Pumpkin Pie Mead (fermented in a pumpkin)

[springmom]

No Campden tablets for me. If anything on this planet can live amidst all that allspice and cinnamon, God bless it. But I doubt it could.

Seriously, everything was sterilized except the pumpkin itself and it had just been carved and scraped. No need for them in my opinion.

 

[thiessenace]

Thats awesome. Thanks. I am looking forward to trying this recipe!

 

[springmom]

Checked my SG one week after racking and its 1.000. I guess it is fermented out, though I'm surprised, so soon. Added just a touch of apple juice to top it up a hair.

How long did it take you to get it fermented out?

 

[Aaron]

Hey. I am totally going to try this! It is such a awesome ide! Just one question. Did you use cambden tablets when you added the must into the pumpkin? Or did you add it to the must 1-2 days earlier then add to the pumpkin.

I did not use any sulfites for this recipe. If you are worried about it go ahead and use them. Or, I would highly recommend using a yeast that inhibits growth of wild yeasts, for example Lalvin EC1118, as an alternative to sulfites. Either way, just make sure you get the yeast into the pumpkin quickly so it can get established.

Checked my SG one week after racking and its 1.000. I guess it is fermented out, though I'm surprised, so soon. Added just a touch of apple juice to top it up a hair.

How long did it take you to get it fermented out?

I didn't take a measurement until ten days in and it was pretty much finished by then. Don't forget to sweeten to taste with honey or brown sugar. Let me know how it turns out.

 

[mrdillon5]

I got only 8 days in my primary pumpkin. I went ahead and did pumpkin wine in one pumpkin and in another pumpkin cider. I grated the flesh of a couple off all sugar pumpkins and added to the primary. Also I taped on cheesecloth over the hole of the pumpkin primary fermenters this time, that is the area to go first as the pumpkin rots.

 

[thebigred67]

I wonder if you could brush some RealLemon onto the cut surface. Obviously not to let that get into the mead but,
Lemon juice ******* oxidation in apples, pears, bananas and avocado... Brush some on after stirring each day... Might be worth a try.

I don't think getting a bit of lemon in it would hurt the flavor and might help. I have done melomars with lemon before.

 

[Leadgolem]

Some people use lemon or orange juice to adjust the acidity of the mead so it is more yeast friendly.

 

[1776]

Threw together a batch of this tonight, and so did my roommates. Smelled amazing on the stove, can't wait to sip on this this winter. If all goes well I could see this becoming an annual tradition!

 

[thiessenace]

Hey. Does anyone use acid blend? I am totally new to the game of mead. Just wondering because i heard from the local brewing store that acid blend is required.

 

[Angst]

Cant find a big enough pumpkin?

Using pumpkin as a fermenter sounds fun, but you could easily scale this up adding the pumpkin to your fermenter instead. But yes, putting the mead in the pumpkin sounds funner than putting the pumpkin in the mead.

 

[springmom]

Hey. Does anyone use acid blend? I am totally new to the game of mead. Just wondering because i heard from the local brewing store that acid blend is required.

I did, yes. The OP did not.

You will need to back sweeten this. I added some Sparkalloid today to mine and took the opportunity to taste test. Let's just say it's dry.... When I rack it again in a couple of weeks I will back sweeten and leave it sit and mellow. Right now the spice taste will take your head off :-D. All by way of saying, it has a whole lot of sweetness in it total by the end. Without the acid blend I'm not sure it'd taste like wine, as you expect some acidity from a glass of wine.

 

[kyled]

How did you estimate capacity based on your pumpkin size? I wanna make approximately 5 gallons based on my fermenting bucket.

 

[springmom]

I can't quite imagine a pumpkin that would hold 5 gallons unless you grow one of those giant pumpkins. Mine was a nice big jack o lantern size and held one gallon just right.

 

[45_70sharps]

Way to awesome of an idea.
I would have been worried about mold or other infections but I've got to give this a try.

I picked up some local honey last weekend for beer, but I may have to stop and pick up three or four more pounds this weekend and try this!

