Pumpkin in Boil or mash? Both?

[EO74]

I tried both ways an imo flovor was smoother when mashed, more in your face when boiled. Ironicly im drinking the boiled libbys right now.My wife likes punkin beer i tried two recipes, should have done 2.5gal instead of 5! OOOOHHHH MAN in sick of punkin beer but ya gotta clear the pipe line good luck!

 

[cimirie]

A few posters have mentioned that pumpkin is not necessary for a good pumpkin ale. While I 100% agree that the more primary aspects can be reached with using only pumpkin spices, I 100% disagree that you get the full pumpkin ale character without pumpkin.

I use canned pumpkin all the time. I roast it at 350 in the oven until it begins to brown and then add it to the mash. I've done this for years and have NEVER had a stuck sparge. I use plenty of rice hulls and drain a touch slower than normal. It is not the disaster some would have you believe (although, it could be without the rice hulls).

The correct orange copper color in a good pumpkin ale can't come from grains. The correct mouthfeel could be approximated without pumpkin, but you'd have to play with it. AND the "vegetal" taste to the pumpkin (which is extremely subtle) is what makes a pumpkin ale a pumpkin ale. It is the subtle nuance that makes this brew special. You can male a great spiced fall ale without pumpkin. You CAN'T make a pumpkin ale without one.

Good on ya and good luck!

 

[JoeBronco]

I tried both ways an imo flovor was smoother when mashed, more in your face when boiled. Ironicly im drinking the boiled libbys right now.My wife likes punkin beer i tried two recipes, should have done 2.5gal instead of 5! OOOOHHHH MAN in sick of punkin beer but ya gotta clear the pipe line good luck!

This is what i was hoping for.

Thats why i did a 60/40 mix with the pumpkin in mash and boil. Im hoping to get the smoothness from the mash with the kick you in the teeth flavor from the late boil.

So far its there and the color is dead on!

 

[payton34]

i made a pumpkin beer that all my friends and wife really liked. (not a big pumpkin fan myself) baked the pumpkin put all of it in the mash. i decided to enter it in a competition only got 27 points. the judges had trouble tasting the pumpkin. might try some in the boil next fall

 

[JasonToews]

I always enjoy making pumpkin ale. I add it in the mash and the boil, have had no problems with stuck sparge. "knock on wood". Excellent flavor comes through in the end.

 

[Zamial]

I am going to add in my twist here, only because I have had never had a beer that disappeared faster or was so sadly missed. I made 12 gallons in 2 - 6 gallon carboys and had some left over, so I did a yeast experiment. I did a variant but closly followed the Samhain pumpkin ale recipe seen here: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f76/samhain-pumpkin-ale-140674/ (Thanks KingBrianI!!!) and the only variation over all I had was yeast.

I used: Wyeast Irish Ale, US-04, US-05 and did the majority of the batch with Denny's fav 50. The Denny's makes the beer. Hands down. I can promise you that I will only use the Denny's in all my pumpkin ales because of the way the yeast seems to react with the pumpkin to enhance/amplify the taste/feel. Last year I used a bunch of organic canned pumpkin because of the shortage, which would have equaled out to 2 large cans of the Libby's per 6 gallons. This year I am going to up it by one more large can. If you wanted to really have an "in your face" I would use 4 large cans of Libby's or more per 6 gallons. FYI I toasted per the recipe and added to the mash. I would use LOTS and LOTS of rice hulls...

GL!

 

[jww9618]

Do you mind posting the recipe? I saw your grain bill but not the spices or hops. Let us know how it turns out. Thanks

 

[JoeBronco]

No problem. Ill end up putting a thread in the recipe section if it turns out good. So far it tastes like your drinking a pumpkin and its still green. I hope it doesn't change much.

Yeast
2 pkts Nottingham

I used Nottingham because it tends to bring the best out in fruit/vedg beers.
Its a little estery but the esters are on the sweeter side.

Malt / Grains
7.00 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row)
0.33 lbs Gr. Western Wheat malt
0.83 lbs DWC Biscuit
1.66 lbs Hugh Baird Caramel/Crystal Malt 50-60L

Spices
0.25 oz Ginger @ 10 min
8.00 oz Demetura Brown Sugar @ 10 min
1.00 Ea Cinnamon Stick @ 10 min
1.50 Tsp Cinnamon @ 5 Min
1.00 Tsp Allspice @ 5 Min
0.50 Tsp Nutmeg @ 5 Min
0.50 tsp Crushed Cloves @ 5 Min
0.50 Tsp Allspice @ Flameout
1.00 Ea Cinnamon Stick @ Secondary

Other
60.00 oz Libbys Pumpkin Mix (see notes)
0.50 lbs Rice Hulls @ Mash
1.00 Ea Whirlfloc tab @ 10 Min
1.00 Ea Yeast Nutrient @ 10 Min

Hop Schedule
0.75 oz East Kent Goldings @ 60 Min
0.25 oz East Kent Goldings @ 15 Min


Mash @ 154 for 60 Minutes
Gallons of Wort Before boil 6.00 Gal
Qts per LBS 1.72 Qts (thin mash because of the pumpkin)
LBS of Fermentables 9.82 Lbs
Qts of Mash water 16.89 Qts
SRM is around 14

Bake Pumpkin in a shallow baking sheet on 350* for 20-30 minutes. I baked the pumpkin until it was slightly brown on the top. I suggest using at least 1/4 lbs Rice hulls if not 1/2 lbs. My first batch had 1/2 lbs and it sparged like a normal IPA. Stir 40 oz baked pumpkin into into mash and 20 oz into the boil at 10 minutes. After the wort cools let it sit for 30-40 minutes to settle before you rack to primary. If you hav a conical it will be easy to deal with Trub, if not prepare to have at least 1/2 gallon of trub.

