Pumpkin beers: Discussion, developing recipes, tips tricks, and a good practices

[beesy]

My brew buddy (any hbt'er) pickles made a pumpkin lager last year that was at least as good as lakefront's. Very nice. I'll try to get him to put

++1 to the sticky. fall is my fav time of year, and in my opinion, the best seasonals are brewed this time of year too. Pumpkins, Octoberfests, Harvest beers (hops and grains). doesn't really get much better than that!!

 

[beesy]

bump.......

anyone have any difinitive suggestions on quantity of spices to use for a 5 gal batch??

a lot of recipes i see call for clove. i just don't like the way it fits in and would recommend cutting it in half, it not eliminating it all. no more clove for me in my pumpkin beers.

Although a little late in the game, I guess I better get in gear and brew some up this week/weekend.

 

[aeonderdonk]

I should have brewed this yesterday instead of a kolsch . I will probably end up brewing it on the 30th of August and hope it mellows out enough to sip while handing out candy. I am pretty sure I will use a few lbs of baked canned pumpkin in the mash and add spices with about 5 minutes left.

 

[jimconnors]

This weekend I brewed for the first time in months (still recovering from reconstructive surgery on my ankle) and it was only the second AG batch I have ever done.
I figured a pumpkin ale would be nice to age out for a few months, and a nice simple Ale with Pumpkin added would be hard to screw up so I was a bit more comfortable with my less-than-perfect AG system. The wort literally tasted like liquid pumpkin pie (I kinda drank the hydrometer test wort post-grav reading ) and had an incredible color to it.

Below is the recipe I used, pulled from the Nov/Dec 08 Zymurgy issue. Only modifications I made were 1) Safale 04 yeast x 2 and 2) an extra 1.5 pounds of canned pumpkin.
I also added a bit if cinnamon, brown sugar, crushed cloves and nutmeg to the pumpkin and roasted it for about 4 hours. The whole house still smells like pumpkin pie!

The original brewer (Mark Pasquinelli of PA) recommended slightly less carbonation, and suggested about 3.5 cups of priming sugar.

View attachment Pumpkin Ale.btp

 

[bonesmalone]

Today i racked to secondary. I only got about 2.5 gallons due to trub loss and all the spices from the boil sank to the bottom, thus leaving my pumpkin spice ale SPICELESS.

Should I make a tea and add it to tertiary? Should i throw in raw spices? Maybe a cinnamon stick? I know the beer is gonna taste like weird lukewarm hop-ahol at this point but i should be getting at least a hint of the spices right?

 

[masonsjax]

How long did it sit in primary? I get the impression that it should be left there for a couple of months to meld with the spices. I don't secondary any of my beers though.

 

[Marshal6]

I'm considering doing another pumpkin beer this year. Has anyone tried making a "spice tea" and dosing into the finished beer like you would a fruit extract. I found it tough to judge how much spice to use in the boil. Also I know it already been stated but use restraint on the hops.

 

[bonesmalone]

How long did it sit in primary? I get the impression that it should be left there for a couple of months to meld with the spices. I don't secondary any of my beers though.

I had it in primary for 8 days. The fermentation slowed significantly and my FG was at 1.009. I just really want the beer to clear out as much as possible so Im doing a 2 week secondary and a 2 week tertiary then bottle for at least 3 weeks. If the spices are at the bottom of the trub, i dont picture it helping the taste at all.

 

[masonsjax]

Not to get too off topic here, but it's my understanding that it is much better to leave beer in primary for at least 2 weeks (I leave my beers 28 days minimum), allowing the yeast to clean up after themselves. That would also leave more time for spices to infuse. Trub settles out whether you rack to another vessel or not. It's just easier to leave it. Less racking (less chance for infection), and only 1 container to clean. I guess there might be an oxygen problem if you use a bucket for primary, but I don't know about that.

 

[cactusgarrett]

My brew buddy (any hbt'er) pickles made a pumpkin lager last year that was at least as good as lakefront's. Very nice. I'll try to get him to put

Care to comment on the yeast used? I'm kicking around the idea of a pilsner yeast for my pumpbrew this weekend.

 

[EuBrew]

Care to comment on the yeast used? I'm kicking around the idea of a pilsner yeast for my pumpbrew this weekend.

I'm using the WLP002 english ale yeast for just a little sweetness.

 

[InYerMouth]

So glad I found this thread...I have been kicking around a pumkin pie recipe recelntly and would like for it to be ready around thanksgiving...so this thread kicked me into gear...hopefully brew by labor day!! If I can get one like Jacks Pumpkin Spice I will be exstatic!!:rockin:

 

[sharp63]

Ok, I went shopping yesterday. I already had the spices but also picked up some "Pumpkin Pie Spice" which seems to be just a combination of the spices.