 

[springmom]

Just be sure all your utensils are sterile, including the ones you cut and scrape the pumpkin with. And if you have any RealLemon around the house, try wetting the cut surface and the cap with it. Might hold off mold a few extra days. And of course siphon the mead out when it's time to go to the carboy so as to avoid the mold that will inevitably grow on those surfaces eventually. Have fun!

 

[kyled]

Just be sure all your utensils are sterile, including the ones you cut and scrape the pumpkin with. And if you have any RealLemon around the house, try wetting the cut surface and the cap with it. Might hold off mold a few extra days. And of course siphon the mead out when it's time to go to the carboy so as to avoid the mold that will inevitably grow on those surfaces eventually. Have fun!

I didn't even think about the carving tools, thanks

 

[LovelessAndroid]

I JUST pitched my yeast on a 2.5 gallon batch last night. Believe it or not, the pumpkin held almost 2.75 gallons, so it was perfect! Also picked up a nice 3-gallon glass carboy for secondary while I was at the store too. I'm planning on having this ready for Christmas 2013 at the earliest, with a few bottles headed to my dad's wine cellar over the next few years. I have pics of the process so far, and I plan to keep them for future's sake when opening the bottles each year.

Interesting development though. They were out of Sweat Mead yeast, and so I explained to the guy that I was shooting for a dry mead with about 12% ABV based on my starting OG of 1.092. He said that a simple Ale yeast was taken up to 17% by a local brewer who did a barleywine, and would be good for bringing out the honey and spice flavors while cutting down the sweetness. I was sold, so I pitched the Ale yeast last night. I will let you know how it tastes when I rack it in a week or so.

Questions: I pitched it last night and left for work. I didn't agitate it this morning after stirring it up last night. However, it was definitely starting to gather on the top in colonies even though there wasn't any foam. Should I go home at lunch to stir? Or can I wait until the end of the day and make sure to stir then? I didn't realize how you needed to agitate mead for the first 24-36 hours.
Also, I didn't add ANY yeast nutrient. I didn't totally scrape the pumpkin clean and left a bit of guts attached to the sides, but took all the seeds out. I assume there should be enough nutrient in the pumpkin to get it going, but it still worries me of course. It's my first batch, so I need advice. Should I add something else to get it going, or am I okay with nutrients because its in a damn pumpkin.

 

[springmom]

Sweat Mead? Ewwwwww :-D

You certainly can wait until you get home. As for yeast nutrient, it won't hurt but I know zilch about the yeast you used. I'd call my supplier and ask him, or other folks on here who are beer and ale brewers can help.

Relax and enjoy this. It's great fun just to use a pumpkin as a primary :-D

 

[thebigred67]

I JUST pitched my yeast on a 2.5 gallon batch last night. Believe it or not, the pumpkin held almost 2.75 gallons, so it was perfect! Also picked up a nice 3-gallon glass carboy for secondary while I was at the store too. I'm planning on having this ready for Christmas 2013 at the earliest, with a few bottles headed to my dad's wine cellar over the next few years. I have pics of the process so far, and I plan to keep them for future's sake when opening the bottles each year.

Interesting development though. They were out of Sweat Mead yeast, and so I explained to the guy that I was shooting for a dry mead with about 12% ABV based on my starting OG of 1.092. He said that a simple Ale yeast was taken up to 17% by a local brewer who did a barleywine, and would be good for bringing out the honey and spice flavors while cutting down the sweetness. I was sold, so I pitched the Ale yeast last night. I will let you know how it tastes when I rack it in a week or so.

Questions: I pitched it last night and left for work. I didn't agitate it this morning after stirring it up last night. However, it was definitely starting to gather on the top in colonies even though there wasn't any foam. Should I go home at lunch to stir? Or can I wait until the end of the day and make sure to stir then? I didn't realize how you needed to agitate mead for the first 24-36 hours.
Also, I didn't add ANY yeast nutrient. I didn't totally scrape the pumpkin clean and left a bit of guts attached to the sides, but took all the seeds out. I assume there should be enough nutrient in the pumpkin to get it going, but it still worries me of course. It's my first batch, so I need advice. Should I add something else to get it going, or am I okay with nutrients because its in a damn pumpkin.

