Pumpkin Ale Brewday

fishkid · Aug 29, 2009

chrisrush said:
Can you describe how you made your starter with the WLP002. I would like to get that kind of primary boil when I use that yeast this weekend.

Sure thing, I made the starter on a Monday night after work, a little under 48 hours before I was going to pitch (I brewed this on the following Wednesday afternoon). Brought 16oz of water to a boil then added 1/2 cup of dry malt extract. Brought this to a boil for 10 minutes then put the pot in an ice batch to bring it down to 75F as quick as possible.

Once I hit pitching temps, I poured the wort into a sanitized half gallon growler bottle, shook the hell out of the WLP002 vial, then poured the vial into the growler. I used a sanitized piece of aluminum foil to cap off the top.

From then on, every time I thought about the starter I would run downstairs and swirl the growler for 30 seconds or so. Right before I pitched into my 5 gallons, I shook up the growler like it was going out of style, up/down/left/right upside down everything

Then I pitched, stirred it in and called it done!

Curt

fishkid · Aug 29, 2009

Recusit8m said:
Batch looks great...Looks very Tasty...Quick question though for my own education and pardon my ignorance if I missed it but was that a single mash infusion? Im making the AG transition now and am curious to learn as much as possible...Thanks

Yes, single infusion with a mash out. It looked like this on my equipment:

14.66 qts @ 165.8F for a rest temp of 153F for 60 min
6.38 qts @ 208F for a rest temp of 168F for 10 min
Drain mash tun
14.6 qts @ 168F for a rest temp of 168F for 10 min
Drain mash tun

tomwirsing · Aug 31, 2009

My pumpkin went down to 1.006 from 1.050 with California Ale yeast for some reason. As soon as I took the reading I threw the carboys in the fridge to stop fermentation. My plan is to kee pthem cold and add some lactose to get the body and sweetness back where I want it. I'll put 8 ounces in each.

This issue will also help met wait until it's more seasonal so the yeast can do a little extra clean up. Otherwise I'd probably be kegging tonight, shake carbing, and plow through the 10 gallons (minus substantial trub losses) before All Hallows Eve even gets here.