Spicy Pumpkin Ale

[Steinhaus]

From BeerCalculus

77% 10 0 Amber Liquid Extract 36 0
15% 2 0 Crystal 40L 34 40
8% 1 0 Biscuit Malt 36 23
Batch size: 5.0 gallons
Original Gravity
1.088
(1.078 to 1.091)
Final Gravity
1.023
(1.020 to 1.025)
Color
12° SRM / 23° EBC
(Copper to Red/Lt. Brown)
Mash Efficiency
75%
hops
USE TIME OZ VARIETY FORM AA
boil 45 mins 0.25 Cascade pellet 5.5
boil 45 mins 0.25 Centennial pellet 10.0
boil 15 mins 0.25 Cascade pellet 5.5
boil 5 mins 0.25 Centennial pellet 10.0
Boil: 5.0 avg gallons for 60 minutes
Bitterness
12.9 IBU / 4 HBU
ƒ: Tinseth
BU:GU
0.15
yeast
White Labs Hefeweizen Ale (WLP300)
ale yeast in liquid form with low flocculation
Alcohol
8.7% ABV / 7% ABW
Calories
291 per 12 oz.
misc
USE TIME AMOUNT INGREDIENT
mash 30 min 2 pounds Pumpkin
boil 45 min 1 ounces Cardamom, Whole Green
boil 30 min 2 ounces Cinnamon Stick info
boil 45 min 0.5 ounces Cloves
boil 30 min 1 ounces Grains of Paradise
boil 30 min 1 ounces Pink Peppercorns
boil 45 min 1 ounces Nutmeg
boil 30 min 0.5 ounces Anise, Whole Stars
secondary 7 days 0.25 ounces Gelatin


I plan on brewing this in a day or two after I get the starter going. This is intended to be more of a savory pumpkin ale versus the sweet, pumpkin pie style.

Thoughts?

 

[Oldsock]

You have nearly 1/2 pound of spices, I'd say that is more than you probably want. I tend to stay under an ounce total, especially with really assertive spices like clove/nutmeg in the mix. I've also had the best luck adding spices either close to the end of the boil or even better after the end of primary fermentation.

Hope that helps, good luck brewing.

 

[Steinhaus]

Thanks for the reply.

In actuality, I think I ended up with maybe around 4 ounces of spices? For some reason I imagined some of the spices being heavier in weight than they actually were.

The finished wort had kind of musty earthiness and maybe a bit too much bitterness that should be toned down once the yeast get going. I may throw in another cinnamon stick, some grains of paradise, pink peppercorns, cardamom pods, and maybe a vanilla bean in the secondary. Also debating whether I should rack over pumpkin in the secondary.

The color came out beautifully though, a nice-pumpkin orange. I can tell this will be a bit hazy, but that's what the gelatin in the secondayr is for.