However, I didn't see any canned pumpkin. The only canned pumpkin was pumpkin pie filling which is already processed and spiced. What do you all think is the best way to use this into the boil?

 

[slimer]

Mash it!

Do a partial mash instead of a grain steep.

 

[aeonderdonk]

I'm definitely brewing this Aug 30th. Do you think i should include pumpkin weight in my water calcs for mash of 1.25qt/lb?

Here's my recipe:
Definitely going to give this a try. I plan to add pumpkin to the mash after baking, spice additions at 5 mins. Here is what a 5.5G batch is looking like:

Amount Item Type % or IBU
8.5 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 71.2 %
2 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 16.9 %
1 lb Biscuit Malt (23.0 SRM) Grain 8.5 %
0.5 lb Wheat, Flaked (1.6 SRM) Grain 3.4 %
1 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00%] (60 min) Hops 13.4 IBU
0.75 tsp Ginger Root (Boil 5.0 min) Misc
0.75 tsp Cloves (Boil 5.0 min) Misc
1.25 tsp Nutmeg (Boil 5.0 min) Misc
1.25 tsp Allspice (Boil 5.0 min) Misc
1.75 tsp Cinnamon Ground (Boil 5.0 min) Misc
66.00 oz Pumpkin (Mash 90.0 min)

 

[masonsjax]

I usually mash at about 1.5qt/lb, but went a tad thinner for this batch. It took some serious stirring, but eventually the pumpkin clumps pretty much dissolved in the thin mash. Make sure you strike a little high to account for the extra stirring, or have some boiling water ready to raise the mash back up if you need to. The only real difference I noticed was a slower runoff, with first runnings being slower than both subsequent batch sparge runoffs. Use rice hulls and you should be fine.

 

[KingBrianI]

Tomorrow's the big day. Gonna brew up my pumpkin ale. A bit late in the year but it's a relatively low gravity beer so should age quickly. I've got a good feeling about this one. Someone should really throw a pumpkin beer competition. I had to stop by three grocery stores today before I could find some libby's pumpkin. The other two stores only had the pumpkin pie mix. I'm thinking I'll go with powdered ginger instead of the fresh ginger as I originally stated. The reason being that I find fresh ginger is a bit more sharp and pungent, which may not work as well in this recipe. I'm also second guessing my decision to mash at 150. I might go 152 or 154 in order to get a bit more body out of the beer. I don't want it to be too thin, but I'd also like it to be relatively dry and easy to drink. It's going to come down to a little bit of luck to get the right sweet/dry balance. I think a bit of sweetness is needed to round the spices and pumpkin out but with the low hopping, it needs to finish dry enough to not be cloying. Finding the right balance is going to come down to a bit of luck I think. Anyway, I'm gonna get everything ready to go tonight so that tomorrow I can roast the pumpkin and get started first thing. Hitting the mash temp with the hot pumpkin in there will be a bit of a challenge. I'm definitely going to condition the malt before crushing in order to get more intact hulls. I'm also gonna add some rice hulls to the mash in order to prevent any sticking. I've got a full pound of the hulls but still haven't decided how much of them I'll use. OK, enough of my stream-of-consciousness writing. I'll update with pictures and info tomorrow.

 

[jcdillin]

Good luck! I'm doing mine as well, heres to it going easy and no stuck sparges

 

[KingBrianI]

Good luck! I'm doing mine as well, heres to it going easy and no stuck sparges

To no stuck sparges!

 

[bulldogbrit]

I'm looking to start a pumpkin beer this weekend and I was looking for some opinions. My main question is what will be a suitable base beer? I am torn between a brown ale, pale ale, and amber/red. Any thoughts or experiences? I am hoping for a beer with a nice head, mouth, and of course great pumpkin pie taste. Any thoughts will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance

Im going with the Amber base, extra lb of brown sugar and two cans of the orange stuff. If I could ever replicate Pumking Id give up the day job!

 

[beesy]

Care to comment on the yeast used? I'm kicking around the idea of a pilsner yeast for my pumpbrew this weekend.

Sorry for the delay, been off for a while. I'll check and let you know.

 

[FullDraw]

I made a batch Sunday. I did it as a PM due to my ingredients on hand, and stuck to one 15oz can of libby's pumpkin in the mash. I won't say that the sparge got stuck, but the pumpkin makes a very crusty top layer that the water had a hard time getting through. My remedy; I poked it with my thermometer. Problem gone. I am using a SS Braid, so I just poked around the sides. Another option may be to sparge 3 or more times, so the "crust" can't get to compact. She's rolling along well today.

