Swapping pumpkin puree for real pumpkin

[nyrmc23]

Pumpkin ale recipe calls for 1.5-2 lbs of sugar pumpkin. Unfortunately i cant find pumpkin anywhere in my area. I opted to buy some cans of pure organic puree. Should I still follow the 1.5-2 lbs or would you scale up or down? Its a 1 gallon recipe.

 

[ReaperOnefour]

I've never used pumpkin before. I'm not a huge fan of it, but 1.5 lbs sounds like a little to much for a one gallon batch. Depending on how much you like pumpkin. I would try maybe an ounce to start. I dont know if this is true or not, but for me puree's always seem to be a little stronger. I always like to start out small. If its not enough, then you know to add more next batch. Or you can try looking for some pumpkin extract. If an ounce is not enough then you can add some extract to the glass. Hope this helps brother.

 

[Leezer]

I make a 2.25G pumpkin ale and use 24oz of canned pumpkin (the kind without the spices added) . I do all grain biab method and add it to the mash. But prior to adding I spread it thin on a cookie sheet and bake for about an hour, until the edges start to brown. I do add spices later near the end of the boil.

 

[Elric]

Most fruit additions are between 1-2lbs per gallon, so depending on the can size I would add one can and see how it goes (assuming a 16-24oz can). I definitely would not start at 1 oz as suggested above, you would not get any noticeable flavour out of that small an addition of fruit.

 

[jcav]

I make a pumpkin beer every October for Thanksgiving as my family loves this beer and requests it every year. I actually just bought nine 1 pound 13 ounce cans of Libby's 100% pure pumpkin (all natural, no preservatives) for my 10 gallon batch next month. I get it on sale at Sam's Club every year. I spread it all out on a metal cookie sheet (16 pounds for my batch) and bake it in the oven until it gets a slight brownish tinge, turning it every so many minutes and it smells wonderful.

I put the pumpkin puree in large mesh bag and I put it in my mash tun after I am finished mashing the main grains, and then I sparge on top of it (I have a 3 vessel e-herms system). I then put the bag of pumpkin in the boil kettle and just before I hit my pre-boil volume in the kettle I lift out the bag and then let all the drippings go into the kettle. I also squeeze the bag with the pumpkin puree ( I know many say don't squeeze) and then boil away and continue the recipe. It makes a wonderful pumpkin beer and you can actually taste the pumpkin. Good luck on your brewing endeavors!

John

 

[nyrmc23]

Thanks for all the replies. I went with 10 oz for my one gallon. Ill report back!