Stardust
Well-Known Member
Uncooked canned stuff??? Sounds like an oxymoron...
Pumpkin Spiced Ale
- Thread starter craig_reed
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Uncooked canned stuff??? Sounds like an oxymoron...
sweaterman
Well-Known Member
Here's a question about the vanilla addition. . .
I have made vanilla extract at home before and to do so all you do is soak the vanilla in vodka. A cheap one at that. So my thought would be that the vanilla flavor would be extracted best by the actual alcohol and not by the boil, which would mean to put it in the secondary.
I am brewing today and think I will try this method. I will report back.
I have made vanilla extract at home before and to do so all you do is soak the vanilla in vodka. A cheap one at that. So my thought would be that the vanilla flavor would be extracted best by the actual alcohol and not by the boil, which would mean to put it in the secondary.
I am brewing today and think I will try this method. I will report back.
sweaterman
Well-Known Member
Schedule:
Steeped at 152F to 156F for 45 minutes
- 8oz Carapils
- 8oz Caramel 10L
Brought water to 205F and added
-1lb Breiss Golden Light DME (had it around and wanted to bring up the gravity a bit without affecting the flavor too much)
- 6lbs Midwest Supplies Gold LME
Brought water to a boil and schedule for boil follows
- 60mins: Added 1oz Cascade 7.5% AAU
- 40mins: Added canned 1lb Butternut Squash and canned 1lb Pumpkin, both roasted for 1hr at 350F. Were placed in Muslin Bag and removed. Had a beautiful aroma, color, and taste (had to eat a bit of it).
- 30mins: Added 1oz Mt Hood at 5.5% AAU
- 15mins: Added ¾ tsp Irish Moss
- 02mins: Added 6oz Pumpkin Pie Mix (was going to be 15oz, but the spices in it smelled overbearing, so I cut it back), ½ tsp Cinnamon, ½ tsp Nutmeg, ¼ tsp Allspice
- Flameout: Added canned 1lb each Butternut Squash and Pumpkin, 1lb light brown sugar
While cooling with wort chiller added 2 quarts boiling water to top off what I lost on the boil. Also, while measuring the temperature, I dropped my thermometer into the cooled wort. Everything except the head of the thermometer was sanitized, so I am a little afraid of an infection here. Anyway, the wort cooled to 85F, I poured it back and forth from kettle to pale 5x to aerate. On the last pour I added 1 Tbsp of Yeast Nutrient to the bottom of the pale and poured to wort over this.
Finally, I pitched two activators of Wyeast American Ale. I didn’t need two, but I had them both sitting in the fridge for about a month, so I was skeptical they would properly activate.
When primary fermentation is complete, I will move this to secondary with 2 split vanilla beans. See my post above for reason for timing on the beans.
What do others think? Should I add more pumpkin at secondary as well? Can I get someone to tell me everything will be OK on the infection end with the thermometer dropping into the wort?
Steeped at 152F to 156F for 45 minutes
- 8oz Carapils
- 8oz Caramel 10L
Brought water to 205F and added
-1lb Breiss Golden Light DME (had it around and wanted to bring up the gravity a bit without affecting the flavor too much)
- 6lbs Midwest Supplies Gold LME
Brought water to a boil and schedule for boil follows
- 60mins: Added 1oz Cascade 7.5% AAU
- 40mins: Added canned 1lb Butternut Squash and canned 1lb Pumpkin, both roasted for 1hr at 350F. Were placed in Muslin Bag and removed. Had a beautiful aroma, color, and taste (had to eat a bit of it).
- 30mins: Added 1oz Mt Hood at 5.5% AAU
- 15mins: Added ¾ tsp Irish Moss
- 02mins: Added 6oz Pumpkin Pie Mix (was going to be 15oz, but the spices in it smelled overbearing, so I cut it back), ½ tsp Cinnamon, ½ tsp Nutmeg, ¼ tsp Allspice
- Flameout: Added canned 1lb each Butternut Squash and Pumpkin, 1lb light brown sugar
While cooling with wort chiller added 2 quarts boiling water to top off what I lost on the boil. Also, while measuring the temperature, I dropped my thermometer into the cooled wort. Everything except the head of the thermometer was sanitized, so I am a little afraid of an infection here. Anyway, the wort cooled to 85F, I poured it back and forth from kettle to pale 5x to aerate. On the last pour I added 1 Tbsp of Yeast Nutrient to the bottom of the pale and poured to wort over this.