 

[absolutbmc]

Hey Guys, I made my pumpkin ale on Saturday. Originally I was going to do a PM, but my LHBS guy told me that it won’t help extract any flavors in the pumpkin or help convert it to sugar. He stated, since the pumpkin has already been cooked, prior to canning, a PM would not be much of a benefit. So I figured I would take his advice, as he has past experience with Pumpkin Ale. Here is my recipe:

8 oz Crystal 40
4 oz crystal 20
1 oz Fuggles
6 lbs Amber Extract
29 oz Canned Pumpkin
Wyeast Irish Red Yeast

Steeped the grains for 30mins, added the Extract at boil for 60mins and hops at 45mins along with some cinnamon. Added Pumpkin in the last 5mins of the boil.

I will be making a spice potion of 1oz pumpkin pie spice, ½ teaspoon of nutmeg, half a stick of cinnamon, and a couple ounces of Captain Morgan. I will steep the spices for a couple of days and will add it to secondary.

So far fermentation has been very active. However, I did not use a blow off tube and have not had any overflow (first time without overflow). Can’t wait to see how this comes out.

 

[Couevas]

To no stuck sparges!

King,
How'd it go? Any issues?

What do you think about mashing the canned, baked pumkin in a grain bag within my MT? Do you think that would help with keeping the goo out of my manifold? Or do you think I should just run it thin and use like 2 pounds of rice hulls?

-C

 

[KingBrianI]

King,
How'd it go? Any issues?

What do you think about mashing the canned, baked pumkin in a grain bag within my MT? Do you think that would help with keeping the goo out of my manifold? Or do you think I should just run it thin and use like 2 pounds of rice hulls?

-C

It actually went really well. I used two of the big cans of pumpkin that I baked at 350 for an hour for my 5.5 gallon batch. I also had a lb of rice hulls in there and had conditioned the grain before crushing. The sparge was a bit slower than usual but not bad at all. It never even got close to going as slow as the trickle I sometimes get with wheat beers. I don't think there's any need for a bag and one lb of rice hulls should be plenty. Mine's fermenting away happily now and smelling great. The wort was really nice and thick, despite the relatively low 1.054 OG. That pumpkin really added a nice unctuousness to the wort I hope makes its way into the final beer.

EDIT: Oh, by the way, I mashed at 1.5qt/lb and it seemed to work out really well.

 

[jcdillin]

Same here, mine went very well, I only went with 2 15oz cans of pumpkin in the mash. But I used about 1lb of rice hulls. I was able to recirculate the entire mash without any hint of any sticking.

I am going to be adding a spice tea to the fermenter to taste.

 

[Couevas]

Nice,
I think I am gonna give this a try this Friday. I will post a recipe tonight when I get home and can get on Beersmith.

Something along these lines:

Pale 2 Row Base
Some 6-Row for conversion
Some CaraMunich for color (it gave me a beautiful red hue in my last west coast PA)
Mt. Hoods at 12-15 IBU's (maybe FWH'd)
Canned Pumkin baked at 350 for an hour and mashed with grains at 154 for 60min
Pound or so of rice hulls

Spices & some Brown Sugar at 5 min

I want to keep the ABV around 5%, so the grains and Brown sugar will be adjusted accordingly



How does this sound?

EDIT: Oh yeah, and fermented at 60 with PacMan.......

 

[KingBrianI]

Sounds good! 5%ABV sounds about perfect. At first I thought it being a bit higher would be nice, but once I thought about it, I realized a smooth creamy ale without much alcohol kick would better express the pumpkin pie idea. Mine should end up around there somewhere.

 

[Couevas]

How does this look?



BeerSmith Recipe Printout - BeerSmith Brewing Software, Recipes, Blog, Wiki and Discussion Forum
Recipe: Ichabod's Ale
Brewer: Chris Couevas
Asst Brewer:
Style: Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (35.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 6.76 gal
Estimated OG: 1.055 SG
Estimated Color: 9.2 SRM
Estimated IBU: 13.4 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
2.00 lb Pumpkin Puree (0.0 SRM) Adjunct 14.29 %
9.00 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 64.29 %
2.00 lb Pale Malt (6 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 14.29 %
1.00 lb Caramunich Malt (56.0 SRM) Grain 7.14 %
0.50 oz Mt. Hood [6.00 %] (60 min) (First Wort HoHops 13.4 IBU
0.50 oz Various Pumkin Pie Spices (Boil 5.0 min) Misc
1 Pkgs PacMan (Rogue Ales - Wyeast Labs) [CultureYeast-Ale


Mash Schedule: Temperature Mash, 1 Step, Medium Body
Total Grain Weight: 14.00 lb
----------------------------
Temperature Mash, 1 Step, Medium Body
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
60 min Saccharification Add 17.50 qt of water at 169.9 F 154.0 F
10 min Mash Out Heat to 168.0 F over 15 min 168.0 F


Notes:
------


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[absolutbmc]

After only a couple of days of fermentation, I had to tast my beer. As of the moment, it is tangy and very orange.