Autumn Seasonal Beer Samhain Pumpkin Ale

[freudhawk]

I'd substitute the MO for the GP and not worry about it. I doubt anyone could tell a difference between beers made with GP and MO without tasting them side by side.

Gotcha, I won't worry about it then. Just got done roasting the MO. Smells great!

 

[J-ROD]

Got a batch of pumpkin goodness brewed yesterday afternoon. This stuff is fermenting away and smells awesome !

 

[BmillaTheBrewzilla]

Just bottled this today.

KingB- I had taken your advice about the Dennys Favorite yeast. It really did attenuate quite fully- finishing up at 1.007. What was interesting was that I noticed continual airlock activity for the entire three weeks in primary. It wasn't rapid-fire or anything (after the first week), but activity continued with bubbles every ten seconds or so. The only other yeast I've had this experience with was 3068 in a hefeweizen, and that also finished up with a low F.G.

So on to the beer. The color was ORANGE. It really looked exactly like I wanted a pumpkin ale to look. The smell... well let's put it this way. Every October I make a pumpkin cream pie or two. It is my mom's old recipe and it is awesome. And my fiancee loves it. So she was helping me bottle today, and she said, "Oh my goodness! That smells EXACTLY like the pumpkin pie you make." We tasted it and she declared it to already be her favorite beer that I've brewed.

I am really looking forward to drinking this all October... thanks again for a great recipe!

 

[KingBrianI]

Wow, 1.007, I hope it didn't dry out too much. I'm glad it came out well for you. The real test will be in a few weeks though! Good luck with the wait!

 

[minsco1]

KingBrianI, did you toast your MO wet or dry? It seems like toasting it wet would produce a little more of the sweet caramel-like taste found in pumpkin pie.

 

[KingBrianI]

KingBrianI, did you toast your MO wet or dry? It seems like toasting it wet would produce a little more of the sweet caramel-like taste found in pumpkin pie.

I toasted my grain dry, though you're certainly welcome to toast it wet. I doubt it would add any sweetness since the starch won't be converted, but it might increase the melanoidins created which may give the beer a bit more maltiness.

 

[minsco1]

I've read in a couple googled resources (including Palmer's online 'How to Brew') that there's supposed to be a partial starch conversion if you soak the grains for about an hour prior to toasting.

http://www.howtobrew.com/section4/chapter20-4.html

While the caramel sweetness sounds good, truthfully, so does the light nuttiness imparted by dry toasting - so I'm at an impasse for the moment. Maybe I'll just go 1/2 & 1/2.

The melanoidins would be a definite added benefit, I agree.

Thanks for the response and added advice, much appreciated!

 

[nootay]

what exactly is british caramalt? i dont see it in beersmith and dont see something specifically called british caramalt at brewmasterswarehouse.com. any good substitute? or am i just overlooking it

 

[sd_tom]

Think it's carastan dark (30-37L), or at least that was my conclusion.

 

[KingBrianI]

what exactly is british caramalt? i dont see it in beersmith and dont see something specifically called british caramalt at brewmasterswarehouse.com. any good substitute? or am i just overlooking it

Think it's carastan dark (30-37L), or at least that was my conclusion.

Yep, carastan would work perfectly. Or here is a link to Simpson's CaraMalt at BMW: http://www.brewmasterswarehouse.com/product/0101479/simpsons-caramalt

 

[JLem]

Yep, carastan would work perfectly. Or here is a link to Simpson's CaraMalt at BMW: http://www.brewmasterswarehouse.com/product/0101479/simpsons-caramalt

Was just on Simpson's page and they have caramalt's color listed as 25-35 EBC (http://www.simpsonsmalt.co.uk/jps.asp). Doesn't this make it more like 12-17L?

 

[KingBrianI]

Yep, I never looked it up, just went with Brewmaster's Warehouse's numbers. It won't make a big difference in color though, both being relatively low.

 

[mscrowley]

I'm just getting started in this, but I'm liking the idea of trying this as my second batch, ready in time for Thanksgiving I'm hoping... I have a newbie question for you.

The first batch I made had was grain-only. I put the grains into a mesh bag, and brewed it like a big teabag during the "mash" step, then sparged. From your recipe, I'm trying to figure out how to include the pumpkin in the mash, and then sparge it later. Should I include it in the mesh bag as I did with the grain?

EDIT: First batch was a partial Mash brew, not all-grain. After looking into the basics of all-grain brewing, I understand more of the difference.

Also, do you only do a primary fermentation on this? No secondary?