Finally, I pitched two activators of Wyeast American Ale. I didn’t need two, but I had them both sitting in the fridge for about a month, so I was skeptical they would properly activate.
When primary fermentation is complete, I will move this to secondary with 2 split vanilla beans. See my post above for reason for timing on the beans.
What do others think? Should I add more pumpkin at secondary as well? Can I get someone to tell me everything will be OK on the infection end with the thermometer dropping into the wort?
Schedule:
Steeped at 152F to 156F for 45 minutes
- 8oz Carapils
- 8oz Caramel 10L
Brought water to 205F and added
-1lb Breiss Golden Light DME (had it around and wanted to bring up the gravity a bit without affecting the flavor too much)
- 6lbs Midwest Supplies Gold LME
Brought water to a boil and schedule for boil follows
- 60mins: Added 1oz Cascade 7.5% AAU
- 40mins: Added canned 1lb Butternut Squash and canned 1lb Pumpkin, both roasted for 1hr at 350F. Were placed in Muslin Bag and removed. Had a beautiful aroma, color, and taste (had to eat a bit of it).
- 30mins: Added 1oz Mt Hood at 5.5% AAU
- 15mins: Added ¾ tsp Irish Moss
- 02mins: Added 6oz Pumpkin Pie Mix (was going to be 15oz, but the spices in it smelled overbearing, so I cut it back), ½ tsp Cinnamon, ½ tsp Nutmeg, ¼ tsp Allspice
- Flameout: Added canned 1lb each Butternut Squash and Pumpkin, 1lb light brown sugar
While cooling with wort chiller added 2 quarts boiling water to top off what I lost on the boil. Also, while measuring the temperature, I dropped my thermometer into the cooled wort. Everything except the head of the thermometer was sanitized, so I am a little afraid of an infection here. Anyway, the wort cooled to 85F, I poured it back and forth from kettle to pale 5x to aerate. On the last pour I added 1 Tbsp of Yeast Nutrient to the bottom of the pale and poured to wort over this.
Finally, I pitched two activators of Wyeast American Ale. I didnt need two, but I had them both sitting in the fridge for about a month, so I was skeptical they would properly activate.
When primary fermentation is complete, I will move this to secondary with 2 split vanilla beans. See my post above for reason for timing on the beans.
What do others think? Should I add more pumpkin at secondary as well? Can I get someone to tell me everything will be OK on the infection end with the thermometer dropping into the wort?
I think your batch is ruined. Go ahead and send me the batch, in the fermenter and just consider it a total loss.
This recipe sounds great, I will be brewing this very soon! Unless of course...you send me yours...Not sure if 2 vials of yeast was necessary or not. That one is beyond me. As far as overall flavor is concerned it is personal preference. Give it a taste after taking your hydrometer reading and determine what to add into the secondary from there. Good luck, and keep us updated.
BarronVonCharron
Well-Known Member
Yeah man, your brew is absolutely at risk of infection, the good news is that there is a very simple way to fix it. What you need to do is actually shake it around slightly and change the magnetic pull on it as this affects the glycoproteins and the fucoxanthins present in the beer.
Now I wouldn't tell you a problem without offering you a solution, so all you have to do is load the beer into your car and drive it to my house. This will fix the beer. Unfortunately, at this point any more movement will not only reverse the effects but magnify them so you will have to leave it here. We can still call it your beer, but I will have to charge you for renting the space. You can pay me in beer though.
Just kidding, your beer should be fine especially since the thermometer was in very close proximity to boiling water for a long time, you should be good. If I did that I wouldn't worry about it.
I agree with what Hefanatic says about the yeast, you shouldn't need it all at once. I just got done with a beer that I had to use two vials for but they were 2 months apart, primary and secondary.
I'm guessing that you will end up needing more pumpkin pie mix if you want the pumpkin flavor to really pop. If you're going for subtle it should be good though.
