Pumpkin Ale feedback

[uberlad]

Hey all,

Like 95% of everyone here, I'm gettin' ready to homebrew a pumpkin ale. I'm aiming for an imperial -- because, well, why not? This is going to be my first all grain brew however, so I want to do it right. I've based my recipe on this one: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f76/imperial-pumpkin-pie-ale-200122/

I'm hoping someone out there can check out my recipe and give me some feedback. What do you think?

Batch Size (Gallons): 5
Original Gravity: 1.095
Final Gravity: 1.024
ABV: 9.5%
IBU: 33.4
Calories: 313 per 12 oz.
Boiling Time (Minutes): 60
Color: 16

MALTS & FERMENTABLES
15 lb American 2 Row Pale Malt
2 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L
8 lb Pumpkin, cooked @ 350 degrees for an hour -- put into mash
1 lb Pumpkin, cooked @ 350 degrees for an hour -- inserted into boil for 60 minutes

HOPS
1 oz Magnum (60 min) Hops
1 oz Sterling (10 min) Hops

YEAST
Wyeast London Ale #1028 (doing a starter)

MISC
3 Whirlfloc Tablets (Boil 15 min)
1 tsp Cinnamon (Boil 60 min)
1 tsp Nutmeg (Boil 60 min)
1 tsp Cloves (Boil 60 min)
1 tsp Allspice (Boil 60 min)

BOTTLING -- Priming components are boiled together:
1 tsp Pumpkin Pie spice
2 oz Vanilla Extract
5.33 oz Brown Sugar



Some questions/concerns I have:
-Is my bottling concoction too much? I really don't want any of my bottles blowing up!
-Re: putting a pound of cooked pumpkin into the boil... I've heard of people doing something similar. Thoughts?
-Will the spices lose their punch if they're in the boil for a whole 60 minutes?
-Should I add in another ounce of Magnum hops for more IBUs? Most pumpkin ales I've been seeing are anywhere between 25 and 45 IBU... so 33 is on the short end of that.
-What else am I not seeing?

Any and all help is valued and much appreciated!

 

[jonmohno]

2 0z seems like alot of vanilla extract.I would split some spice into a 30 min addition.Nothing wrong with adding pumpkin to the boil,not much mess there.
I wouldnt plan on this being its best before a few months though. I could be wrong about that though hopefully i am.

 

[Grantman1]

Not sure what you are going for here, but I'd think about upping the IBUs on this because as of now it'll be really sweet, probably overly so. Most pumpkin ales you may have seen are between 25-45 IBUs, but probably have much lower gravities than 1.095. I'd consider looking at bittering ratios to figure out what kind of balance you want, instead of just IBUs.

 

[jonmohno]

Sweet pumpkin pie!
Add somemore hops.High gravity high finish FG you got some more bittering play.
Good call with an imperial pumpkin though,thats the way to go with a pumpkin i think.

 

[uberlad]

Great feedback so far. I added another ounce of Magnum hops (2 oz total now) which brought the IBUs up to 62... Much more balanced and less overwhelmingly sweet.

What about sticking to 1 oz Magnum and adding 1 oz Willamette for bittering? Is that too weak for an Imperial?

 

[uberlad]

Not sure what you are going for here, but I'd think about upping the IBUs on this because as of now it'll be really sweet, probably overly so. Most pumpkin ales you may have seen are between 25-45 IBUs, but probably have much lower gravities than 1.095. I'd consider looking at bittering ratios to figure out what kind of balance you want, instead of just IBUs.

Forgot to mention... After adding another ounce of Magnum, the BU:GU is 0.66. Is that getting too bitter for a pumpkin ale, or does the imperialness allow for these big flavors?