Partial Mash Pumpkin Ale

[Skeptidelphian]

Hey everyone, so I've decided finally on what I want my next beer to be. I saw pie pumpkins sitting at Wegman's and decided that they would be sacrificed at the altar of malt and hops!

I've modified Jamil's pumpkin ale recipe to be partial-mash. This is so I can use real pumpkin and get some real grain flavor, as well as avoid buying 3 containers of malt extract.

I will mash the pumpkin, 2-row, and specialty grains for 90 minutes, then I aim to sparge it with enough water to bring the full amount to a boil - or is that not a good idea (this is the only thing I'm unsure of at this point).

Will be going to the LHBS tomorrow to pick up the ingredients, plus another fermenter, airlock, and some thermometers.

Here's the stats:

STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.059
Final Gravity: 1.016
ABV (standard): 5.53%
IBU (tinseth): 32.4
SRM (morey): 15.54

FERMENTABLES:
3.3 lb - Liquid Malt Extract - Light (21.9%)
3.3 lb - Liquid Malt Extract - Light - (late addition) (21.9%)
2 lb - Pale 2-Row (13.2%)
0.5 lb - Aromatic Malt (3.3%)
0.5 lb - Caramel / Crystal 40L (3.3%)
0.25 lb - Caramel / Crystal 120L (1.7%)
0.25 lb - Special Roast (1.7%)
5 lb - Pumpkin (33.1%)

HOPS:
1 oz - Northern Brewer (AA 7.8) for 60 min, Type: Pellet, Use: Boil

MASH STEPS:
1) Temperature, Temp: 154 F, Time: 90 min, Amount: 13 qt
2) Sparge, Temp: 170 F, Time: 10 min, Amount: 15 qt

OTHER INGREDIENTS:
0.5 tsp - Cinnamon, ground, dry, Time: 1 min, Type: Spice, Use: Boil
0.25 tsp - Ginger, ground, dry, Time: 1 min, Type: Spice, Use: Boil
0.125 oz - Nutmeg, ground, dry, Time: 1 min, Type: Fining, Use: Boil
0.125 oz - Allspice, ground, dry, Time: 1 min, Type: Spice, Use: Boil
1 each - Campden Tablet, Type: Water Agt, Use: Other
1 each - Whirlfloc, Time: 10 min, Type: Fining, Use: Boil

YEAST:
Fermentis / Safale - Safale - English Ale Yeast S-04 (2-3 packs depending on date)
Starter: No
Form: Dry
Attenuation (avg): 72%
Flocculation: Medium
Optimum Temperature: 59 F - 75 F

 

[peanasky]

Everything looks good to me (though I'm not sure if I count as an experienced member, lol). As to your question about the sparge, that sounds/looks fine. It's very similar to what I do when I do 3 gal BrewInABag batches. If you're worried about the volume of the sparge, you could always break it up into two sparges, either way, you'll be good.

 

[Skeptidelphian]

Well what I was worried about is that if the sparge is too large (lol) that I will extract tannins from the grain. That and if 2 lbs of 2-row is enough to convert the punpkins' starches.

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

I'd recommend prebaking the pumpkins at 350 for 45 mins or so. That'll caramelize some sugars and give them a nice flavor. You should be fine sparging with the full amount, but there's conflicting info on that. I've done something very similar with a PM batch and had no issues with tannins, etc. If you want to be sure (more for yourself), sparge with the proper amount of water and top up to preboil volume with clear water in the kettle after the sparge. Other than that, your recipe looks good.

 

[Skeptidelphian]

I was planning on roasting the pumpkin beforehand. I'm undecided on what I'll do with the sparge water, for peace of mind I'll probably use the correct amount.

 

[billf2112]

Why doesn't somebody just make a pumpkin malt extract and make it easy on newer brewers?

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

Why doesn't somebody just make a pumpkin malt extract and make it easy on newer brewers?

They do!! It's called Libby's Canned Pumpkin.

No, I hear ya. That would be cool if they made something like that seasonally. But really, canned pumpkin is pretty easy to use in brewing, whether mashing or just using it in the boil, and it makes a nice pumpkin ale. Surely real pumpkin is more authentic (?), but I've gotten really good results using Libby's.

 

[Skeptidelphian]

All is well - smells very pumpkiny coming from the airlock. Never saw so much trub in my life - even after whirl pooling!

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

Yeah man, pumpkin is messy $hit. My kettle looked a lot like yours, lots of trub left behind. Kicker of it is, when I racked to secondary for spicing, I had a full gallon of trub in the bucket too. That was from three 15 oz cans of pie filling. I posted some pictures on this thread. Great thing is, this year's is much more pumpkin-y than last's. The difference being last year I mashed the pumpkin, this year only boiled it.

 

[peanasky]

I'm glad everything turned out well! I may have to snag and modify your recipe for my 3 gal set-up

I eagerly await tasting results...

 

[billf2112]

Against my better judgement I did a batch with pumpkin puree in the mash. Got a stuck mash. Turned into a brew day from hell. Gas ran out with 10 minutes left in the boil. Other things happened that were my fault also. One things, I got good pumpkin taste from the mash, happy with results.

 

[Skeptidelphian]

Well mine was a partial mash, so it was contained in a bag. I ended up having to mash longer because I relied on a crappy meat thermometer which gives readings 15 degrees higher than reality (no wonder my rares were coming out medium). Got a lab thermometer instead and after letting it sit at 140 for an hour, finally got it to 155 and mashed it.

I got a crazy high mash efficiency though, something like 92% (if my reading of the hydrometer was correct).

It smells a heck of a lot like pumpkin pie though. I'll probably rack it off the trub on the 29th and let it bright/condition and put some spice tea in for two weeks before bottling.