Autumn Seasonal Beer Punkin' Ale

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Just brewed this up yesterday. Used about 3/4 pound of rice hulls and had zero problem with lautering. Also my first time milling my own grains, which turned out very well.

Bubbling away right now with Denny's Favorite 50 yeast, WY1450. Can't wait to see how it turns out. Thanks for the recipe and guidance Reno.
 
Wow.... I just read the Wyeast page for Denny's Favorite 50. I need to get some of that! My house yeast is American Ale II WY1272. But the strain your using sounds amazing. :mug:

Be sure to report your findings.
 
Just got done brewing this, house smells great! Everything went well, hit my targets, but I think some if the brown sugar got burned on my element. I used Panela, South American Brown Sugar, and its very hard like a brick, so Im thinking a couple chunks hit it. Went with Wlp028 for my yeast and I split the last ounce of hops to 20 min and 5 min. Cant wait for this!

image-132802853.jpg


image-790864731.jpg
 
Great photos! I'm sure you'll be fine with the scorched sugar. Who knows, maybe it'll add that dark-brown edge-of-the-crust flavor you get on pies in old ovens that don't cook perfectly even.
 
I can't wait to brew this!! I'm going on vacation but when I get back I'm brewing this bad-boy! The wife thinks I'm nuts cause I got all the ingredients before I even got ready for vacation. Thanks for this awesome recipe! I love pumpkin beers! (Said like Richard Christy from The Howard Stern Show and the band Charred Walls of the Damned.)
 
brewski1 said:
I can't wait to brew this!! I'm going on vacation but when I get back I'm brewing this bad-boy! The wife thinks I'm nuts cause I got all the ingredients before I even got ready for vacation. Thanks for this awesome recipe! I love pumpkin beers! (Said like Richard Christy from The Howard Stern Show and the band Charred Walls of the Damned.)

Nice! "Richard, this is your dad.......Talk to ya later bub, bye". Pumpkin beer is my faaaavorite!

http://www.richardchristy.com/beer.html
 
I think I'm going to brew this recipe up this weekend. I plugged the ingredients into Brewsmith and based on my equipment profile and efficiency I came up with this. I would like to fly sparge if possible. Thoughts?


Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 7.77 gal
Post Boil Volume: 5.98 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.50 gal
Bottling Volume: 5.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.065 SG
Estimated Color: 11.5 SRM
Estimated IBU: 19.6 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 78.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 82.2 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------

1 lbs Rice Hulls (0.0 SRM)
9 lbs 0.2 oz Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM)
14.4 oz Caramel Malt - 60L (Briess) (60.0 SRM)
14.4 oz Victory Malt (25.0 SRM)
3 lbs 7.5 oz Libbys Pumpkin Puree (3.0 SRM)
0.82 oz Hallertauer [4.80 %] - Boil 60.0 min
14.4 oz Brown Sugar, Light - Boil for 60 min
0.82 oz Hallertauer [4.80 %] - Boil 15.0 min
1.50 oz McCormicks Pumpkin Pie Spice (Boil 10.0 min)
2.0 pkg Safale American (DCL/Fermentis #US-05)


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body, No Mash Out
Total Grain Weight: 16 lbs 3.0 oz
----------------------------
Name Description Step Temperat Step Time
Mash In Add 15.77 qt of water at 167.5 F 156.0 F 60 min

Sparge: Fly sparge with 5.50 gal water at 168.0 F
 
I'm going to brew a slight variation this weekend. I wanted a bit more bitterness so I'm going with .75 oz Magnum @60 min. I'm going to use 1 oz Willamette at 5 min. I'm hoping the earthiness will go nicely with the pumpkin.
 
mathin said:
I'm going to brew a slight variation this weekend. I wanted a bit more bitterness so I'm going with .75 oz Magnum @60 min. I'm going to use 1 oz Willamette at 5 min. I'm hoping the earthiness will go nicely with the pumpkin.

