Autumn Seasonal Beer Punkin' Ale

[D_Nyholm]

True that BIAB punkin style still equals pain in the... can't wait mine has been in for 2 weeks about to cold crash thanks Reno

Hmm, I had no problem with the bag. What happened to you?
Other than ending up with much less wort due to absorbtion. Next time I will add an additional gallon of water for my 10 gallon batches.

 

[Irishwhiskey]

Hmm, I had no problem with the bag. What happened to you?
Other than ending up with much less wort due to absorbtion. Next time I will add an additional gallon of water for my 10 gallon batches.

No just what u said took me what seemed like for ever to get my boil volume from the bag when I pulled it out of the pot it looked like I had 4times the grains in the bag

 

[rideincircles]

I am brewing this later tonight. No clue how long this batch will take tonight since I still need to bake my pumpkin, I figure I will be up late with this one.

How does the brown sugar affect this recipe? I have heard molasses does not always lend it self well to brewing, but this seems like one of the few recipes that would help it. I have an old vanilla bean I may throw into this batch later just to give a little bump in flavor. Hopefully I won't be up until 4am, but will see how it plays out. Plan on 3 weeks primary I think, but still debating.

 

[BousDeuce]

Just brewed this yesterday as a BIAB, my first attempt outside of extract brewing.
Hoping it turns out ok, the brew day was rough as I messed up on a few steps, including rehydrating my yeast in 100+F water. I quickly cooled the glass down in a water bath and there was activity from the yeast before I pitched. Today I have airlock bubbling so seems like things worked out. Next time I will do my normal prep and make a starter.

My OG was 1.075, any ideas why it turned out so high?

Info:

• Strike: 163 F
• Mash: 156 F, 60 mins
• I put the gran bag over a collander and twisted it to remove wort
• Boil (it was a weak boil): 60 mins

 

[eujamfh]

I just tasted a sample three weeks in primary when I put it in secondary…I am not sure what I did, but very little (none) pumpkin spice taste at all. Followed recipe to a T and numbers matched.

Its a good ale but I dont get pumpkin nor spice. Will the flavor come out or should I add a little bit of spice when I keg?

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

 

[daveooph131]

I just kegged mine. I get very little spice but it's there. I think I like it because it's not over the top and it is very balanced. I think I may add a little more spice next time but not a lot.

I like it and will report back once it's carbed and cold

 

[DrunkleJon]

Try pouring it slightly roughly into your sample glass. I had decided that I did not like the DFH Punkin this year until I did what I was supposed to and poured it into a glass rather than drink from the bottle. I actually smelled and tasted the pumpkin spice that way. I think that, like hops, the spice needs the carbonation to really bloom.

 

[jturie]

Just brewed this yesterday. Hit 1.073 (!) and got active fermentation in less than 5 hours @ 67 degrees. Don't get much pumpkin either, but a great bready aroma from the Victory. I didn't add the pumpkin spice to the boil as I was concerned that the aromatics would just boil off. Instead, like my other pumpkin recipe, I'm going to add a tablespoon to the keg.

 

[rideincircles]

I ended up getting 1.056 on my gravity based on putting my hydrometer in the wort after chilling. I mashed for about 90 minutes with about 7 gallons of water. It started off around 149 and i added boiling water to get to 153 which it was around for about 60 minutes. During the boil I got 1.065 using my refractometer. Not sure which was right.

I ended up using 4 -15oz Trader Joe's pumpkin cans. I ended up cooking a lot of the moisture out of the pumpkin, but I think cooking it to where it started browning on the edges ended up giving me a good pumpkin flavor.

When I tried my sample, it tasted like pumpkin pie which is the goal. I used S-05 and it took about 30 hours to fire up, and started around 63 and is now holding around 68. Hoping for readiness at Thanksgiving.

 

[jaydog2314]

served mine up at a party this past weekend, about 7.5 weeks in the bottle...TASTED AMAZING! Big hit at the party, a few ppl requested to take some home. This WILL be brewed again. Great all around taste, not over powering on the spices, great fall beer!

 

[jturie]

served mine up at a party this past weekend, about 7.5 weeks in the bottle...TASTED AMAZING! Big hit at the party, a few ppl requested to take some home. This WILL be brewed again. Great all around taste, not over powering on the spices, great fall beer!

Yeah, I took my batch to my next door neighbor's Black Friday party last year. Big mistake. Had to run back home 3 times to refill the growler.

