pumpkin ale

[shoebag22]

bought some ingredients to make a pumpkin ale:
10 lbs of 2 row
american ale yeast

kit says to use 1lb of canned pumpkin... should I toss that in the boil or in the secondary?

 

[Coastarine]

I boiled 3 cans. Caramelized the pumpkin in the oven, then put it in a paint strainer bag, tied it off, and tossed it in.

 

[quixotic]

If you're doing AG, you can put it in the mash. Check my sig for a recipe. FYI: Use a blow off tube. I didn't, and even using a 6 1/2g carboys ended up with orange liquid sprayed on the walls and an unhappy SWMBO.

 

[Coastarine]

My understanding is that there isn't much starch to convert and many people have reported a stuck mash with pumpkin. No harm in boiling it, and I see no benefit of mashing it.

 

[Revvy]

Each pumpkin beer I have made, including the partigyle pumpkin beers this weekend I added the pumpkin into the last 15 minutes of the boil.

I carmalized the pumkin in a 350 degree oven for 60 minutes before hand.

 

[brokenanchor]

I'm about to start a pumpkin ale as well. Is there any benefit to using real pumpkin, or is that more of a hassle and easier to contaminate wort?

 

[Revvy]

I'm about to start a pumpkin ale as well. Is there any benefit to using real pumpkin, or is that more of a hassle and easier to contaminate wort?

Yes there is a real benefit to using pumpkin....if you don't it's not a TRUE pumpkin ale, it is just an ale with pumpkin pie spices in it, as real as Mcdonalds is to Hamburgers....

If you are adding it in the boil then there is ZERO risk of infection, because you are pasteurizing it...

I'm a pumpkin purist!!

OH btw, Kroger's canned pumpkin is 100 percent all natural with no additives, and it is cheaper than the libby's canned 100% all natural, especially if you have a Kroger plus card.

 

[MagicTrix]

I did an all grain version a couple of weeks ago and used 60 oz of canned pumpkin in the mash. I added 1 pound of rice hulls and had no issues with a stuck mash.

 

[shoebag22]

going back to the original question... I will be using canned pumpkin... is 16 ounces enough? at what point in the boil should I add it?

 

[hammacks]

you did strain the pumpkin out Revvy?

 

[Revvy]

going back to the original question... I will be using canned pumpkin... is 16 ounces enough? at what point in the boil should I add it?

It depends on your recipe....and how much pumpkin you liked.... I was doing a partigyle, coming up with 2 2.5 gallon batches in each batch I used 4, 15 ounce cans/per batch. For a single 5 gallon batch I would use between 6 and 8 pounds.

you did strain the pumpkin out Revvy?

Most of it.

My problem was that my bittering hops were unavailable in pellet, so I had to use whole hops...We were going to rack with an autosiphon, but it kept getting clogged.

In the first batch (the 1.070 batch) I used my normal strainer setup for carboy filling, a large funnel with a medium sized fine mesh kitchen strainer, and it was a frustrating mess, because of the size of the hops... I got most of if strained, but I dumped a lot of it in the fermenter.

For the 1.050 batch, I dug out a kitchen collandar instead of the strainer, this one had larger slits as opposed to the fine mesh of the strainer, and it worked much better.

If you are doing a 5 gallon batch ferment it in a bucket, and get a nylon paint strainer bag!!! The kind with the elastic that you fit inside the bucket. Then just dup everything in the bucket, lift the bag out and squeeze it. That way you'll get most of the wort out, andf it will seriously be infused with pumpkin and hop goodness...

That's what I will do next time for sure.

 

[quixotic]

A stuck mash can be a problem with mashing the pumpkin, but just use a lot of rice hulls. I just sampled mine from the primary, and it's delicious. Definitely a lot of pumpkin flavor/color.

 

[Tonedef131]

I vote for mash, I did mine a couple of weeks ago and in a 10 gallon batch I used 4 15oz cans of pumpkin puree and one pound of rice hulls. It sparged as fast as an all malt beer, but it did turn the inside of my mash tun a little orange. I will be bottling/kegging this tonight.

 

[Surfman]

i just cracked my punkin ale that i made last month and its GREAT. for what its worth i used 4lbs canned pumpkin and boiled it for the full 60.

 

[Bjornbrewer]

^Could you post the recipe that you used(or PM it)? I plan on making one soon. Thanks!

oh, yeah, first post!! Hello everyone! Been lurking for a while, but never posted.

 

[Surfman]

heres my recipe, kind of an odd grain bill but my lhbs was short on some grains so i had to improvise.
4lb munich
2lb caramunich
2lb vienna
2lb victory
2lb 2 row pale
1lb crystal 40l
.5lb honey malt

mashed at 153 for 75 min
sparged at 180

boil - 75min

added 1lb sucanat (dehydrated cane juice) at 75min

hops

1oz sterling 5.3% 60min
1oz sterling 5.3% 30min
2.5 tsp cinnamon
1.25 tsp allspice
1.25 tsp nutmeg
0.25 tsp ginger
spices added at 10min

cali ale yeast


Pumkin added at 75min

 

[Bjornbrewer]

^ thanks

 

[Punx Clever]

Rather than start off my own pumpkin thread... I'll just continue this one!

I'm gearing up to brew a nice pumpkin ale for thanksgiving in the next week or two, and was planning on using Yuri's recipie.

However, I want to cook up the pumpkin myself if possible.

Any advice / suggestions other than "use canned pumpkin"?

 

[jayhuff]

Three ways to do it: I use the baking method.

_________
Baking Method

* Cut the pumpkin in half and discard the stem section and stringy pulp. Save the seeds to dry and roast.
* In a shallow baking dish, place the two halves face down and cover with foil.
* Bake in a preheated 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) oven for about 1½ hours for a medium-sized sugar pumpkin, or until tender.
* Once the baked pumpkin has cooled, scoop out the flesh and puree or mash it.

Boiling Method

* Cut the pumpkin in half, discarding the stringy insides.
* Peel the pumpkin and cut it into chunks.
* Place in a saucepan and cover with water.
* Bring to a boil and cook until the pumpkin chunks are tender.

Microwave Method

* Cut the pumpkin in half, discarding the stringy insides.
* Microwave on high power for seven minutes per pound, turning pieces every few minutes to promote even cooking. Process as above.

 

[sea2summit3]

I carmalized the pumkin in a 350 degree oven for 60 minutes before hand.

I like this idea. What kind of container do you carmalize in? A cookie sheet, roasting pan,/baking dish?


I'm hoping to make a batch for Turkey Day but have read some posts saying a pumpkin ale needs a long rest. Other brewers have said their's tasted great after only a couple weeks. Anybody have some advice whether I can pull this beer off in time for Turkey Day?