Just chill and see what happens.

 

[mrdillon5]

I JUST pitched my yeast on a 2.5 gallon batch last night. Believe it or not, the pumpkin held almost 2.75 gallons, so it was perfect! Also picked up a nice 3-gallon glass carboy for secondary while I was at the store too. I'm planning on having this ready for Christmas 2013 at the earliest, with a few bottles headed to my dad's wine cellar over the next few years. I have pics of the process so far, and I plan to keep them for future's sake when opening the bottles each year.

Interesting development though. They were out of Sweat Mead yeast, and so I explained to the guy that I was shooting for a dry mead with about 12% ABV based on my starting OG of 1.092. He said that a simple Ale yeast was taken up to 17% by a local brewer who did a barleywine, and would be good for bringing out the honey and spice flavors while cutting down the sweetness. I was sold, so I pitched the Ale yeast last night. I will let you know how it tastes when I rack it in a week or so.

Questions: I pitched it last night and left for work. I didn't agitate it this morning after stirring it up last night. However, it was definitely starting to gather on the top in colonies even though there wasn't any foam. Should I go home at lunch to stir? Or can I wait until the end of the day and make sure to stir then? I didn't realize how you needed to agitate mead for the first 24-36 hours.
Also, I didn't add ANY yeast nutrient. I didn't totally scrape the pumpkin clean and left a bit of guts attached to the sides, but took all the seeds out. I assume there should be enough nutrient in the pumpkin to get it going, but it still worries me of course. It's my first batch, so I need advice. Should I add something else to get it going, or am I okay with nutrients because its in a damn pumpkin.

That has got to be one HUGE pumpkin!

 

[1776]

Racked today into my secondary after 9 days. Smells very sour. I'm worried its ruined...

 

[mrdillon5]

I racked mine to secondary and shortly racked again because of the buildup of pumpkin pulp at the bottom. My original 1+ gallon of must is down to about 3/5 gallon now. Kind of disappointing on yield. It was dry so I added some sweet mead to secondary to bring the volume up. I also did a pumpkin wine and a pumpkin cider about the same time in a pumpkin and got the same low yields with those. In short fermenting in a pumpkin gives lower yields, hope my doctoring them up helps..

 

[springmom]

That's one of the downsides of any one-gallon wine, it seems. I added apple juice to mine. Makes it more of a harvest wine, but I've tasted it and it is going to be good.

 

[Jersh]

I whipped up a batch of this today... Holy crap you guys weren't lying when you said there were a lot of spices in this. I pre-measured the volume capacity of my pumpkin and it held 1.75 gallons, so I upped the recipe a bit to take full advantage.

One question, has anyone had any problems with acetobacter with this?

 

[springmom]

If YOU were an acetobacter, could YOU live in all that spice? :-D. But seriously, as has been said before here, keep everything sterile and there's no reason for problems. Unless you pick a toting pumpkin to begin with. That would not be good.

 

[thebigred67]

Did you guys sanitise the inside of the pumpkin?

 

[thiessenace]

I never sanitized my pumpkin. But i cant really tell you forsure how things will turn out cause i am bulk aging. Btw is bulk aginh a good or bad idea¿

 

[springmom]

Did you guys sanitise the inside of the pumpkin?

The inside of the pumpkin IS sanitary until you cut into it. Sanitize your tools and you'll be fine. Well, and I'd say don't cut it open and then fill it hours or days later!

 

[mrdillon5]

My pumpkin mead cleared really fast. Mine came out very dry so I did a big back sweetening. It sure does taste very good when sweetened, that dry stuff scared me. With the added sweetness the pumpkin comes through. Can't wait till this done.

 

[thiessenace]

Hey i made this recipe. I super excited.to try this. I think i might of made a minor mistake. I added two quarts of water and boiled like it said. Followed the recipe. When i added to my pumpkin i top it up with boiled water and eventually transfered to my secondary. I did a gravity test the other day and put it back. I took a shot glass of the must and tasted it. It tasted a bit wateres down. I was considering racking it and adding more honey. Any auggestions??