Autumn Seasonal Beer Punkin' Ale

[Reno_eNVy]

Well I just searched around and molasses is supposed to have a very strong flavor in beer, apparently.

BeerSmith puts it at 5% Max in batch.

 

[Old_E]

Stupid question: I was building this in Beersmith, for a brew next weekend. What style would you throw this in to? American Amber doesn't work.

 

[onipar]

Stupid question: I was building this in Beersmith, for a brew next weekend. What style would you throw this in to? American Amber doesn't work.

What do you mean by "doesn't work?"

When I was building my pumpkin ale recipe in beer smith, I used Amber Ale. Do you mean that the "style" scale is off for hops? Because I just ignored that and created the recipe with all the other stylistic aspects of Amber, minus the IBU range.

 

[Old_E]

yeah, that's basically what I mean. Hops are too low, and the gravity is too high. Not a big deal at all, I just wondering if it fit better into a different style.

 

[Reno_eNVy]

This would most certainly be 21A - Spice/Herb/Vegetable Beer

 

[homebrewin]

Brewin this as we speak

 

[homebrewin]

......and done! i did a 5gal all grain batch, ended a 1.065 on the nose except i didn't have as much loss i predicted so i ended with 5.5 gal not a bad evening at all!!

 

[lumpher]

i'm doing thunderstruck pumpkin ale this weekend. did it last year, and it was gone by the end of the party. my ibu was a little over 13. i think for 5.5 gallons i used 1.3 oz of hersbrucker at 60 minutes

 

[Reno_eNVy]

......and done! i did a 5gal all grain batch, ended a 1.065 on the nose except i didn't have as much loss i predicted so i ended with 5.5 gal not a bad evening at all!!

How'd the hydrometer sample taste?

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Also, came across Sam Adams Octoberfest and as I was thinking, "Hmm, it's that time of year" I noticed their fall variety pack. Had to pick it up.

Right now I'm enjoying their Harvest Pumpkin Ale. It's not bad but their version is over-spiced and lacks on the biscuit/toasty malts that I love from my recipe.

It's inspired me to get this brew off the ground ASAP. Time to check for Libby's every time I go to the grocery store

 

[homebrewin]

The hydrosample tasted great, i know its going to be awesome, thanks for the recipe.
Finding the libbys was really the hardest part, I went to three grocery stores and only found one can but then found some other organic brand that was straight pumpkin pack so I went with that

 

[dallasdb]

Quick question, a little off topic but it came to mind reading this recipe:

Do you need rice hulls if you BIAB?

I would assume not because you simply pull the bag out of the wort but I thought I would ask.

 

[Reno_eNVy]

You know, that's a good question... I'm really not sure. Maybe somebody else with more BIAB experience can chime in.

 

[onipar]

You know, that's a good question... I'm really not sure. Maybe somebody else with more BIAB experience can chime in.

Well, I didn't brew this recipe, but I *did* brew my partial mash pumpkin ale and I didn't use rice hulls. It was BIAB style, and I had no problems with straining or sparging. You may have to work the bag around a bit (not squeezing, just sort of tilting so the liquid has an escape path), but it doesn't take long. It also helps if you have a big colander that you can put the grain bag in to let the extra wort drip out on it's own though, that way you're not standing there holding the bag for very long.

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Thanks for the input!

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Booya! Found these last two cans at the second grocery store I tried. 2 for $5! Lucky me

 

[onipar]

Nice find! It's nearly impossible to get this time of year. I had to settle for the overpriced organic stuff when I brewed a couple weeks ago. This year I'm gonna stock up for next year (or make my own puree to freeze).

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Nice find! It's nearly impossible to get this time of year. I had to settle for the overpriced organic stuff when I brewed a couple weeks ago. This year I'm gonna stock up for next year (or make my own puree to freeze).

Yeah, last year I had a rough time with it but I found the organic stuff at Safeway. Surprisingly, only $3.50 a can.

 

[munklunk]

Just brewed up a batch of this bad boy, subbing 2/3 cup of molasses for the brown sugar. Gravity came in a bit lower, but I can live with a 5% brew. Smelled like pumpkin pie and autumn. I plan on racking it over 2 vanillla beans after it's 3 week primary. Thanks for he recipe Reno. I'm so stoked.

 

[Reno_eNVy]

You're quite welcome. Please be sure to take good tasting notes with the molasses sub. I'm interested. Maybe we can even do a bottle-swap in a couple months.

Also, be careful with the vanilla. It can be incredibly strong and I've heard that it can really take away from what makes a pumpkin ale great. Just some food for thought.

 

[munklunk]

I'm down for a trade when they're all good to go. I'm not going to go over the top on the vanilla. I may use expensive extract instead and tailor it to suit me. It'll be great either way.

 

[vtron]

Has anyone attempted the extract version of this recipe? I'm planning on trying it in a few weeks and was wondering how it turned out for others.

 

[thomismydad]

Doing a PM version this weekend, based on the calculations at the beginning of the thread. Would a late extract addition be a good idea?

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Doing a PM version this weekend, based on the calculations at the beginning of the thread. Would a late extract addition be a good idea?

Adding the extract earlier, as I'm sure you know, will make the beer darker. If you want the light orange hue similar to oktoberfests the do a late addition. If you want a darker orange closer to brown than early addition will do you best.


EDIT: Early addition will also create some caramelization which could add nicely to the brew.

 

[thomismydad]

I'm still a bit of a newb. How does the early addition cause carmelization? I guess my concern was adding 5 lbs of extract at the same time as the brown sugar. It wouldn't take anything away from the brown sugar, would it?

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Nope! I boil my brown sugar for 60 minutes because I want some caramelization, which will happen to some extent if you heat sugar long enough at a hot enough temperature. Contact with the surface of the boil kettle helps as well

 

[nspaldi0]

Do the spiced and unspiced Libby's cans look exactly the same? I found lots of the cans locally but on the ingredients list, the last ingredient was spices. The cans I found looked exactly like the one Reno posted a few posts ago.

 

[nspaldi0]

Nevermind! I was at a Walmart, and they only had 30 oz cans that listed spices. I went to Meijer and they had tons of the Libby 29 oz cans with only pumpkin as the ingredient. The cans look similar, so be careful when purchasing!

 

[absoluthamm]

This looks great Reno. I've been eyeing this one for a little while now waiting for some space to clear out, but I just ordered the bill for this today. Really looking forward to it.

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Nevermind! I was at a Walmart, and they only had 30 oz cans that listed spices. I went to Meijer and they had tons of the Libby 29 oz cans with only pumpkin as the ingredient. The cans look similar, so be careful when purchasing!

I know, right?! You did the right thing, though. Safest bet is to read the ingredient list posted below the Nutritional Facts chart.

This looks great Reno. I've been eyeing this one for a little while now waiting for some space to clear out, but I just ordered the bill for this today. Really looking forward to it.

Thanks for the interest and the compliments Be sure to post your results

Are you going to try to find pumpkin or just use the spice?