin but the clarity will be a bit different.

 

[waldzinator]

I think the results would be similar whether you mash or boil the pumpkin but the clarity will be a bit different.

I always mash it. This time around, I didn't prebake the puree. I don't know if that had anything to do with it, but it was awful. I use a copper square manifold (and 2 lbs of rice hulls) and I was still having problems. Just one of those brewdays...

Your beer looks fantastic, though.

 

[shawnstr71]

That looks awesome! congrats! I did a pumpkin a while back. Has great flavor/color. Unfourtunatly, something went wrong and I have no carb. Will try again b4 winter is over. cheers to u on a nice looking beer.
Did u use rice hulls in your mash?
I put my pumpkin in the boil becuz I read about alot of stuck sparges and I have never used rice hulls. Not sure how the process works. just curious.
Cheers
Shawn

 

[SteveHeff]

I didn't use any rice hulls in this recipe but I would if I had some.