I decided to up the bitterness a little bit too. I also cut out the graham crackers and added some vanilla extract.

http://hopville.com/recipe/1643471
 
Brewed this up last weekend using First Gold hops (hopefully to compliment the spices) and 1200ml starter of WLP041 for some extra malt flavor. Hit the OG dead nuts and blow off showed activity within 5 hours of pitching. I used about 1/3lb of rice hulls in the mash and didn't have any problems with fly sparging (igloo cooler w/ SS bottom). I am fermenting this at 63F ambient, so hopefully it will turn out great.
Schönen Dank :mug:
 
Thoughts on adding 1/2 lb of Carapils to this recipe to give better head retention and body?
 
Just bottled 11 gallons of this. Went from 1.072 to 1.012, pretty damn spot on except I would have liked it a little sweeter. Oh well, it still tastes very good.
 
Reno eNVy,

It's almost 12:30 midnight, and I've just read this entire thread - while copying and pasting bits and pieces into a Word document so I could keep track of any changes or other advice.

It's wonderful that you have continued to support this thread for so long.

This will be my first all-grain brew, and I will be doing BIAB. I plan to steep the baked pumpkin while heating up the water as Brewmaster12 did.

I also plan to No-Chill, so I imagine that the hop schedule will be different. I have a chart saved that was posted by The Pol some time ago that gives the schedule adjustments for no-chilling.

I was wondering if you, or anyone else, has tried omitting the spice from the boil but adding it to the bottling bucket in the form of a "Pumpkin Vodka". I saw a couple posts in this thread about adding some of the spice to secondary.

Prior to discovering the HBT Forum, I was searching on Morebeer's Forum for pumpkin recipes and came upon the following thread:

http://forums.morebeer.com/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=23534&p=231385&hilit=+pumpkin+vodka+#p231385

If you scroll down to the 6th post, Greg Muller describes his technique for obtaining the "spice" flavor that makes us think we're drinking pumpkin pie. I apologize for posting the quotation from that, but some might find it helpful:

Greg Muller on Morebeer Forum said:
Spice Extract: add the following fresh spices to a
750 ml. bottle of vodka:
3 t sp. Cinnamon
1. 5 t sp. Allspice
1. 5 t sp. Nutmeg
1. 5 t sp. Clove
1.5 tsp. Ginger
After a couple of weeks, the vodka has picked up the spice flavors nicely. I decant off the "pumpkin vodka" from the spices, and carefully add it to a 12
ounce serving of the pumpkin beer that has been in the secondary. It usually takes 1-2 ml. to make the beer taste the way I want (this year, 1.8 ml.). From there, it is all math. Assume approx. fifty 12-ounce beers in a 5 gallon batch (I make 5.5 gallons, but lose approx. 1/2 gallon in racking/sampling, etc.). 1.8 x 50 = 90 ml. of the "pumpkin vodka" to add to the finished beer, either while priming the beer, or transferring to the keg. This results in a much more consistent end product.

I'm going to check my LHBS tomorrow to see if he has the ingredients. I'm excited about giving this a try.

Thanks again,
Keith
 
kzimmer0817 said:
Reno eNVy,

It's almost 12:30 midnight, and I've just read this entire thread - while copying and pasting bits and pieces into a Word document so I could keep track of any changes or other advice.

It's wonderful that you have continued to support this thread for so long.

This will be my first all-grain brew, and I will be doing BIAB. I plan to steep the baked pumpkin while heating up the water as Brewmaster12 did.

I also plan to No-Chill, so I imagine that the hop schedule will be different. I have a chart saved that was posted by The Pol some time ago that gives the schedule adjustments for no-chilling.

I was wondering if you, or anyone else, has tried omitting the spice from the boil but adding it to the bottling bucket in the form of a "Pumpkin Vodka". I saw a couple posts in this thread about adding some of the spice to secondary.