Thanks for your patience in dealing with a newbie.

 

[KingBrianI]

I'm just getting started in this, but I'm liking the idea of trying this as my second batch, ready in time for Thanksgiving I'm hoping... I have a newbie question for you.

The first batch I made had was grain-only. I put the grains into a mesh bag, and brewed it like a big teabag during the "mash" step, then sparged. From your recipe, I'm trying to figure out how to include the pumpkin in the mash, and then sparge it later. Should I include it in the mesh bag as I did with the grain?

EDIT: First batch was a partial Mash brew, not all-grain. After looking into the basics of all-grain brewing, I understand more of the difference.

Also, do you only do a primary fermentation on this? No secondary?

Thanks for your patience in dealing with a newbie.

No problem, everyone had to start somewhere! To answer your questions, yes, the pumpkin would go straight into the bag with the grain. It will probably make draining the bag a slower process, but should work well.

A 3-4 week primary fermentation is fine for this beer. If you want to secondary, there's no harm in it and it will help your beer clear more quickly and you will avoid having as much sediment in the bottle. But primary only works almost as well and is easier.

 

[KingBrianI]

Well, after all this talk about the beer, I thought I would try one of the 12 bottles I was cellaring from last year to see how it's aged. Very well is the answer! The flavors are even deeper and rounder now than before. It poured a beautiful crystal clear deep copper orange with a big, rocky, shining white head. The aroma is all malt and caramel with the faintest hint of spice. It is the sweet toasty malt and rich caramel flavors that strike you first upon taking a sip. The spice then comes in to ride the gentle bitterness through the crisp, dry finish. Mouthfeel is very round and supple. An obvious sign of the pumpkin. There is also a slight tartness that carries through below the other flavors that is definitely from the pumpkin. Overall, it is a wonderful beer, and if anyone who has made it can keep from drinking it all, it's well worth aging.

Check this out:

 

[Ragutis]

As for the name, Samhain was a Celtic festival marking the end of the summer and the end of the harvest. It has influenced other holidays including one we are all familiar with that is celebrated around the same time, Halloween. Villagers would build great bonfires on the evening of Samhain and let all of the hearthfires in their houses die out. They would then take new flames from the bonfire and relight their own fires which would continue to heat their houses and cook their food until the next Samhain. I realize pumpkin would not have been a crop known to the people inhabiting the British Isles when this festival took place, but I think we can brew it and enjoy it in similar celebration of the harvest and the year gone, and in preparation for the cold winter and the new year. Cheers!

Another interesting thing about Samhain is that was the day you were supposed to take inventory of your winter grain and livestock. Those animals that could not be fed all winter were slaughtered and served at a Samhain feast.

I'm brewing this beer this weekend and hope to debut it at a Samhain BBQ.

 

[KingBrianI]

That's awesome!

 

[munklunk]

Saturday will be 2 weeks in the primary. Bubbles in the airlock have turned to a turtles pace, but I'm not rushing this one. The suspense is killing me!

 

[Ragutis]

I was thinking about mixing up a couple of pounds of brown sugar in the pumpkin before I roast it. I thought is might help to caramelize it and give it a sweetness. Thoughts?

 

[KingBrianI]

I was thinking about mixing up a couple of pounds of brown sugar in the pumpkin before I roast it. I thought is might help to caramelize it and give it a sweetness. Thoughts?

Couldn't hurt! The only thing I'd be worried about is the beer ending up too boozy with all the sugar. I guess you could replace some of the base grain with the sugar but the resulting beer would be a bit thinner. Either mash higher or take some other measure to ensure the beer doesn't go too thin.

 

[dhoerr]

Could anyone give some guidance on translating this recipe to extract? (i know, i know, but my apartment and budget at the moment make AG an impossibility.) My quick googling says that I should take your 8lbs of golden promise 2 row and multiply that by .6 to get the amount of DME. (4.8lbs) which parts of the other grains involved could be substituted with DME/LME or should they all go in a specialty grain bag? Are rice hulls necessary if I'm using extract or are they just to aid in lautering?

cheers!

 

[KingBrianI]

Could anyone give some guidance on translating this recipe to extract? (i know, i know, but my apartment and budget at the moment make AG an impossibility.) My quick googling says that I should take your 8lbs of golden promise 2 row and multiply that by .6 to get the amount of DME. (4.8lbs) which parts of the other grains involved could be substituted with DME/LME or should they all go in a specialty grain bag? Are rice hulls necessary if I'm using extract or are they just to aid in lautering?

cheers!

