Autumn Seasonal Beer Punkin' Ale

[ChrisL_]

You can also try adding a few drops of amylase enzyme which your local shop should have

I can put that in the fermenter? Would that help reduce the unfermentables I have in there due to messed up mash temp?

 

[tre9er]

I can put that in the fermenter? Would that help reduce the unfermentables I have in there due to messed up mash temp?

Yes and yes. Just start with a few drops and wait a few days. Too much and you'll have hot, cidery beer

 

[ChrisL_]

Yes and yes. Just start with a few drops and wait a few days. Too much and you'll have hot, cidery beer

Thanks for the tip. I had not heard of that product before.
I will give it another week and see if it is in fact stopped fermentaion and maybe add the enzymes then. One other thought I had, since I boiled off more then expected I thought I could maybe make my priming solution with extra water to dilute the entire batch.
Any thoughts on that idea?

Thanks again.

 

[tre9er]

Thanks for the tip. I had not heard of that product before.
I will give it another week and see if it is in fact stopped fermentaion and maybe add the enzymes then. One other thought I had, since I boiled off more then expected I thought I could maybe make my priming solution with extra water to dilute the entire batch.
Any thoughts on that idea?

Thanks again.

personally I'd go with the enzyme. The balance of the beer is at stake, ya know?

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Just beware... pure alpha amylase can work uncontrollably and dry the living bejesus out of a beer if you use too much.

Just my $0.02

 

[ChrisL_]

Just beware... pure alpha amylase can work uncontrollably and dry the living bejesus out of a beer if you use too much.

Just my $0.02

Thanks for the feedback. On the advise of a friend, I moved my fermenter to a warmer place (up to 66F from 62F) and gave it a small swirl and seem to have a bit more activity going again. So I plan to wait a week and see how it goes.
If I do get the AA, I will be careful with it, but currently at 1.040 I have some points to give. But thus far I am having trouble getting it. My LHBS is about 1 hour away. They have a 2 ounces portion for about $3, which is fine but the $12.50 for shipping is not so good.

I'll kick back with a few colds ones this week and see how it goes.

 

[tre9er]

Just beware... pure alpha amylase can work uncontrollably and dry the living bejesus out of a beer if you use too much.

Just my $0.02

Right, which us why I said just a few drops. It's volatile

 

[ChrisL_]

Just a quick update. After another full week of no movement on the gravity (still at 1.040 and not drinkable), I finally went to my LHBS and picked up the Alpha Amylase Enzyme. I used some other posts I found where people stated how much they used and how many points it changed their gravity to calculate an amount. I dropped it in when I got home around 6:15 and by 7:30 there is a new kraussen forming already.
I really enjoyed this beer when I had the version a friend had brewed, I really hope this turns out.

 

[tre9er]

out of curiosity how much did you add?

 

[ChrisL_]

out of curiosity how much did you add?

I read someone had used 2 teaspoons (it was a powder form I found) and brought down the gravity 8 points. I did only a 2.5G batch, but also need to drop the gravity about 23 points. So I went with a pinch over 2 teaspoons.

It was undrinkable, so it is worth the risk and seems to be bubbling away nicely right now. Hopefully I guessed the correct amount and it stops somewhere in a drinkable range.

I will taking readings this weekend and post back the result for you info.

Thanks,

Chris

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Please do. I've never seen live results of alpha amylase usage. I hope it all works out well for you... and I hope the usage amount of a.a. based on volume and points-desired is linear.

 

[ChrisL_]

Please do. I've never seen live results of alpha amylase usage. I hope it all works out well for you... and I hope the usage amount of a.a. based on volume and points-desired is linear.

OK, fermentation has stopped and I am quite happy. It ended up a little low at 1.013.
So my final numbers look like this:
OG: 1.069
FG: 1.013
ABV: 7.7%

So as far as the AA goes, I was stuck at 1.040 with just over 2G of beer/wort. So based on one other report of how much AA was used, I added just a pinch over 2 teaspoons and dropped the graviy 27 points.
I don't think there is sufficient evidence yet to determine if the releationship is in fact linear, but my calculations did end up pretty close.
So if anyone reading this needs to try Alpha Amylase to deal with unfermentables during fermentation it looks like 1 teaspoon per gallon of beer will eat up about 27 gravity points.
As stated by Reno_eVNy AA could be dangerous, but if you are in the situation I was in and have an undrinable beer it is certainly worth a shot.

PS, I was unable to taste the pie spices when I was stuck at 1.040, but they have been uncovered now that the gravity has dropped to 1.013. I was a little down about this beer but am excited once again. I will be bottlling in the next couple of days and will wait 3 weeks to drink my first ever bottle of homebrew

Thanks for Reno_eNVy and tre9er for your help and advice.:rockin:

 

[tre9er]

Glad it worked out for you!