I'm really interested to see how your vanilla comes out too. I used some in a beer and found that if you add it too soon the yeast will eat the flavor of it
I am going to start a beer soon and I really like the way this one looks, if I give it a shot I'm going to try using more pie filling and I'll post what I find.
Now I wouldn't tell you a problem without offering you a solution, so all you have to do is load the beer into your car and drive it to my house. This will fix the beer. Unfortunately, at this point any more movement will not only reverse the effects but magnify them so you will have to leave it here. We can still call it your beer, but I will have to charge you for renting the space. You can pay me in beer though.
Just kidding, your beer should be fine especially since the thermometer was in very close proximity to boiling water for a long time, you should be good. If I did that I wouldn't worry about it.
I agree with what Hefanatic says about the yeast, you shouldn't need it all at once. I just got done with a beer that I had to use two vials for but they were 2 months apart, primary and secondary.
I'm guessing that you will end up needing more pumpkin pie mix if you want the pumpkin flavor to really pop. If you're going for subtle it should be good though.
I'm really interested to see how your vanilla comes out too. I used some in a beer and found that if you add it too soon the yeast will eat the flavor of it
I am going to start a beer soon and I really like the way this one looks, if I give it a shot I'm going to try using more pie filling and I'll post what I find.
sweaterman
Well-Known Member
Barron, I was totally looking up glycoprotein magnetic pull . . . jk
Thanks for the reassurance guys. It is bubbling away vigorously.
Thanks for the reassurance guys. It is bubbling away vigorously.
sweaterman
Well-Known Member
Schedule:
Steeped at 152F to 156F for 45 minutes
- 8oz Carapils
- 8oz Caramel 10L
Brought water to 205F and added
-1lb Breiss Golden Light DME (had it around and wanted to bring up the gravity a bit without affecting the flavor too much)
- 6lbs Midwest Supplies Gold LME
Brought water to a boil and schedule for boil follows
- 60mins: Added 1oz Cascade 7.5% AAU
- 40mins: Added canned 1lb Butternut Squash and canned 1lb Pumpkin, both roasted for 1hr at 350F. Were placed in Muslin Bag and removed. Had a beautiful aroma, color, and taste (had to eat a bit of it).
- 30mins: Added 1oz Mt Hood at 5.5% AAU
- 15mins: Added ¾ tsp Irish Moss
- 02mins: Added 6oz Pumpkin Pie Mix (was going to be 15oz, but the spices in it smelled overbearing, so I cut it back), ½ tsp Cinnamon, ½ tsp Nutmeg, ¼ tsp Allspice
- Flameout: Added canned 1lb each Butternut Squash and Pumpkin, 1lb light brown sugar
While cooling with wort chiller added 2 quarts boiling water to top off what I lost on the boil. Also, while measuring the temperature, I dropped my thermometer into the cooled wort. Everything except the head of the thermometer was sanitized, so I am a little afraid of an infection here. Anyway, the wort cooled to 85F, I poured it back and forth from kettle to pale 5x to aerate. On the last pour I added 1 Tbsp of Yeast Nutrient to the bottom of the pale and poured to wort over this.
Finally, I pitched two activators of Wyeast American Ale. I didn’t need two, but I had them both sitting in the fridge for about a month, so I was skeptical they would properly activate.
When primary fermentation is complete, I will move this to secondary with 2 split vanilla beans. See my post above for reason for timing on the beans.
What do others think? Should I add more pumpkin at secondary as well? Can I get someone to tell me everything will be OK on the infection end with the thermometer dropping into the wort?
Look at me . . . quoting myself. That's just how awesome I think I am.
Anyway, I know it has been only 6 days, but I am getting way too excited for this. I moved it to a 5 gal glass carboy with two more 15oz cans of pumpkin, 1.5 more cans of butternut squash, a quarter teaspoon more nutmeg, and two split vanilla beans. Color is great, if quite hazy. SG: 1.008-1.010. I am sure it will ferment a bit more or increase the FG with the few more cans I added. I will try to hold off on bottling it for at least 2 weeks.
OP
OP
craig_reed
Well-Known Member
coonz said:
Thanks! Go for it! Brewing it again as soon as pumpkins come back around!
