The Pumpkin is better than I expected

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Desert_Sky

Since 1998
Joined
Mar 8, 2006
Messages
4,250
Reaction score
207
Location
Boulder
Wow....all I can say is WOW

Its only been a month and a week since I brewed it. It may even get better. Spices have mellowed into a perfect seasonal desert beer. The pumpkin is there, but could be a tad more pronounced, a bit more cinnamon, and touch less nutmeg. Definitely some more biscuit and wheat. Dont get me wrong, Im not complaining, but we can make this perfection.

And for those who thought the pumpkin makes a beer cloudy.....well I'll let the picture speak for itself. I got a nice shot of the neighbors tree through the glass.

Ok, guys, as soon as you all are done with yours, lets colaborate and make a killer recipe. I figure we can brew the beginning of October for a good Thanksgiving beer.

Enjoy


3394-Pumpkin002.jpg
 
congrats, i hope my pumpkin ale comes out half as nice as that looks...

btw, my pumpkin ale taste after boiling/chilling needed a little more pumpkin in my opinion also. when i taste it at racking time, i might add another can of pumpkin to my secondary.
 
BrewProject said:
c i might add another can of pumpkin to my secondary.

Are you going to caramalize the pumpkin before you add it? I guess that would act as sanitizing as well if you do decide to do it.
 
Chimone said:
Are you going to caramalize the pumpkin before you add it? I guess that would act as sanitizing as well if you do decide to do it.

is that necessary? what are the advantages of carmalizing, other than sanitation?

i thought since it was nothing but natural pumpkin i could just add it, but tell me if i am wrong...

i got the same advice from Exo in another thread. i guess i should carmalize...

again, congrats on your Pumpkin Ale
 
BrewProject said:
is that necessary? what are the advantages of carmalizing, other than sanitation?


well I guess carmalizing allows for for of hte pumpkins sugars to be converted. And since I typed before I thought, I guess it wouldn't matter unless you put it in the mash. Im not sure, maybe someone who knows will chime in.

and thanks :mug:
 
I don't think sanitastion is an issue. since the stuff is well beyond boiling when it gets canned.
 
I'm glad to see good reviews of a pumpkin ale come in. Can you link to the thread that shows the recipe you used, if there is one? I'm going to pick up ingredients at my LHBS soon. He's got a pumpkin ale recipe he gives out, but I have NO idea what it tastes like. If you've got an extract recipe to try, I'd like to see it.
 
G. Cretin said:
I don't think sanitastion is an issue. since the stuff is well beyond boiling when it gets canned.

what about carmelization, will that help in adding fermentables?

i'm all for making this pumpkin ale a little on the heavy side... :mug:

not trying to highjack your thread Chimone, sorry
 
NoBull6 said:
I'm glad to see good reviews of a pumpkin ale come in. Can you link to the thread that shows the recipe you used, if there is one? I'm going to pick up ingredients at my LHBS soon. He's got a pumpkin ale recipe he gives out, but I have NO idea what it tastes like. If you've got an extract recipe to try, I'd like to see it.


No, no extract recipe. But you could just substitute DME for the 2 row. I think its 1.5 lbs of 2 row to 1 lb of DME.

This was going to be something else, so we pooled what we had together at the night before. then headed over to the grocery store for the pumpkin and spices. I think Ill wait until I hear how everyone elses turns out before I put together the Pumpkin v1.2



Grain/Extract/Sugar

% Amount Name Origin Potential SRM
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
74.4 8.00 lbs. Pale Malt(2-row) America 1.036 2
9.3 1.00 lbs. Crystal 10L America 1.035 10
9.3 1.00 lbs. Muntons LME - Wheat England 1.037 3
4.7 0.50 lbs. Cara-Pils Dextrine Malt 1.033 2
2.3 0.25 lbs. Biscuit Malt Belgium 1.035 24

Hops

Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
0.50 oz. Cascade Whole 5.75 11.5 60 min.
0.50 oz. Saazer Whole 4.30 7.7 45 min.
0.50 oz. Cascade Whole 5.75 3.1 15 min.


Yeast
-----

White Labs WLP008 East Coast/Alt Ale

then added one large can of 100% pumpkin in the mash, and one in the boil.


2 TBLSP Nutmeg

3 TBLSP Allspice

3 Sticks of Cinnamon
 
Chimone said:
Ok, guys, as soon as you all are done with yours, lets colaborate and make a killer recipe. I figure we can brew the beginning of October for a good Thanksgiving beer.

Enjoy
That is looking good!
I agree on the collaboration and we have some different perspectives as far as mashing/boiling/adding to the fermenter. We should be able to answer some questions once and for all and build a killer recipe.
 
Chimone - Based on your good feelings about your recipe, I decided to use yours for my Pumpkin Ale. In your original post, you suggested more biscuit, wheat, and cinnamon, but less nutmeg. Are there any more changes?

Here's what I'm doing:
5.0 lbs Light DME
1.0 lbs Wheat DME

1.0 lbs Crystal 10L
0.5 lbs Dextrin
0.25 lbs Biscuit

0.5 oz Cascade
0.5 oz Saaz
0.5 oz Cascade

WLP008 Yeast

2 cans of caramelized pumpkin in the boil, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice


What would you want to change if you were doing this again? Since I only have one brew under my belt, I don't know whether I'd want to add more grains to steep or more malt. Looking for feedback on the extract version of your own recipe :D
 
ok, going off memory here, Im at work atm

but heres my new one so far

8- 2row
1.5 lbs wheat malt
1.0 crystal 10
.5 carapils
.5 biscuit

And after drinking a few, the nutmeg is starting to taste really good. Im sending one to RichBrewer after work so hopefully he will be able to comment soon. Actually to be honest, I would really like another opinion before I start to change up. Ive given 6 out to friends around town and they have given it great reviews, however most are BMC drinkers. So Im not sure if thats a good thing or not. :p


you have time before thanksgiving, so I would hold off just a bit until other people start giving reviews of their recipes as well.
 
Chimone said:
you have time before thanksgiving, so I would hold off just a bit until other people start giving reviews of their recipes as well.
I'm too anxious for that!

I'm ready for my second brew, and the pumpkin ale was going to fit the bill so nicely. Since I probably won't have time to brew until this weekend, I'll hold off on starting until then. That gives me three days to come up with a replacement recipe. Time to get back to scouring the forums...

I'll let you guys know if I decided to do something else or broke down and just went with the pumpkin.
 
Back
Top