Quick pumpkin question

[bonesmalone]

Im going to make my first pumpkin beer in a few days and had some crazy ideas/ questions for you guys.

We've all added hops at different times during the boil.... But what about Pumpkin? Most recipes online say to add one pumpkin addition at the start of the boil. But I'm wondering if some of the pumpkin aromas and flavors would come out more somewhere under the 20 minute mark. Ive even thought about continuous pumpkining (eat that DFH ).

Any ideas?

 

[bonesmalone]

Bump.

If noone knows anything ill just do it anyway. Nothing wrong with a little experimentation.

 

[Chello]

I would suggest that you add the pumpkin to the mash, along with plenty of rice hulls. That way you keep it out of the fermenter and loose less beer.

 

[Denny]

Not only that, but by adding it to the mash you can convert the starch in it.

 

[farrout]

When I made my pumpkin ale last year I added pumpkin to the boil every 10 min, I was really happy with the results. When I brew my pumpkin ale this year I'm gonna do it the same way.

 

[golfguy819]

last year i used 2 real pie pumpkins, cut them into chunks, seasond with allspice, nutmeg and cinnamon and roasted in the oven until it was soft. i added half the pumpkin at the beginning of the boil, and the rest of it at the 30 min. mark. it was my best beer to date.

 

[stevea1210]

I like the idea of continuous pumpkining. I put my pumpkin in the mash personally.

 

[beerthirty]

I have made a few pumpkin beers and have learned quite a bit.
1) pumpkin is a squash and tastes like it.
2) pumpkin makes for a sticky mash, prepare for a long day.
3) pumpkin in the boil results in wasted wort as it combines with hot break, and worse with the cold break. Irish moss will not help.
4) if used in the boil, it will not pass through a CFC or a plate.
5) to get a very good beer with the pumpkin pie flavor, throw out the pumpkin and rely on pumpkin pie spice. It is the spice that you taste in the beer anyway not the squash.

I have made pumpkin beer without pumpkin and no one has ever been able to tell the difference. These are just my personal opinions and observations, and I'm sure some will dispute them, but after 6 trials I make no errors. If I were to try to add pumpkin in the mash again I would definitely give it a protein rest to try and break it down some more.

 

[mr_clean]

Amen,i used the spices the first time.The second time i did spices and pumpkin.Couldnt tell the difference.

 

[Denny]

5) to get a very good beer with the pumpkin pie flavor, throw out the pumpkin and rely on pumpkin pie spice. It is the spice that you taste in the beer anyway not the squash.

I have made pumpkin beer without pumpkin and no one has ever been able to tell the difference. These are just my personal opinions and observations, and I'm sure some will dispute them, but after 6 trials I make no errors. If I were to try to add pumpkin in the mash again I would definitely give it a protein rest to try and break it down some more.

This is the truth, IMO.

 

[Baldy_Beer_Brewery]

I used 6 pounds of canned pumpkin last year and the amount of pumpkin pie spice that one would use to make pies with that much pumpkin. This year I'll cut the spice back by half. While everyone else claimed to think the spice just right, I found it overpowering. I did however like the color that the pumpkin added and will likely endure the same slow sparge this year to get it.

I'd think adding it to the boil, especially through several additions would make a quite hazy beer.

 

[robertjohnson]

I've been reading what jamil says about pumpkin ales in BCS and he says pretty much the same things:

What people pick out is the pie spices added in more than the pumpkin. When you add spices, add in two-thirds the amount you think will be the right level a few minutes before the end of the boil. After primary fermentation, check the taste during your gravity readings and add the final third (or more or less) to taste. This way you have far more control over the final spice level. He adds a teaspoon to a 5 gallon batch.

If you want to use pumpkin, say because it adds mouthfeel and sweetness or whatever, then he suggests quartering and seeding some pie pumpkins and baking them at 330*F until the juices have started caramelized a bit in the pan. Mix everything, juices and all, into the mash with at least a .5 lb of rice hulls. Rinse the rice hulls first! He gets quite a bit of his fermentables from the pumpkin by lengthening the mash time to 90 minutes. He substitutes 5 lbs of pumpkin flesh for 2 lbs of base malt and mashes at 154*F. Hope this helps.

 

[robertjohnson]

+1 that the starches won't convert and it will taste like squash soup if you just add them during the boil. You wouldn't just add oatmeal into the boil for an oatmeal stout, would you?

 

[beerthirty]

When I used pumpkin I always baked it first for carmelization. A 90 min boil is essential if you add pumpkin. The pumpkin itself taste like DMS, why compound the problem?
Rice hulls did little to prevent my slow sparges, perhaps I didn't use enough. 1/2 lb of hulls is a lot of bulk. I mashed at 149-150 since 154 is so close to unfermentable sugar and held it for 75 minutes to give the pumpkin a chance to convert. Even with that change I found the pumpkin free but spiced beer to be better. Perhaps Jamil had luck with the slight amout of pumpkin used compared to the 8 lbs for the same volume recipe I was working with. Everyone should try their same pumkin recipe with and without the pumpkin. The results could be definative, if not interesting.