OP
OP
craig_reed
Well-Known Member
7lb LME, and also, don't put the vanilla in the primary, instead use Penzy's Vanilla Extract or any PURE vanilla extract either in the secondary or bottling (2 oz), but you could probably get away with 1 oz just for some nice background creaminess
BarronVonCharron
Well-Known Member
Hey man, I'm gonna give this one a whirl tomorrow using just pumpkin pie mix since I didn't have any fresh pumpkin available. When you made the later additions of the mix did you boil it or heat it up to liquefy it for better absorption or just dump it in? I don't know if any one way is better, just wondering what you did and if you recommend any other ways to add it. I was also looking at how much you have put in and I was wondering if you could tell how much of it just went to the bottom of the carboy. I'm just trying to figure out the best way to get the most pumpkin pie flavor out of this beer.
Craig, I think this is gonna be my next brew, once I arrive at school...thanks!
with that said, you had made some not that people wanted a bit more spiciness to it (I think i would be one of those people). Would you just do 1oz of vanilla? or do the standard 2oz, and just up all of the spices a bit?
with that said, you had made some not that people wanted a bit more spiciness to it (I think i would be one of those people). Would you just do 1oz of vanilla? or do the standard 2oz, and just up all of the spices a bit?
OP
OP
craig_reed
Well-Known Member
Just up the spices a bit - I got them all individually, so I could play with them a little more. But there is a standard "pumpkin pie spice" that is already combined together you could by.
The vanilla is probably good at 1oz.. just remember the vanilla will hide some of the spices, and make it more "creamy". So if you want it more spicy, leave the vanilla to 1oz at bottling.
BrainBeerBrewer
Member
Any advice on this recipe if I were to substitute canned pumpkin for fresh? Not sure when pumpkins will start showing up in stores and really want to get one of these started.
OP
OP
craig_reed
Well-Known Member
Hmmm.. I'm not sure and have never really been a fan of the canned stuff.
I know people have used 3 or 4 of the canned pumpkin (10oz cans I think) before.
But be careful, they have plain pumpkin canned, and they also have "pumpkin pie" pumpkin canned. The latter already having the spices in the pumpkin.
Just be sure not to add additional spices if you are using the pre spiced canned stuff.
Pumpkins start coming around here in a few weeks I think. I still have a few bottles of my 2010 version laying around. Had one the other night and it was AMAZING, almost one year later.
If I knew the legalities of sending out bottles through the mail, I'd shoot you out one!
I know people have used 3 or 4 of the canned pumpkin (10oz cans I think) before.
But be careful, they have plain pumpkin canned, and they also have "pumpkin pie" pumpkin canned. The latter already having the spices in the pumpkin.
Just be sure not to add additional spices if you are using the pre spiced canned stuff.
Pumpkins start coming around here in a few weeks I think. I still have a few bottles of my 2010 version laying around. Had one the other night and it was AMAZING, almost one year later.
If I knew the legalities of sending out bottles through the mail, I'd shoot you out one!
What does the brown sugar add as far as flavoring goes in the beer? If I am kegging and force carbing is there a way to get that favor profile in it? do I just add it to the boil? Also would the canned pumkin a 1:1 ratio to cooked pumpkin? We dont get pumkins here untill mid octoberish.. too late to make this for fall. Leaves are already changing....
I just went to the LHBS and picked up some supplies for this brew! I ended up with 40L crystal instead of 20L (all they had) and some golden light malt, which I figured was pretty close to a pale malt...I'm excited to do this this weekend!
OP
OP
craig_reed
Well-Known Member
Awesome! What I would do since you go 40L is do that as a late additoin (15min) to keep the color as light as you can.
The golden light for pale is just fine!
Keep this going, and let me know what you think! I'll crack one tonight and post a few pictures to show you my final color (granted 10 mo later).
OP
OP
craig_reed
Well-Known Member
The brown sugar isn't 100% necessary, but I thought it would be something fun to try at the time.
It ended up carbing the beer very nicely, and adding a touch of dark sweetness to the beer that I really enjoy. You could add it in the last few minutes of the boil and I'm sure that would add a nice touch to it as well. Just make sure to add it in as a fermentable if you are using BeerSmith or the like.