Unfortunately, this beer isn't that easy to convert to an extract and steep recipe. The toasted malt, wheat malt, and pumpkin all require mashing. You could probably get pretty close to this recipe by substituting DME for the 2-row like you mentioned, and steeping the toasted malt, wheat malt and crystal malt. You probably wouldn't get much conversion, but maybe a little from the toasted malt and wheat malt if you held it around 155 for 30 minutes. Then just add the pumpkin to the boil. You'll have a bunch more trub that way, and the flavor may be slightly different, but you'll get the pumpkin in the beer and it should be close to the original recipe.

 

[Wildebeest]

When you calculated your mash and sparge volumes, how did you account for the pumpkin? I use http://www.brew365.com/mash_sparge_water_calculator.php to calculate my volumes and I'm not sure what to do about the pumpkin.
It seems like a good recipe and has received rave reviews, so I plan on giving it a go this weekend. Thanks in advance!...oh and, I apologize if this question has already been asked, I'm just too lazy to scroll through the posts

 

[garrad21]

When you calculated your mash and sparge volumes, how did you account for the pumpkin? I use http://www.brew365.com/mash_sparge_water_calculator.php to calculate my volumes and I'm not sure what to do about the pumpkin.
It seems like a good recipe and has received rave reviews, so I plan on giving it a go this weekend. Thanks in advance!...oh and, I apologize if this question has already been asked, I'm just too lazy to scroll through the posts

Good luck finding canned pumpkin! I was planning on brewing this one this weekend as well, but there is a huge canned pumpkin shortage and no stores down here have any in stock. Hell, I even considered ordering some on ebay, seeing as thought it's the only place that seems to have any!

 

[KingBrianI]

When you calculated your mash and sparge volumes, how did you account for the pumpkin? I use http://www.brew365.com/mash_sparge_water_calculator.php to calculate my volumes and I'm not sure what to do about the pumpkin.
It seems like a good recipe and has received rave reviews, so I plan on giving it a go this weekend. Thanks in advance!...oh and, I apologize if this question has already been asked, I'm just too lazy to scroll through the posts

I figure since the pumpkin has both liquid and solids in it, and probably in a pretty similar ratio to the mash, it can be essentially ignored. I don't have any problems when doing it this way.

 

[JLem]

well, I brewed my pumpkin ale this evening. In the end it worked out ok, but it was a frustrating journey. I missed my mash temp as well as my OG so had to use some DME to make up the difference. Guess I'll just have to wait to find out how it ends.

BTW I don't necessarily recommend combining the following set of firsts:
1) first AG attempt
2) first pumpkin ale attempt
3) first time using a new MLT
4) first time trying a no-sparge technique

I thought I had it all figured out. You should see my spreadsheet with all the my pretty little numbers. Not a single thing worked like I planned. The pumpkin ale just laughed at my spreadsheet all night long.

 

[Ragutis]

I brewed this recipe last weekend also but couldn't find any pumpkin so I used sweet potatoes. I substituted straight across lb for lb for the pumpkin and ran it through the same roasting regimen.
I added 2 lbs of rice hulls to avoid a stuck sparge and had no problem doing a 75 minute fly sparge.
The wort tasted great. I used Target hops to bitter and Burton yeast. OG was 1.062 on my 12 gallon batch.
I'll let you know how it turns out when I tap it on Samhain.

 

[JLem]

well, I brewed my pumpkin ale this evening. In the end it worked out ok, but it was a frustrating journey. I missed my mash temp as well as my OG so had to use some DME to make up the difference. Guess I'll just have to wait to find out how it ends.

BTW I don't necessarily recommend combining the following set of firsts:
1) first AG attempt
2) first pumpkin ale attempt
3) first time using a new MLT
4) first time trying a no-sparge technique

I thought I had it all figured out. You should see my spreadsheet with all the my pretty little numbers. Not a single thing worked like I planned. The pumpkin ale just laughed at my spreadsheet all night long.

And to top things off, it's been 60ish hours and no sign of fermentation - I checked the gravity and it's still sitting there at 1.052. What are the chances that my first really frustrating brew session if followed by my first fermentation problem? It must be a coincidence, right?

 

[sco999]

I am getting ready to brew a 10.5 gallon batch of this this weekend. Should I double the amount of pumpkin, spices, and molasses?

Thanks

 

[KingBrianI]

I am getting ready to brew a 10.5 gallon batch of this this weekend. Should I double the amount of pumpkin, spices, and molasses?

Thanks

Yep!