Pumpkin cream ale mishaps

[kirbykollege]

For my second batch of beer I chose NB's Cream Ale and decided to convert it into a pumpkin brew. After reading countless recipes and forums I was extremely confused by it all. I ended up chopping 5 pounds of raw pumpkin, baking for 40 min at 350f and adding with specialty grains. From what I read the pumpkin should of been completely dissolved by the end, but it had retained most of its mass so I scooped it all out 5min before ending the boil.
I added 2 whole cloves, tsp of cinnamon and 1/2 tsp of nutmeg, also a few drops of vanilla extract.

Any thoughts on this? Did I not cook the
Pumpkin right? Will it have any flavor from the pumpkin?

 

[guinnessface]

It sounds like you did almost everything correctly, but had some bad info: the pumpkin will not dissolve. I've done a few partial mash pumpkin ales and used the same method.

When you say that you scooped it out, do you mean that you had it in the specialty grain bag for most of the boil and then removed it completely? If so, you will have plenty of pumpkin flavor. If you removed it from the bag and added it directly to the boil, then you'll still have plenty of pumpkin flavor, but a lot of extra pumpkin along with your trub at the end of the boil.

In either event, it sounds like you did a good job and will reap the rewards of a good pumpkin ale. Let us know how it turns out!