I think 1:1 may be a decent calculation. I have only ever used fresh, so I'm not 100% on that. CAUTION: Make sure you read the labels of the canned pumpkin - they come in two varieties - plain, unspiced pumpkin, and pumpkin pie filling (spiced).
OP
OP
craig_reed
Well-Known Member
I will be brewing up my original recipe again in the next week or so. Here are some of the changes I am going to make:
7lb Pale Malt Extract
1lb 20 Lovibond crystal malt (to keep it as lighter color)
2 oz Willamette hops (60 min)
1/2 oz Cascade hops (60 min)
1 oz Mt. Hood hops (15 min)
10 lb Whole Pumpkin
1 tsp ground cinnamon -------> 1 1/2 tsp
2 tbsp pure vanilla extract (substitute 1-2 vanilla beans) (10 min) ---> 1 oz Madagascar Vanilla Extract in secondary, 1-2 oz at bottling
1/2 tsp freshy ground nutmeg (10 min) ---> 1tsp
1/4 tsp ground allspice (10 min) ----> 1/2 tsp
1/2 tsp ground dried ginger (10 min) ---1 tsp
1/2 tsp (1g) irish moss (15 min) ----> 1 tsp
WLP001 (California Ale Yeast) ----> Wyeast 1056 w/starter
OG: 1.069
FG: 1.018
7lb Pale Malt Extract
1lb 20 Lovibond crystal malt (to keep it as lighter color)
2 oz Willamette hops (60 min)
1/2 oz Cascade hops (60 min)
1 oz Mt. Hood hops (15 min)
10 lb Whole Pumpkin
1 tsp ground cinnamon -------> 1 1/2 tsp
2 tbsp pure vanilla extract (substitute 1-2 vanilla beans) (10 min) ---> 1 oz Madagascar Vanilla Extract in secondary, 1-2 oz at bottling
1/2 tsp freshy ground nutmeg (10 min) ---> 1tsp
1/4 tsp ground allspice (10 min) ----> 1/2 tsp
1/2 tsp ground dried ginger (10 min) ---1 tsp
1/2 tsp (1g) irish moss (15 min) ----> 1 tsp
WLP001 (California Ale Yeast) ----> Wyeast 1056 w/starter
OG: 1.069
FG: 1.018
question regarding the pumpkin...has anyone tried smoking it? pondering doing a pumpkin ale, but smoking the pumpkin over pecan for a few hours then perhaps soaking it in some dark rum overnight? Not sure if the rum overtones would come out or if they would just ferment out.
cimirie
Well-Known Member
Dubanka said:
Dude, weed is not THAT expensive!
sweaterman
Well-Known Member
Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner on this.
Whenever I added pumpkin/butternut to the kettle I just opened the can and plopped it in. All the stirring action during the wort chill and the heat of the boil just broke it apart well enough.
Same with secondary, I just spooned it in through the tiny damn carboy hole. God that took way too long. Try finding a baby spoon or something . . . Or heat it up with some water to make it more liquidy so it pours through a funnel.
Are you asking if it went straight to the bottom of the carboy when it was put into primary, or if it flocced out? It did do the latter, but that isn't saying it didn't contribute anything first (I honestly can't say whether it did or not - haven't tasted it yet). I read a ton about people making this brew before I made it, and the people that made it with canned pumpkin said 120oz would actually give you a pumpkin flavor and that less was unimpressive for flavor.
Happy fermenting! (I'd say happy brewing, but I know you are beyond that point by now).
sweaterman
Well-Known Member
What do people think? I had this in primary for 6 days and now in secondary since the 9th. The secondary also has a ton of pumpkin/butternut in it (about 50oz). Should I rack it off of the pumpkin and stuff and let it sit for another week or so, let it sit where it is, or bottle it?
awesome! I think i'm gonna go look for some 20L locally, I have to go get some grain bags/hop bags when I get to school anyways...and I think my williamette may be a bit old and not so good anymore (it's leftover from a double kit that I got around 6 mo ago)Awesome! What I would do since you go 40L is do that as a late additoin (15min) to keep the color as light as you can.
The golden light for pale is just fine!
Keep this going, and let me know what you think! I'll crack one tonight and post a few pictures to show you my final color (granted 10 mo later).
