Clementine
Well-Known Member
OK I'm off work sick today, so I have nothing better to do but tell you all about my brew day from yesterday.
I brewed a pumpkin ale, my first pumpkin ale and my second AG beer... and my first stuck sparge! 12 qts of a batch sparge in 7 quarts out. With some coaxing I got some out. I put a 2nd batch sparge in since I had 5 quarts in there I had to add a little more to get everything moving... but it got stuck again. I blew compressed air up the hose, got a quart, blew again and got a quart... OK I can take this of course I had to fire up the air compressor and jiggle the hose and managed to pull out my pre boil volume. My OG was higher than I was expecting I upped the recipe slightly as I was thinking my efficiency would be lower.
I don't know if I put enough pumpkin in my brew, even during the first sparge I did not get any real pumpkin flavors. Well if I think about it there was not any pumpkin in there as the shop did not have any cans of pumpkin or fresh pumpkins so i got butternut squash. I started backing it on a cookie sheet when a friend who is chief showed up and he sauteed it with beer to degalze the pan and caramelize it a bit. I guess if this turns out to be the best one ever I will have to get him to visit every year I brew this!
The recipe
70oz of pumpkin in mash
10lb Two Row
2lb Crystal 60L
1lb Biscuit
0.5lb Flaked Wheat
0.5lb Rice Hulls (not enough)
0.5oz Zues @ 60min (I had some left over as it was just for bittering additions I lessened the amount due to the high alpha content, why not!?!)
0.75oz Hallertau
2 tblspn of pumpkin pie spice 10min
Nottingham cultured from slant. 1l stir plate starter decanted pitched into 2.75l of wort (simple starter) 12hrs before pitching, pitched whole starter. Pitched at 65 degrees maintaining 62 degrees.
I get plenty of spice but no pumpkin yet. I hope as the sugar gets eaten by the yeast that the pumpkin flavors stand out a bit.
I ended up 6.5 gallons of 1.064. Of course I took lots of SG readings through the sparge and generally had a good brew day, taking the advice of fellow brewer, I tried to relax. So during the mash I took my son to the pool, good day and hopefully good brew.
This morning I got up and my airlock was bubbling but no krausen had formed (too sick to go to work not sick enough not to check my baby). I pitched yeast at 2200hrs check it at 0700hrs so a lag of 9hrs not bad. By the time I dropped the kids of at the baby sitters I had a krausen just starting to form.
Cheers HBTRs
Clem
I brewed a pumpkin ale, my first pumpkin ale and my second AG beer... and my first stuck sparge! 12 qts of a batch sparge in 7 quarts out. With some coaxing I got some out. I put a 2nd batch sparge in since I had 5 quarts in there I had to add a little more to get everything moving... but it got stuck again. I blew compressed air up the hose, got a quart, blew again and got a quart... OK I can take this of course I had to fire up the air compressor and jiggle the hose and managed to pull out my pre boil volume. My OG was higher than I was expecting I upped the recipe slightly as I was thinking my efficiency would be lower.
I don't know if I put enough pumpkin in my brew, even during the first sparge I did not get any real pumpkin flavors. Well if I think about it there was not any pumpkin in there as the shop did not have any cans of pumpkin or fresh pumpkins so i got butternut squash. I started backing it on a cookie sheet when a friend who is chief showed up and he sauteed it with beer to degalze the pan and caramelize it a bit. I guess if this turns out to be the best one ever I will have to get him to visit every year I brew this!
The recipe
70oz of pumpkin in mash
10lb Two Row
2lb Crystal 60L
1lb Biscuit
0.5lb Flaked Wheat
0.5lb Rice Hulls (not enough)
0.5oz Zues @ 60min (I had some left over as it was just for bittering additions I lessened the amount due to the high alpha content, why not!?!)
0.75oz Hallertau
2 tblspn of pumpkin pie spice 10min
Nottingham cultured from slant. 1l stir plate starter decanted pitched into 2.75l of wort (simple starter) 12hrs before pitching, pitched whole starter. Pitched at 65 degrees maintaining 62 degrees.
I get plenty of spice but no pumpkin yet. I hope as the sugar gets eaten by the yeast that the pumpkin flavors stand out a bit.
I ended up 6.5 gallons of 1.064. Of course I took lots of SG readings through the sparge and generally had a good brew day, taking the advice of fellow brewer, I tried to relax. So during the mash I took my son to the pool, good day and hopefully good brew.
This morning I got up and my airlock was bubbling but no krausen had formed (too sick to go to work not sick enough not to check my baby). I pitched yeast at 2200hrs check it at 0700hrs so a lag of 9hrs not bad. By the time I dropped the kids of at the baby sitters I had a krausen just starting to form.
Cheers HBTRs
Clem
