Autumn Seasonal Beer Richard's Pumpkin Ale

[Warped04]

Rich,

Over a year later, and I finally brewed this! Thanks for the recipe it smells fantastic! Since I'm not aging it as long as you did, I scaled back the spices, and I added 1/4tsp of ginger.

 

[RichBrewer]

Rich,

Over a year later, and I finally brewed this! Thanks for the recipe it smells fantastic! Since I'm not aging it as long as you did, I scaled back the spices, and I added 1/4tsp of ginger.

Great! Let us know how it turnd out!
Is your fermenter filled with orange trub???

 

[Warped04]

Is your fermenter filled with orange trub???

Yes, most of it is submerged under water in one of those Red Party Tubs, but it has a noticeable orange tint to it.

 

[RichBrewer]

Hey, that looks about right!

 

[Timber]

Will be making this tomorrow or Tuesday, I was told by the LHBS to just add the pumpkin the last 10 minutes of the boil.. but you guys all recommend the 90 minute.. Any pro con ot either, I may have misheard them as well..

Also, no one chimed in wiht the baking the pumpkin, anyone got some experience with doing it?

 

[Timber]

I have a huge amount of sediment on my beer carboy like 1/4 of it is sediment, looks ike its more then a gallons worth.. it looks like the pumpkin settled at the bottom.. but even then there wasn't that much in there.. Any idea what the problem is.. btw it was a 1.016 last night

 

[Timber]

There is a picture of it.. I was told by steveR to "rouse" it so I did taht this morning.. and alot of it ent away, I suppose it will be back tonight thouhg.. any other thoughts?

 

[Warped04]

Hey Timber. Sorry I didn't see your posts. Sounds like everything is going swimmingly. You look like you have about as much sediment as I do. It's also probably clinging up the sides a little and not all level. There is also liquid in the sediment.

I'd let it settle for as long as you can before you rack or bottle it. If you "rouse" it then bottle it, you'll end up with all of that sediment in your bottles. Not good drinks.

I show the FG as being 1.015, so I think you are pretty close.

 

[Timber]

well i will rouse it everday for about another week, then let it clear for a week before bottling.. so it will ahve been in primary for 3 weeks by that time.. then Bottling, it will be ready just about time for halloween (hoping). so am I gonna be able to rack some liquid out of that crap or am I gonna be cutting my amount drammatically (like I said im guessin there is at least a gallons worth of sediment there)

 

[Warped04]

well i will rouse it everday for about another week

Why are you going to do that? Typically rousing is for a stuck fermentation. I was guessing that steveR probably thought you were trying to get down to 1.010 from 1.016. Was there another reason he suggested you do that? It should be just happy happy sitting there and motating.

so am I gonna be able to rack some liquid out of that crap or am I gonna be cutting my amount drammatically (like I said im guessin there is at least a gallons worth of sediment there)

You have a couple of options. I made close to 6 gallons knowing that I would not get to keep it all sacraficing for a clearer beer.

You can rack as much liquid out of there to your secondary and let it settle again, and you will probably get more.

If you don't mind a little trub floating around in your beer take as much as you can. I did that for my Apricot Blonde, and wasn't satisfied because of it. (It did settle out in the bottle, but even a little sneaking in the glass I think took away from the beer).

So it's really your call on a personal preference for you.

 

[Timber]

I wasnt planning on racking to a secondary.. the LHBS said it wastn necessary to when I was buying my supplies. Should I rack it at the end of next week then and keep it in secondary for a week? if Im doing a secondaryI was jsut gonna rack to my bottling bucket, is that ok? or od I rack form secondary to the bottling bucket, or is that a skippable step?

Ill go ahead and skip rousing

 

[Warped04]

If you are going to your bottling bucket, IMO you should bottle. So if you want to skip secondary, that's a personal preference, I don't see a problem in it. So let it settle really well, then bottle.

 

[Timber]

Will Do.. Thanks!!

 

[stever]

The reason I suggested rousing was to get the pumpkin back into suspension for flavor purposes but I was under the assumption the pumpkin was added after the boil. Not sure the rousing will give more flavor after it has been through the boil but it should settle out quick enough.

 

[RotorHead6]

Hey guys,

Just wanted to chime in to keep this post going. I made this recipe last Friday and the session went perfect. Instead of the expensive maple syrup I used 2lb amber DME. I used the exact grain bill as the recipe calls for (actually a little larger grain bill because my efficiency is usually a little lower). I bought two large cans of Libby's pumpkin pie filling and added right to the boil as directed. I also added the spices as directed by the recipe. I was a little scared to add more spice and throw everything off. Due to the little larger grain bill I did up my northern brewer from .75 to 1 oz. to balance the extra grain. My IBU was right on target. The color came out great and my OG was 1.068. I pitched the yeast dry to the top of the wort and aerated 30 minutes later. I had fermentation in about 6 hours with lots of blow off so I was glad to use a tube instead of a airlock. My fermentation temp was 69 F in my basement which is the only option for me this time of year in western Pennsylvania. Everything smelled great and tasted great out of the keggle so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that everything turns out well.

I will be transferring to the secondary on 9/11/08 and will post again then. Any questions, let me know and I'll do my best to help.