I also got WLP051 which is California V ale yeast...I figure that it's very close and I looked it up, and it defined it as a slightly fruitier yeast, which may end up working to my favor in a pumpkin ale...I guess we'll see
hm, I actually really like that idea...hm...
sweaterman said:
It is sounding like actual beer volume is going to be cut down with the amount of pumpkin brewers are putting in the recipe. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought I heard Dogfish head does not use ANY pumpkin in their Punkin Ale?
cimirie
Well-Known Member
hough77 said:
Nope, DFH uses pumpkin in every batch of Punkin Ale.
OP
OP
craig_reed
Well-Known Member
Glad everyone is enjoying this brew, and the process. It is a lot of fun to make!
In addition to upping the spices from my OP, I am going to put spices right on the pumpkin meat when I bake it at 350 this go round. :rockin:
In addition to upping the spices from my OP, I am going to put spices right on the pumpkin meat when I bake it at 350 this go round. :rockin:
Jumped into Home Brewing with both feet.. I brewed this recipe this past Sunday. Been bubbling in the primary for 2 days now. Looks good and smelled like pumkin pie when I pitched the yeast. Hope I didnt bite off too much for my first beer by skipping the kit brewing stage
OP
OP
craig_reed
Well-Known Member
Jumped into Home Brewing with both feet.. I brewed this recipe this past Sunday. Been bubbling in the primary for 2 days now. Looks good and smelled like pumkin pie when I pitched the yeast. Hope I didnt bite off too much for my first beer by skipping the kit brewing stage
Hell no! I never brewed with a kit when I started. Jumping right in is the best way to do it!
Welcome to the hobby, and keep us updated on how the brew is coming along.
It was my recipe, so I'm happy to help with any questions!:rockin:
cincybrewer
Well-Known Member
Jumped into Home Brewing with both feet.. I brewed this recipe this past Sunday. Been bubbling in the primary for 2 days now. Looks good and smelled like pumkin pie when I pitched the yeast. Hope I didnt bite off too much for my first beer by skipping the kit brewing stage
If you just followed the recipe then it's no different then a kit. A kit is just someone else's recipe and those ingredients that the recipe calls for.
OP
OP
craig_reed
Well-Known Member
+1 to this!
Not that there's anything wrong with that. Why does everyone have to be a recipe designer as well as a brewer? Just like the singer/songwriter - some of the greatest singers in the world didn't write their own stuff (it was all in the execution).
cincybrewer
Well-Known Member
Nothing wrong with kits at all, and most of my batches so far have been kits, including my best beer to-date. I was just pointing out that following a recipe is the same thing as a kit.
BarronVonCharron
Well-Known Member
No worries on the late reply, I wouldn't have made the monster I have if it weren't for you!
Anyway since I couldn't get any real pumpkin I went with the pie filling and put in 9 cans. I made a few changes to your recipe, such as cutting the hops back a bit and upping the fermentables. I added a pound of honey, some molasses and a pound of brown sugar... ok two.
I like making high gravity beers and this one should be impressive. I was contemplating making a starter batch to add some distillers yeast to put it over the top, but if I do that I plan on adding some more spice and vanilla to cover the alcohol. It's bubbling away like it's on a mission so the yeast is still doing it's job, but it wouldn't be the first time the alcohol was more than the yeast could bear in one of my beers. It's been going for almost two weeks now and is still bubbling every couple of seconds. I was originally concerned with the volume loss with the excessive trub from stuff settling out, but three gallons of boiled water +2.5 gallons and all ingredients fit into my bucket just fine... and it smells amazing
On another note, if I had a "friend" that would like to take a beer, freeze what would freeze and then remove the ice from it would the carbonation still be there? I've told him that it isn't exactly legal but he just doesn't care.No worries on the late reply, I wouldn't have made the monster I have if it weren't for you!
Anyway since I couldn't get any real pumpkin I went with the pie filling and put in 9 cans. I made a few changes to your recipe, such as cutting the hops back a bit and upping the fermentables. I added a pound of honey, some molasses and a pound of brown sugar... ok two.
I was originally concerned with the volume loss with the excessive trub from stuff settling out, but three gallons of boiled water +2.5 gallons and all ingredients fit into my bucket just fine... and it smells amazing
What was the OG on this??? just out of curiousity
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