Prior to discovering the HBT Forum, I was searching on Morebeer's Forum for pumpkin recipes and came upon the following thread:

http://forums.morebeer.com/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=23534&p=231385&hilit=+pumpkin+vodka+#p231385

If you scroll down to the 6th post, Greg Muller describes his technique for obtaining the "spice" flavor that makes us think we're drinking pumpkin pie. I apologize for posting the quotation from that, but some might find it helpful:

I'm going to check my LHBS tomorrow to see if he has the ingredients. I'm excited about giving this a try.

Thanks again,
Keith

Keith, my spices were about the same ratio, except for the cloves. I would look at Walmart or Target for the spices, bet they're cheaper that any LHBS. Or just add clove to McCormicks pumpkin pie spice, which is cinn, allspice, ginger, & nutmeg.
 
Keith, my spices were about the same ratio, except for the cloves. I would look at Walmart or Target for the spices, bet they're cheaper that any LHBS. Or just add clove to McCormicks pumpkin pie spice, which is cinn, allspice, ginger, & nutmeg.

Thanks, BlackNotch, for responding. I meant that I was going to get the grains from my LHBS. I imagine that either my wife or my mother has the McCormicks.

In a long-winded way, I was mainly interested in whether or not anyone had had experience with spicing the beer with the "Pumpkin Vodka" at bottling time instead of adding the McCormicks at the boil.

I really need to order the weldless fittings for my keggle so I can get this thing going.

Thanks,
Keith
 
G_Force_5 said:
I like the simplicity of this recipe.

Just picked up a 6lb can of libbys pumpkin and looking to brew it in.

6 pounds? Wow I didn't know they made them that big. What size batch are you doing?
 
kzimmer0817 said:
Thanks, BlackNotch, for responding. I meant that I was going to get the grains from my LHBS. I imagine that either my wife or my mother has the McCormicks.

In a long-winded way, I was mainly interested in whether or not anyone had had experience with spicing the beer with the "Pumpkin Vodka" at bottling time instead of adding the McCormicks at the boil.

I really need to order the weldless fittings for my keggle so I can get this thing going.

Thanks,
Keith

I don't have experience with this beer in doing the spices that way but I've done it for others and it definitely works. And for future reference, it's known as a tincture.
 
6 pounds? Wow I didn't know they made them that big. What size batch are you doing?

6lb 10oz purchased @ resurant depot.
I'm glad you asked Reno. Im not sure what 2- 29oz cans equals lbs. can you help?

I would think this large can would be OK for 10 gallon batch.

Also Can you elaborate on batch sparge , no mash out. does this mean 6-gallons H20 @ 163 for mash and drain it?
 
I don't have experience with this beer in doing the spices that way but I've done it for others and it definitely works. And for future reference, it's known as a tincture.

Thanks, Reno. With my medical training, I should have known that steeping spices in alcohol is a tincture; I guess steeping them in water makes it a tea, etc. I was echoing the terminology used by the person used on the Morebeer Forum that I referenced. Two of the challenges in "searching" the databases to find information include (1) peoples' use of different terms to mean the same thing and (2) misspelling of terms. I got a big kick out of a thread started by one of the HBT moderators on proper spelling and correct terminology.

If you and others are having great results with the recipe as you published it, my safest bet - with this being my first all-grain brew - would be to follow your original recipe.

I'm already changing 2 processes which might have some effect on the final result:
(1) BIAB - with the longer mash, longer boil (following Brewmaster12's technique)
(2) No-Chill - which is purported to alter the hop schedule.

I read a good bit of Yuri's recipe thread this morning. I do not have the experience to be able to "taste" a beer in my head by studying a recipe. I'm certain that I will brew yours this go 'round. You have provided such solid support, as well as encouragement, to everyone who has tried your recipe - even to those who are introducing their own changes.

Thanks for publishing. Might be too late to get it for Halloween, but should be able to have it for Thanksgiving.

Respectfully,
Keith
 
6lb 10oz purchased @ resurant depot.
I'm glad you asked Reno. Im not sure what 2- 29oz cans equals lbs. can you help?

I would think this large can would be OK for 10 gallon batch.