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Nice! Good stuff.

And given the OG, you might not get full carbonation after three weeks. More like four to six weeks. I haven't gone back to check but I feel like a large-handfull of posts on this thread involved either "it's not carbed" or "I ended up waiting longer than three weeks."

Also worth noting, this beer really doesn't hit its stride until about 6-8 weeks. Yes, it's a long time but it makes a world of difference. Try to at least save a six-pack until the 8 week mark, you won't regret it.

 

[ChrisL_]

Nice! Good stuff.

And given the OG, you might not get full carbonation after three weeks. More like four to six weeks. I haven't gone back to check but I feel like a large-handfull of posts on this thread involved either "it's not carbed" or "I ended up waiting longer than three weeks."

Also worth noting, this beer really doesn't hit its stride until about 6-8 weeks. Yes, it's a long time but it makes a world of difference. Try to at least save a six-pack until the 8 week mark, you won't regret it.

8 weeks? Your killing me
I will wait as it will be worth it. Besides, I have a project to keep me busy for the next littlie while as I plan to drink several Hacker Pschorr Weisse beers that come in the 500ML swing top bottles as I will need them to bottle my next batch

 

[ChrisL_]

Well I am saving most of it for the the 8 week mark when it is fully matured, but at almost 5 weeks I had to try my first ever homebrew. It will not win any awards, but I have to say not too shabby for my first attempt.

 

[Reno_eNVy]

WOO! Congratulations.

It will not win any awards...

Give it a few more weeks and it might just be able to.

 

[thiessenace]

How pumpkiny is it? Do the spices stick out alot¿

 

[ChrisL_]

WOO!

Thanks!

It will be hard, but I will be waiting three more weeks to drink the rest.

 

[ChrisL_]

How pumpkiny is it? Do the spices stick out alot¿

The spice level was nice. It definitely says pumpkin pie, but is not overkill. One issue for me was that I was only able to get no name spice mix. It is ok but not my favourite.
For my next batch I may get the SWMBO to make me a mix from fresh spices.

 

[thiessenace]

Good to hear. I am contemplating making this soon. And I would crush my own spices. Worth while to make?

 

[ChrisL_]

Good to hear. I am contemplating making this soon. And I would crush my own spices. Worth while to make?

Definitely! Mine turned out ok, but it was my first batch ever. ( And is still a bit young). A friend of mine who me into brewing made this last fall and it was the best pumpkin ale I had tasted (I have had about 5 commercial varieties).
If you like pumpkin ales, this is a good one!

 

[thiessenace]

Looking forward to it! Can it sit in the secondary for awhile waiting to keg it? I was considering brewing it mid may and then kegging early to mid june. I am ordering all of my supplies for kegging soon. So cant wait to brew and keg!!

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Looking forward to it! Can it sit in the secondary for awhile waiting to keg it? I was considering brewing it mid may and then kegging early to mid june. I am ordering all of my supplies for kegging soon. So cant wait to brew and keg!!

Absolutely! This beer seriously benefits from aging and doing so in bulk does it faster. If I could make a suggestion, skip the secondary. Leaving it on the yeast in primary will allow them to clean up and age faster. Also just using a single vessel is easier and prevents infection/oxidation due to exposure to new surfaces and potential splashing.

But if you must, the kegs make good secondaries.

 

[thiessenace]

Awesome. Thanks for the advice. Looking forward to making this bad boy!

 

[D_Nyholm]

Saw some Libby's at the grocery store and picked it up. I am tempted to just brew this now and try my best to hold onto it until September since I now have all the ingredients. Though I am thinking it may be best to wait until the end of July so that it is fully ready by end of august or September...let's hope I can find other stuff to hold me over until then!

 

[juggaleo]

On list

 

[pfowl01]

I'm gonna brew this the end of Aug

 

[Wreck99]

I brewed this last Sept/Oct and still have a few bottles around. It's a great beer. Ages well too. Highly recommend!

 

[Matteo57]

I brewed this about two months ago (batch #2 of it) and my hydrometer was off or something so while I thought I had been way under on my numbers, I went and added 2 lbs of DME to get it to where it should be and after I was done brewing it and chilling, I took a final OG reading and it was super high.... so, it ended up being around an 8% beer which isn't necessarily bad and everyone who tries it loves it and have had a bunch ask me to brew a batch just for them but tasting both, I would definitly go with the stated recipe as the 8% is a bit too boozy for what most would want in this beer for all around balance. If you want to get drunk fast... Sure!
Love this recipe, it's fantastic!