 

[Dynachrome]

When I made an extract pumpkin ale, I used a medium-sized pumpkin, roasted in the oven for 45 minutes at 400oF. Removed the skin and added it to the boil.

Strained the wort before putting it into the fermenter which removed most of the pumpkin (since it was fresh pumpkin and not pureed, it was a lot easier to remove) and the spices expected.

It turned out very tasty, lots of pumpkin pie flavor.

I'll post my recipe when I get home from work.

I'm looking for a recipe that has just pumpkin pie spice added.

Valcarde, You mentioned in a thread I started that you used just pumpkin pie spice, but you didn't comment on the size of your batch or how much spice to use. When you get a chance, I'd be interested in seeing your recipe.

Thanks,
Bill

 

[Reno_eNVy]

I've had good results adding 1.5 Tbsp of mccormick's pumpkin pie spice with 5 minutes left in the boil for a 5 gallon batch

 

[Zamial]

I'm looking for a recipe that has just pumpkin pie spice added.

I have never made it but if I were going to this would be the one I would look at... https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f76/joie-de-vivre-fake-imperial-pumpkin-154242/

 

[Dr. Francois]

I've had good results adding 1.5 Tbsp of mccormick's pumpkin pie spice with 5 minutes left in the boil for a 5 gallon batch

I use 2 tbsp of pumpkin pie spice from The Spice House in Illinois. Added at flameout. Great stuff!

 

[65chevy11]

Hey Franc103 how was the aroma and how strong was the taste wth the 2 tbsp of pumpkin pie spice.

 

[Dynachrome]

double post

 

[Dynachrome]

I've had good results adding 1.5 Tbsp of mccormick's pumpkin pie spice with 5 minutes left in the boil for a 5 gallon batch

From my other thread... ...about 8 gallons.

I used 4 Tbs of McCormick's.

I also used 4 Bigelow's Green tea bags.

I can smell the starch in the steam and the kitchen overall smells like baking pumpkin pie.

I added it right before flame-out.

The fermentation smells spicy. I'm not getting a pumpkin pie sense of smell though.

 

[RoughandReadyRanch]

Don't you hate when you read several pages of posts to see how things turned out and then it just stops with no end!!! WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! TELL ME DAMN YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Dbrewerman]

Has anyone tried using pumpkin in both the mash AND the boil? I'm planning on doing a 3 gal batch and have 2 27oz cans of pumpkin. Both cans seems like a lot to throw in the mash but I was thinking 1 in the tun and 1 in the kettle might be a good way to go. Since there seems to be such a debate over which is the best way, why not just do both!

 

[Oddball]

I would go with the mash. I did one last year with both pumpkin and sweet potato. I baked until caramelized and then added it to the mash. It was quite tasty....

 

[Dbrewerman]

I know mashing is what most recommend and that seems to be what most big breweries do, but I came across this article and now I'm on the fence again.

http://www.audioholics.com/editorials/pumpkin-ale-home-brew-recipe-and-commercial-microbrew-recipe

Again I think if there is merit to both methods, maybe doing both is the way to go. Best of both worlds kind of thing.

 

[Dr. Francois]

Hey Franc103 how was the aroma and how strong was the taste wth the 2 tbsp of pumpkin pie spice.

2 tbsp is about as low as you should go with flameout addition, IMHO. I like the idea of using a vodka steep added to secondary.

 

[Dynachrome]

Don't you hate when you read several pages of posts to see how things turned out and then it just stops with no end!!! WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! TELL ME DAMN YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah, I don't like that either.

Here is my link: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f127/eve-destruction-pumpkin-porter-204586/index3.html

It was pretty drinkable. ...seasonal - my "regular" beer drinking friends enjoyed it too.

 

[Dynachrome]

No problem. I'll end up putting a thread in the recipe section if it turns out good. So far it tastes like you'er drinking a pumpkin and it's still green. I hope it doesn't change much.

...maybe this all we'll ever learn.

Maybe JoeBronco ventured off to the north pole and was eaten by a polar bear, or gave up drinking and became a monk.....

 

[Luchant]

I have the idea of "Mashing" the pumpkin puree separately. Essentially putting the canned pumpkin puree with 2-4 quarts of water and raising the temperature to 152 degrees for 30-60 min. Then strain the liquid and reserve it for the boiling pot. Has anyone tried this?