NB Smashing Pumpkin

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smmcdermott

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I am getting ready to brew a Pumpkin ale recipe from NB. I am doing an all grain kit using Wyeast 1056 and am curious about the pumpkin pie spice it instructs to add at the end of the boil. It instructs to add 1 tsp. of the spice at 0 mins.

I was curious if anyone used pumpkin pie spice versus an actual pumpkin and what the results were. I looked at the reviews on the site and it seems like most actually used a real pumpkin or pumpkin puree. 1 tsp doesn't seem like a lot for 5 gallons. Thoughts?

Thanks.
 
I just ordered that kit today and I'm going to do both. I'm going to mash probably 90oz. of canned pumpkin (I'm baking it first) with the mash.

Crap, just remembered I needed to order rice hulls to prevent stuck sparge with all that pumpkin. Arggghhhhh.

Anyways, I'm going to add the pumpkin spices at flameout as instructed and if I want more spice once its in the keg I'll add more spices directly to the keg, to taste. You've gotta remember the primary "pumpkin" flavor you get from a pumpkin pie is actually spices, the pumpkin doesn't necessarily add alot of flavor, just body.
 
Ah, good points, all of them. I may do the same and add the 1 tsp and then adjust when i go to bottle it as well. I don't want to keg this one because I am gonig to be giving a lot away.
 
Use both. I made that kit a few months ago and did not use pumpkin, but the beer was still great. that small ammount of spices comes through in the beer nicely. Next time I am going to make it with the pumpkin.
 
Since I forgot rice hulls I'll probably only use 1-2 lbs of pumpkin and I'll mash fairly thin (1.5qt maybe?).
 
I mashed 48oz of pumpkin then added an additional 12 oz at 10 minutes then the spice that came with the kit at flame out. Its still in primary, so i'm not sure how it turned out but the wort tasted like liquid pumpkin pie.
 
I actually have an experiment coming up. I am going to brew a small batch with spices. Then split in 3 ways to ferment in growlers. One will be left alone with the spices from the boil, one I will add some Lor Anns extract pumpkin flavoring, and the third will stay on the boil for another 10-15 min with libbys canned pumpkin. Find out once and for all what real pumpkin brings to the table.
 
Nice sfrisby, I really like that experiment. Let me know what the results are.

So now my question is with my mash. I do not ahve access to a LHBS, everything is online, so I can't easily get rice hulls (aka I will not have them for my brewday).

Will i have a problem with a stuck sparge if i add 48 oz of canned pumpkin?
 
I did a Dogfish Head Pumpkin clone and added 60 oz of pumpkin to the mash and 2.5 tsp of pumkin pie spice to the boil at 5 min. This one is a high gravity imperial pumpkin that looked and smelled friggin awesome in the primary. I'll let you know in October if it is any good!
 
Nice sfrisby, I really like that experiment. Let me know what the results are.

So now my question is with my mash. I do not ahve access to a LHBS, everything is online, so I can't easily get rice hulls (aka I will not have them for my brewday).

Will i have a problem with a stuck sparge if i add 48 oz of canned pumpkin?

I am facing the same dilemma. Most folks agree that you will. Two ways to minimize the risk: use less pumpkin and have a thinner mash. I will probably do 1-2 pounds pumpkin and a 1.5 qt/lb mash
 
hmm, good point. If i were to be able to get my hands on some rice hulls, how much should I put in with the mash?
 
In a wheat + 2-row grist I use maybe .5 lbs.

With the pumpkin I've heard folks recommend 1 lbs or even more.

And if you do use rice hulls, pre-wet them to avoid absorption, especially since you're aiming for a thinner mash.
 
Earlier in thread I posted that I did a mini brew of a pumpkin beer. I brewed with spices in the boil and split the batch 3 ways. The first was just the spices, the second was with canned pumpkin in the boil, and the third was adding loranns pumpkin extract flavoring in secondary.

Extract was the worst. I have done a number of brews with loranns and other than a watermellon blonde, I have been dissapointed. The plain spices is good, but the pumpkin addition was the best. I feel it does add something. Maybe a hint of sweetness and good flavor. All future brews will have pumpkin in the boil with spices. Fwiw.
 
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