 

[homebrew30]

Just brewed this a few days ago smells stellar hit a good OG and is fermenting great I'm wondering if anyone as used gelatin as a finning agent I used a wirlfloc tab during boil to help but was wondering about the gelatin and if anyone has used it how should I go about it this is my third batch I've made but have been studying the art of brewing for about a year before I brewed my first batch any input would be appreciated

Cheers

 

[D_Nyholm]

Just brewed this a few days ago smells stellar hit a good OG and is fermenting great I'm wondering if anyone as used gelatin as a finning agent I used a wirlfloc tab during boil to help but was wondering about the gelatin and if anyone has used it how should I go about it this is my third batch I've made but have been studying the art of brewing for about a year before I brewed my first batch any input would be appreciated

Cheers

I did not use gelatin, just whirlfloc and mine is pretty darn clear. I brewed on august 1st and it was clear by early october after being kegged for a month.

 

[BC_Brews]

Just finished brewing my Punk'n! Used this recipe as a base but mashed with 4x 15oz cans of Libby's pumpkin and then added about albs of fresh pumpkin to the boil. Built the recipe in Beersmith and hit the estimated OG dead on!! i'll definitely post updates soon.

 

[FatsSchindee]

Just brewed this a few days ago smells stellar hit a good OG and is fermenting great I'm wondering if anyone as used gelatin as a finning agent I used a wirlfloc tab during boil to help but was wondering about the gelatin and if anyone has used it how should I go about it this is my third batch I've made but have been studying the art of brewing for about a year before I brewed my first batch any input would be appreciated Cheers

I did use gelatin in mine. Only for 24 hrs (would have gone 48, but only had 24 before I needed to bottle)... Used this site for guidance:
http://www.bertusbrewery.com/2012/06/how-to-clear-your-beer-with-gelatin.html

I just bought gelatin from my LHBS (AHS, in my case), and used an amount per the directions. It visibly helped clear it up!

 

[UtahNate]

I planned on bottling today after 3 weeks in primary, but when I opened the bucket I still had quite a bit of yeast sitting on top of the beer. Gravity reading was 1.016; I was expecting it be a few points lower. I fermented at 62F with US-05 in my basement which is a little cooler than I would have liked, but without temperature control there isn't much I can do. The sample tasted like pumpkin beer and SWMBO seemed to really enjoy it so that's a positive. I brought it upstairs to warm up a bit and will take another reading in a couple days. I'm hoping the yeast will drop some more and that the gravity will drop a few more points as well. I've never used US-05 so not sure what to expect. Any thoughts?

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Actually 1.016 is a great FG for this brew. Check it again at the four week mark, but I'd guess it's done.

As for the floating yeast, that just happens sometimes. It might drop weeks from now or quicker if you cold crash but it's really not necessary. Just leave the yeast rafts behind when you rack.

 

[UtahNate]

Actually 1.016 is a great FG for this brew. Check it again at the four week mark, but I'd guess it's done.

Good to know. The sample had a nice malty sweetness to it that balanced nicely with the bitterness. I've never been a fan of pumpkin beers, but this just might be the best tasting one I've come across. Looking forward to getting this bottled. Thanks again.

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Thank you for the love, UtahNate. SWMBO and I love to hear that stuff.

 

[PastorofMuppets]

Not sure if I just failed at this recipe or my beer is green or what.

It just doesnt have much flavor, and virtually no aroma.
I mostly hit all my numbers (FG was a bit low), the mash and boil smelled great.
I am 30 days in bottle and crashed a 6 pack for about 9 days and its just not that good.

Wonder what it could be in my case? Its the first of about 9 HBT recipes that ive done and not had a wonderful experience.

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Hmm that's odd....

What was the FG? Did it ferment super hard and end quickly?

Any chance of *Dun dun DUUUUUUN* infection?! *audible gasp*

 

[Nicegirl]

Just brewed this a few days ago smells stellar hit a good OG and is fermenting great I'm wondering if anyone as used gelatin as a finning agent I used a wirlfloc tab during boil to help but was wondering about the gelatin and if anyone has used it how should I go about it this is my third batch I've made but have been studying the art of brewing for about a year before I brewed my first batch any input would be appreciated

Cheers

Hi ,

I just used gelatin in my batch of pumpkin ale and it did a GREAT job of clearing the beer. I used 1 tablespoon mixed into 2/3 cup of water. Let the mix sit for about 20 minutes to "bloom". Then heat the mix (15-20 seconds at a time) stirring after each heating session, in the microwave using a microwave safe container until the mix is at about 160° F. Let the mix cool for about 10 minutes and then slowly pour into into the carboy or keg. Give the beer one slow stir and put it back into cold storage for about 48 hours. Made a HUGE difference in the clarity of my batch.

