Smoked pumpkin brown ale

[Sacred Knot Brewing]

I’m planning on brewing up a smoked pumpkin brown ale later this fall and had a random thought; I originally was going to buy fresh pie pumpkin and smoke it myself, but it seems like a lot of work. Would using canned pumpkin with a bit of smoked malt in the grain bill yield a similar result?

 

[Dancy]

I don't have an answer for you but I hope you post the recipe once you know what you're going to do. Thanks.

 

[Maxkling]

What level of smoke are you looking for? Pumpkin beers IMO are very delicate and hard to balance, adding a smokey flavor seems like it would take a lot of trial and error until you find a good balance. I would use smoked malts that way you have absolute control of the smoke intensity.

 

[Sacred Knot Brewing]

What level of smoke are you looking for? Pumpkin beers IMO are very delicate and hard to balance, adding a smokey flavor seems like it would take a lot of trial and error until you find a good balance. I would use smoked malts that way you have absolute control of the smoke intensity.

I had a smoked pumpkin brown at a brewery near me a few years back. I remember it being a subtle smokeyness, not the dominant flavor. I think I’m going to use smoked malt.

 

[Maxkling]

I had a smoked pumpkin brown at a brewery near me a few years back. I remember it being a subtle smokeyness, not the dominant flavor. I think I’m going to use smoked malt.

I love rauchbier, but a single pour at a time. It’s gets subdues my pallet quick. With that being said most rauchbier are at a medium to high smoke level. I would look for a recipes of rauchbier and review the tasing notes and compare the malt % and adjust accordingly. Maybe do some small batches to experiment (easier said than done, I’d rather do a full batch and live with the results).

 

[Maxkling]

Googlefu found this.

https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2014/10/pumpkin-rauchbier-smoky-2-ingredient-beer-cocktail.html
Not exactly perfect but looks like an experimental start.

 

[Sacred Knot Brewing]

I don't have an answer for you but I hope you post the recipe once you know what you're going to do. Thanks.

I’ve decided to go with smoked malt. Seems like I’ll have more control over the smokey flavor - want just a subtle touch of smoke.

Recipe as it stands is for a one gallon batch given my set up but I may make this into a 5 gallon batch (a friend of mine might be giving me some free, larger equipment); just depends on timing. I modeled this after a north English brown ale, but I am using Munich LME as part of the base malts because I have a lot left over from my Oktoberfest I am trying to get rid of.

“Samhain Ale”
Smoked Pumpkin Brown Ale

Partial mash
1 gallon
OG: 1.045
FG: 1.011
ABV: 4.5%
Total fermentables: 2.2lb
IBU: 25
SRM: 19.50

Grain bill:
1 lb (45.5%) Maris Otter Pale
8 oz (22.7%) Munich LME
2 oz (5.7%) Brown Malt
2 oz (5.7%) Pale Chocolate
2 oz (5.7%) Flaked Oats
2 oz (5.7%) Smoked malt

Other ingredients:
4 oz canned pumpkin @ 15 minutes
1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice @ 5 minutes

Hops:
6g East Kent Golding @ 60 minutes
(Bittering only, don’t want to add any more unnecessary flavors considering this is already a complex beer)

Yeast:
Safale US-04 English Ale - 3g rehydrated

Procedure:
Mash above grains at 152 x 60 min in 2 qts of water. Vorlauf until clearing and add first wort to boil kettle which should be heated to mash out temp. Sparge with 2 qt of 170 degrees water and let rest for 10 min, collect second wort and add to boil kettle. Bring to boil, whisk in LME and add hops as above. At 15 min stir in pumpkin, then at 5 min stir in spices. Chill to 70 degrees and pitch yeast. Ferment at 65 degrees for 2-3 weeks. Rack to keg and force carb.

Thoughts?

 

[bracconiere]

i just have to say smoked pumpkin brown ale sounds awesome! but i'd probably smoke the pumpkin kinda like a cereal mash to gel it's starch......


edit: judging from your partial mash, maybe mix the pumkin with the 1lb pale malt, to convert it....if it's canned it would already be gel'd....? just a thought....

 

[Maxkling]

I agree you could definitely get a few points out of the pumpkin.

 

[Sacred Knot Brewing]

i just have to say smoked pumpkin brown ale sounds awesome! but i'd probably smoke the pumpkin kinda like a cereal mash to gel it's starch......


edit: judging from your partial mash, maybe mix the pumkin with the 1lb pale malt, to convert it....if it's canned it would already be gel'd....? just a thought....

When I was doing some research I remember reading people do both in the mash and the boil so I was a bit conflicted. Although I guess it would make sense to mash some as well to get some points out of it like suggested above. Maybe mash half and boil half?

 

[bracconiere]

according to the USDA nutrient db.... 4oz of pumkin only has 7.8g's of carbs, so a mash probably wouldn't help a lot.....but that would be like the equivelent of 1/4oz of DME.....

 

[Maxkling]

When I was doing some research I remember reading people do both in the mash and the boil so I was a bit conflicted. Although I guess it would make sense to mash some as well to get some points out of it like suggested above. Maybe mash half and boil half?

When I do my pumpkin ale I always mash, it makes for a slow sparge and I have to remember to double up on rice hulls. I don’t think it ever really added much for gravity points, maybe just a handful, but I just felt that’s how it should be done.

 

[bracconiere]

but I just felt that’s how it should be done.

that's where i'm at...it is a starchy vegetable......

 

[Sacred Knot Brewing]

When I do my pumpkin ale I always mash, it makes for a slow sparge and I have to remember to double up on rice hulls. I don’t think it ever really added much for gravity points, maybe just a handful, but I just felt that’s how it should be done.

Seems to be the consensus so mash it is!

 

[mashpaddled]

I'm not sure 5% smoked malt is going to come through as a smoke flavor. Sometimes low levels of smoked malt come through more as a phenolic muddiness. A lot of that can depend on the freshness of the smoked malt. You could start with the recipe you have but if after fermentation you aren't getting enough smoke you could steep more smoked malt in a small amount of water, boil the steeping liquid and add it to the beer.

 

[Sacred Knot Brewing]

I'm not sure 5% smoked malt is going to come through as a smoke flavor. Sometimes low levels of smoked malt come through more as a phenolic muddiness. A lot of that can depend on the freshness of the smoked malt. You could start with the recipe you have but if after fermentation you aren't getting enough smoke you could steep more smoked malt in a small amount of water, boil the steeping liquid and add it to the beer.

So my initial recipe was something like 10% smoked malt but I reduced for fear of it becoming overpowering as I’ve never worked with it before. Do you think that would be enough?