Pumpkin Ale....Simply gotta brag!

[Morrey]

First pumpkin ale and it is better than I dreamed it would be. Great flavor intensity and balance unlike store bought pumpkin ales. It was labor intensive, but based on my first pint, it was all worth it!! Rationing pints it is that good.

Fresh pie pumpkin cubed, roasted with spices*, spooned into muslin bags during boil for easy removal. *Cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, clove.

Marris Otter, Biscuit and Munich malts. WLP001 from starter, 67F

Racked into secondary after 8 days over another batch of roasted pumpkin lightly tossed with molasses, maple syrup 6 more days secondary. OG 1.050 FG 1.012

Kegged and carbed. MAN OH MAN.....I mean this is KILLER GOOD.

(BTW...roasted fresh pumpkin seeds are awesome)

 

[catdaddy66]

outstanding! Nothing better than success when brewing...

 

[Morrey]

outstanding! Nothing better than success when brewing...

Especially with a semi-unknown. Thanks my friend!

 

[TexasDroughtBrewery]

Gotta love that feeling!

 

[Morrey]

Gotta love that feeling!

This reinforces my feeling that as home brewers, we not only can make beer equally as good as commercial breweries, we can often exceed them. Guess it all boils down to custom suited for our tastes and complete control of our entire process.

 

[DrinksWellWithOthers]

Congrats on the success. A pumpkin beer is the one style I haven't attempted because I don't know if I can make one as good as my favorite - ST Pumking.

 

[Morrey]

Congrats on the success. A pumpkin beer is the one style I haven't attempted because I don't know if I can make one as good as my favorite - ST Pumking.

Good suggestion on your favorite. I'll often take a commercial beer I like and do a blind taste test side by side with my own beer. This gives me a real comparison, so I plan to look for your favorite to do a side by side.

You may surprise yourself and like yours better. Never know til you try.

 

[oceanic_brew]

Boils down... ha!!


I make a pumpkin beer that is just revvy's leffe clone.


Our processes are very similar. It's the best pumpkin beer according to myself and anyone that's tried it.

The Belgian Abby (II) yeast with a free rise temp adds the right amount of fruit and ester to make the pumpkin and spices seem like they're meant to be there rather than every pumpkin beer I've tried.

I think it's the key for "my" recipe since a lot of pumpkin ale recipes I've tried are just typical brown ales with English yeast, spice and no trace of pumpkin.



The roasting of the pumpkin in the oven I feel actually brings some through in the beer. I don't know if the minute amount of sugars are caramelized through this process and that helps carry the flavor forward but I can actually taste that vegetable sweetness in the beer... again all is complimented by the yeast.

All this being said, after 10-12 pints I've had enough of it which is fine because I split it with my girl.

 

[Morrey]

Boils down... ha!!


I make a pumpkin beer that is just revvy's leffe clone.


Our processes are very similar. It's the best pumpkin beer according to myself and anyone that's tried it.

The Belgian Abby (II) yeast with a free rise temp adds the right amount of fruit and ester to make the pumpkin and spices seem like they're meant to be there rather than every pumpkin beer I've tried.

I think it's the key for "my" recipe since a lot of pumpkin ale recipes I've tried are just typical brown ales with English yeast, spice and no trace of pumpkin.



The roasting of the pumpkin in the oven I feel actually brings some through in the beer. I don't know if the minute amount of sugars are caramelized through this process and that helps carry the flavor forward but I can actually taste that vegetable sweetness in the beer... again all is complimented by the yeast.

All this being said, after 10-12 pints I've had enough of it which is fine because I split it with my girl.

I think roasting fresh pie pumpkin is an additional step making for extra work, but pays off in big flavor dividends. I saw many recipes calling for nothing but a tablespoon or two of spice. Humm, I didn't buy into that as I can detect the subtle and aromatic fresh roasted pumpkin coming thru beautifully. Unless a commercial brewery is very serious about their pumpkin ale, this is an expensive, labor intensive step they probably choose to avoid.

I like your Belgian Abby II yeast suggestion...A LOT!!!! I had wlp001 on hand and felt that a good and safe choice. I pulled out my brewing notes and jotted your suggestion down to try next year. Thanks!

 

[petrolSpice]

Thanks for not posting the recipe

 

[bobeer]

Nothing like a successful homebrew to get you stoked up!

I make a pumpkin beer just about every year and I always bake my pumpkin with molasses and honey drizzled on top at 350 for 1 hour. I then add it to a little hot water to make it into a soft paste. Adding this to the mash is much easier than adding the pumpkin directly to the mash and trying to break up the thick clumps of it.

This year I decided to imperialize my recipe and brew up a big brother version of it. It's about 8.5% and I'm kegging it tonight!