 

[Nicegirl]

I brewed the pumpkin ale recipe 6 weeks ago. Racked it into secondary after 3 weeks of primary and added gelatin last Saturday which brought beautiful clarity to the batch.
Racked it into a keg last night and going to put the CO2 on it tonight. F.G. was at 1.022 which brings it in at 5.9% ABV.
The beer has the most wonderful aroma and fantastic color to it. Going to bottle it this coming Sunday. Tasted a small amount last night even though it's still flat and it was GREAT. The spices have blended together nicely and it is definitely not a "spice bomb" which is what I was looking for.
Can't wait to taste the fully carbonated version on Sunday!

 

[Senorsauza03]

Question for the group. I am doing my first pumpkin ale and I've been following the recipes through many threads. After stopping at my lhbs, the clerk told me it was not even worth putting pumpkins in at all- no flavor profile. He said just add pumpkin spice at the end of the boil for flavoring. Is there a need or what are the flavor benefits from using pumpkins vs just the spices? Some of the recipes sound awesome, but can anyone tell me what is the best practice or opinion?

Jorge

 

[DrunkleJon]

Question for the group. I am doing my first pumpkin ale and I've been following the recipes through many threads. After stopping at my lhbs, the clerk told me it was not even worth putting pumpkins in at all- no flavor profile. He said just add pumpkin spice at the end of the boil for flavoring. Is there a need or what are the flavor benefits from using pumpkins vs just the spices? Some of the recipes sound awesome, but can anyone tell me what is the best practice or opinion?

Jorge

He is right in a sense. The pumpkin does not really contribute flavor to the beer. The spice does. On the other hand the pumpkin does seem to make for that orangey color and alters the mouthfeel a bit. You can sub in Sweet potatoes if you like and it will taste similar if you are having trouble finding pumpkin.

Also, if you go the Libby's route, make sure you get the pumpkin rather than pumpkin pie filling. They seem to put them both in the same looking can and make the pie filling font tiny and easy to miss.

 

[beernut70]

I agree with Drunklejon it adds some nice orange color to the head and also adds to the mouthfeel. I was thinking about leaving out the pumpkin but I am glad I didn't. This is a great recipe I would highly recommend brewing this one.

 

[cublue]

I have had pumpkin beers with and without pumpkin. IMHO, the ones with pumpkin are decidedly better. I have made this recipe, and used the pumpkin. It is a good recipe. I would not omit the pumpkin, if for nothing else than the mouth feel, let alone color. ( Unless of course, you want to produce a thinner beer, which some people like.) Plus if you bake the pumpkin first it adds a roasty taste. You could probably adjust the recipe to replace the mouthfeel and roasty taste, but I wouldn't.

 

[BC_Brews]

Question for the group. I am doing my first pumpkin ale and I've been following the recipes through many threads. After stopping at my lhbs, the clerk told me it was not even worth putting pumpkins in at all- no flavor profile. He said just add pumpkin spice at the end of the boil for flavoring. Is there a need or what are the flavor benefits from using pumpkins vs just the spices? Some of the recipes sound awesome, but can anyone tell me what is the best practice or opinion?

Jorge

Adding the pumpkin is also gone add some fermentable sugars.

I can definitely tell a difference between a brew that included pumpkin and one that did not.

 

[Nicegirl]

Question for the group. I am doing my first pumpkin ale and I've been following the recipes through many threads. After stopping at my lhbs, the clerk told me it was not even worth putting pumpkins in at all- no flavor profile. He said just add pumpkin spice at the end of the boil for flavoring. Is there a need or what are the flavor benefits from using pumpkins vs just the spices? Some of the recipes sound awesome, but can anyone tell me what is the best practice or opinion?

Jorge

As a few others have mentioned, this is a great recipe and I would most definitely use the pumpkin in the mash. It adds a wonderful color to the brew.

 

[UtahNate]

+1 to using pumpkin...

I bottled my batch today and the 6 oz sample left over at the end of bottling definitely had a roasted squash flavor note. Of course, YMMV... It remains to be seen if that note remains once it has had a chance to carbonate, but I imagine it will. I'm hoping it'll be ready for Thanksgiving dinner.