Also Can you elaborate on batch sparge , no mash out. does this mean 6-gallons H20 @ 163 for mash and drain it?
Well you have to sparge as well, considering it's "batch sparge" and not "no sparge." Basically all I do for this recipe is drain the first runnings, batch sparge with 4 gallons of ~170*F water, then drain that. Done! But the 4 gallons is the appropriate sparge volume for my set-up (i.e. a bit of deadspace, really high evaporation rate in the boil due to living in high-desert) so YMMV.

Thanks, Reno. With my medical training, I should have known that steeping spices in alcohol is a tincture; I guess steeping them in water makes it a tea, etc. I was echoing the terminology used by the person used on the Morebeer Forum that I referenced. Two of the challenges in "searching" the databases to find information include (1) peoples' use of different terms to mean the same thing and (2) misspelling of terms. I got a big kick out of a thread started by one of the HBT moderators on proper spelling and correct terminology.

If you and others are having great results with the recipe as you published it, my safest bet - with this being my first all-grain brew - would be to follow your original recipe.

I'm already changing 2 processes which might have some effect on the final result:
(1) BIAB - with the longer mash, longer boil (following Brewmaster12's technique)
(2) No-Chill - which is purported to alter the hop schedule.

I read a good bit of Yuri's recipe thread this morning. I do not have the experience to be able to "taste" a beer in my head by studying a recipe. I'm certain that I will brew yours this go 'round. You have provided such solid support, as well as encouragement, to everyone who has tried your recipe - even to those who are introducing their own changes.

Thanks for publishing. Might be too late to get it for Halloween, but should be able to have it for Thanksgiving.

Respectfully,
Keith

Well good luck. This is kind of a rough one for a first all-grain but BIAB should make it better for you. Find a way to keep the pumpkin and grains separated. It'll help keep things less "gummy", which is the cause of "slow/stuck draining" which you'll see constantly in this thread.
 
Quick question for everyone...

Brewed 20 gallons of this a week ago and our mash temp dropped to the 152-153 range after adding the pumpkin. Now it's around 1.012 and there's still a little bit of airlock activity and I'm guessing it may drop to 1.010. The sample tasted dry and was a little lacking in mouthfeel (granted, it's super young, but I can already tell there's a bit missing there). We also overshot our gravity (higher efficiency I guess) and started at 1.074.

This is for a friend's wedding in a few months and I'm a little worried that the non-craft beer drinking crowd won't enjoy it as much without the sweetness and mouthfeel that it would have if it had finished around 1.017.

Given those circumstances would you back-sweeten it with lactose or some other non-fermentable?

Or could I back-sweeten it with a fermentable (like brown sugar) since I'll be cold crashing, filtering, and kegging it? I doubt there would be enough yeast left after all that to kick start fermentation again, especially since I'll be carbonating and storing it cold.

Or would you just leave it where it finishes?
 
I'm brewing this today and noticed I should have bought 2 packets of S-05 yeast. Will I be okay with one?
 
I'm brewing this today and noticed I should have bought 2 packets of S-05 yeast. Will I be okay with one?
It'll be fine. You may get more yeast flavors instead of it being so clean, but it will definitely be beer :mug:

Quick question for everyone...

Brewed 20 gallons of this a week ago and our mash temp dropped to the 152-153 range after adding the pumpkin. Now it's around 1.012 and there's still a little bit of airlock activity and I'm guessing it may drop to 1.010. The sample tasted dry and was a little lacking in mouthfeel (granted, it's super young, but I can already tell there's a bit missing there). We also overshot our gravity (higher efficiency I guess) and started at 1.074.

This is for a friend's wedding in a few months and I'm a little worried that the non-craft beer drinking crowd won't enjoy it as much without the sweetness and mouthfeel that it would have if it had finished around 1.017.

Given those circumstances would you back-sweeten it with lactose or some other non-fermentable?

Or could I back-sweeten it with a fermentable (like brown sugar) since I'll be cold crashing, filtering, and kegging it? I doubt there would be enough yeast left after all that to kick start fermentation again, especially since I'll be carbonating and storing it cold.