 

[limprizol]

I made this about 3 1/2 weeks ago and i did a PM

20.8 2.50 lbs. Maple Syrup Generic 1.031 35
50.0 6.00 lbs. Generic LME - Amber Generic 1.036 9
25.0 3.00 lbs. Munich Malt Belgium 1.038 8
4.2 0.50 lbs. Crystal 40L America 1.034 40

Was the recipe that i used. I also used 3 cans of libbys pumpkin and everything else was the same. I did a full boil and put about 6 gallons into the primary my SG was right on the mark. I wanted to rack to secondary in 2 weeks but got busy and stayed in for 3. When i racked it over though there was so much Thick pumpkin goo on the bottom i only got about three gallons in the secondary. Should i have added that thick pumpkin mess to the secondary as well or has anyone else had this problem.

This smells amazing i just wish i got more into the secondary, any thoughts

 

[fullstop22]

I use a stainless braid on the exit tube of keggle. Should I leave it off to get more pumpkin into the carboy,also will this flow through a 3/8od cfc? I guess after reading the posts it sounds like the wort may be a bit thick or is it me .

 

[RichBrewer]

I use a stainless braid on the exit tube of keggle. Should I leave it off to get more pumpkin into the carboy,also will this flow through a 3/8od cfc? I guess after reading the posts it sounds like the wort may be a bit thick or is it me .

Sorry for answering this late but I would recommend taking the stainless braid off if for no other reason than it might clog with all of that pumpkin sludge in the brew pot. Plus, I think it does help the pumpkin flavor to allow it to get into the fermenter.

 

[fullstop22]

Thanks Rich ! My son & I will be brewing this on Monday. We plan on using honey in place of the maple syrup as I receive a 5gal. bucket of honey free each year for letting a beekeeper put his hives on my property. Do you add pound for pound and when do you add it to the wort? I think last time I used honey I just put it in the wort before the yeast. THANKS again.

 

[Timber]

I just cracked the bottle on this after 2-3 weeks bottle conditioned. WOW!! very good flavor, my only gripe is that I had it up to the 5 gallon line (refer to my picture on one of the pages of this thread) and I only ended up with 3.5 gallons when I got it into the bottling bucket, so perhaps add more water then just the 5 gallon point or just settle with 3. I don't know if this will mellow out over time or not but the spices are definitely prevalent, Im not sure if its because I got such a smaller batch then I was going for or its just because it hasn't aged much, either way I will definitely be making this again, Kudos Rich

 

[Warped04]

my only gripe is that I had it up to the 5 gallon line (refer to my picture on one of the pages of this thread) and I only ended up with 3.5 gallons when I got it into the bottling bucket, so perhaps add more water then just the 5 gallon point or just settle with 3

Make 6.5 gallons, and then you should be closer after your rack.

 

[Touristbob]

Brewed this today. Got a little over 6 gallons into the primary and it smelled great. Can't wait to try it in October.

 

[D00msD4v3]

I am a noob at brewing would this be to hard to brew? Pumpkin beer is my all time fav would really love to brew my own!

 

[brokenanchor]

Pumpkin beer and football are the few things I look forward to during fall. It's great that you've got the judges thoughts in there too. I'm planning on making a double batch of this as well as a punkin porter. I'll post back once it's brewed.

 

[BNVince]

Has anybody "rushed" this beer? As in, if I brew it this week, how much should I scale back the spices so it's not overpowering come Halloween?

 

[FatsMcBrew]

I'd like to try the Extract version of this as my second brew. I have a couple of questions. First of all, the recipe says to ferment at 72deg for 13 days, then 38deg for 32 days, then secondary of 21 days at 72. What is the purpose of the 38deg for 32 days, and is it possible to make this beer without it? I don't have the capability to ferment at temps that low yet. I was thinking I could do two weeks in the primary three in the secondary, and three after bottling instead. all at around 70deg?
Is this a workable solution? Any input would be great. I'd like to brew this next week after I bottle my wheat, So it could be ready by early Nov.
Thanks!

 

[RichBrewer]

You should be fine to ferment at ale temps only. I chilled mine to clarify it before kegging and bottling.
Enjoy brewing this!

 

[Coastarine]

I plan to make this with a few tweaks:

-Using MO as my base malt
-Instead of 8oz C40, I'm using 4oz C20 + 4oz C120
-I'm going to try mashing my pumpkin this year
-I want the spices to shine through a little more so I'm making a tea based on your amounts + a tbd amnt of ginger and clove. (I love those two)
-I'll be adding a few tbs of maple extract. I've used this before in beers where maple was desired because I have heard that the syrup just doesn't really get the flavor into the beer. I've had good results.
-I may be serving this on beergas through the stout faucet, but only after I drink it for a little while from a regular tap. I've heard that any particulate in the beer can clog the restrictor plate in the stout faucet, and I've seen the fibrous gunk that settles out of pumpkin beers.

 

[FatsMcBrew]

Thanks RichBrewer! I think I'll brew this weekend.

 

[FatsMcBrew]

I Just thought I'd update this, mainly for the other newbs contemplating this. I brewed an all extract version of this yesterday. I used 7lbs of light DME just as recommended, in place of the American 2row, and Munich. and I steeped the Crystal 40. I also substituted honey for the maple syrup on a 1 to 1 basis. I don't know if there is a difference in the fermentability of honey, and maple syrup, so that might affect it some. Everything else was the same. My OG came out to 1.070 which seems to be pretty close to what it should be. It's currently fermenting away downstairs. I'll update at the end of October when I try the first one if anyone is curious how it turned out.