Or would you just leave it where it finishes?

Personally I'd leave it be. One year my thermometer was off and I ended up mashing low to the point of having a FG of 1.008. It was still delicious.

And I'd say a drier beer would be more appealing to a non-craft beer crowd. Even then, 1.010 is probably higher than anything they are used to.
 
Thanks Reno! I'll let you know how it goes. Just got back from getting my spice/pumpkin/dark brown sugar and even found a 4pk of Punkin for some inspiration.
 
Find a way to keep the pumpkin and grains separated. It'll help keep things less "gummy", which is the cause of "slow/stuck draining" which you'll see constantly in this thread.

Well, FWIW I didn't do anything at all like that, and I had zero problems with a stuck, or even slower than normal, lauter. I did use quite a bit of rice hulls (about 3/4 lb), as I referred to in my earlier post. But I stirred it all up vigorously as usual, and it worked like a champ. My set up is a 10 gal Igloo with false bottom.
 
Gonna brew this up next week. I read a lot have issues with the mash temp after adding the pumpkin. I just add the pumpkin to the strike water as I heat it up. I don't think so, but anyone see a problem with this.
 
I brewed this up today. For the most part everything went great. Missed my OG by a few points and got 1.067. Ended up getting 81% eff and was looking for 78%. Used 1lb of rice hulls and no issues with my sparge. Can't wait to taste this in a few months! Thanks again for the recipe!
 
Gonna brew this up next week. I read a lot have issues with the mash temp after adding the pumpkin. I just add the pumpkin to the strike water as I heat it up. I don't think so, but anyone see a problem with this.

I can't see how there'd be a problem with that. Sounds like a great solution to the temp problem that can come with the cold pumpkin if you've had it refrigerated. I added a couple degrees to my strike water, but it's tricky and your solution sounds even better.
 
I brewed this 3 weeks ago. OG was 1.074 and used WY1056. I just checked FG for the first time and it's 1.003. 97% attenuation?!?! Can't be right, can it?
 
troyh said:
I brewed this 3 weeks ago. OG was 1.074 and used WY1056. I just checked FG for the first time and it's 1.003. 97% attenuation?!?! Can't be right, can it?

Whoa! Have you calibrated your thermometer lately? You could have inadvertently mashed too low. Also, any chance of infection?
 
Reno_eNVy said:
Whoa! Have you calibrated your thermometer lately? You could have inadvertently mashed too low. Also, any chance of infection?

Thermometer is dead-on accurate (it's a thermapen) and a few other beers have been brewed with it before and since and they're great. And the beer tastes fine, if a little less-bodied due to being so low in gravity, so I don't think it's infected. I measured gravities with a refractometer and I calibrate it often.

When mashing, I missed my strike temp and mashed at 149° for the first 15 minutes before getting it up to 153° for the remaining 45 minutes. And I made a 2L starter, which may have been too big. Also, it was fermented a little warm at 69°F (ambient) because I don't yet have a fermentation chamber.

Interestingly, 2 other of my recent beers with WY1056 were 82% and 91% attenuations. All other beers with different yeasts were more normal attenuations.
 
Finishing up now. Pics and stories to come. Stuck sparge!!! Only used 3 big handfulls of rice hulls. Super fine grain crush may have hurt too. I still think it'll be good.
 
Went down to the Dogfish brewery yesterday for a tour. Had some fresh Punkin on tap in their tasting room. Now I'm really anxious to try mine but its still got a few weeks to go...
 
Just read all 72 pages (whew! Took 3 days). I am excited to brew this! Thanks for postit renoenvy. I plan on using warrior and Styrian gold hops (got a lot of these on hand). Otherwise sticking to the recipe in the op! I'm making my gf make a pumpkin pie while I make this beer, bc I am craving one after reading this whole thread. Any thoughts on what was making some people's beer sour? Thoughts on my hop replacement choice? I also have centennial, citra, and cascade if those might be better. Thanks again! I'll post pics when I brew on wed. :mug:
 
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