Autumn Seasonal Beer Thunderstruck Pumpkin Ale (AG and Extract versions)

[HickoryMike]

I brewed 11 gallons on 9/5 with an OG of 1.053. It didn't start fermenting until 3 days later, and is at about 1.018 right now. Is anyone else getting an abnormally slow fermentation, too? There are a couple other factors (immature stater and little headspace in the carboy) that might have also contributed to the slow progress, but i wanted to see if anyone else is experiencing the same thing.

I split a 11g batch w/ a friend. My buddy put s04 on his and it took off overnight and moved along smoothly. I used Wyeast London Ale III and it took a couple days before it really took off, and then I needed a blow off tube.

 

[GillandCo]

Do you add the Ginger root as it comes to the BK...?

 

[snevey]

I brewed this yesterday and I put my pumpkin goop in a LARGE grain bag. The grain bag appeared to have contained the pumpkin goo very well. I used real pumpkin that we boiled down, and not canned pumpkin. I also used a full pound of rice hulls and I did not have to drain slowly at all. No stuck sparges or anything.

 

[GillandCo]

Not sure if anyone has answered this in the forum I want to use Ground Ginger instead of ginger root and know it can be done...anyone have a conversion for .55oz of root ginger...to ground ginger? I got all the spices and pumpkin for free...Just need hops, Yeast, and some crystal! ( I will be making a 11 gallon batch) this coming tuesday...Thanks

Also why is the mash in temp. so high does it have to do with breaking down the pumpkin...158? ughhh

 

[OldFatherHubbard]

Well?? did you try fermenting in a pumpkin? Sounds interesting? Did it turn out?




Maybe for batch #2 I should try the fermenting in a pumpkin…………

Thanks again for the recipe and the help!

Ryan[/QUOTE]

 

[GillandCo]

heres my recipe as follows..Measuring this will be no Fun!

Brewhouse efficiency 70.00%
Batch Size: 11Gallons

2.00 - Rice hulls
19.75 - pale Malt (2 Row)
0.88 - wheat, flaked
1.79 - biscuit Malt
1.75 - crystal 120
0.50 - Cara-Pils

1.65 Goldings, East Kent - (60mins)
1tsp Irish Moss (15 mins)
1tsp Cloves - (5min)
1tsp Ginger, ground - (5min)
1tsp Nutmeg - (5 mins)
2tsp Allspice - ( 5 mins)
2tsp Cinnamon, Ground - (5mins)
131oz pumpkin caned - 5mins

1pkgs S-04 for 5.5 gallon batch (splitting them)

All my readings match

I added some cara-Pils to make up for the (body loss) due to the crystal 120,
but all my readings are the same...

Still debating weather to go with the boil spicing or add it to secondary~Also adding a little to the BK as i see some of you have...

Any recomendations?

 

[fugazzi]

Just brewed a pumpkin pie spice beer with no pumpkin (couldn't find any). I scaled the 2nd recipe down to a 5g, and added the spices per instructions. I'll update when it's ready to drink.

 

[HickoryMike]

Just brewed a pumpkin pie spice beer with no pumpkin (couldn't find any). I scaled the 2nd recipe down to a 5g, and added the spices per instructions. I'll update when it's ready to drink.

I had to order my pumpkin from Amazon!

 

[GillandCo]

I will be adding my pumpkin to secondary as I want up front pumpkin flavor!

 

[frogman]

I'm in my fourth hour of sparging with no end in sight. There has to be a better way, I just have to find it. Damn that pumpkin goop.

 

[dmbnpj]

Still debating weather to go with the boil spicing or add it to secondary~Also adding a little to the BK as i see some of you have...Any recomendations?

Add the spices to the secondary

 

[GillandCo]

I talked to the guys from my LHBS about this and they said if you want subtle to no pumpkin flavor add it at flame out (5 minutes) so im assuming if you added this in the mash you would burn off all the flavors and such in the BK....I'll let you know how my run goes I am freezing the Libbys Pumpkin and cutting it into pieces then adding them to secondary...This is how I've done other fruit beers that have turned out great! I am still using the "suggested" amount of Pumpkin just at a different time!

It's all about trial and error. We are pitching one 5.5 gallon batch with Burton Ale Yeast WLP023 and an English Ale Strand WlP002...should be interesting to compare

I brewed a Honey Blonde with Wildflower Honey at flameout 2 pounds to be exact...and the flavor was subtle you could barely tell it was present...This pumpkin im hoping will be up front NASTY!

 

[foobert]

Oddly enough, both the S-04 and S-05 finished out at a 1.020 gravity. A bit higher than I had expected (especially for the 05), but, not too far off Yuri's estimation. The S-05 version tastes a bit drier, but, the S-04 tastes better coming out of secondary. We'll see how they settle out after a week in the keg.

Well, I ended up dumping half of my 10-gallon batch over the S-05 yeast cake, and pitched S-04 over the other half. Will report back on the differences.

For my 10G batch, I mostly followed a 2/3rds scaling of the AG version Yuri has at the beginning of this thread, with the following major differences:

• I used 1+ pound of rice hulls since I didn't want to futz with a stuck sparge.
• Three sugar-pie pumpkins fresh off the vines of my garden. Sugar pies are commonly used for pie baking. They are smaller than jack-o-lantern and are fairly easy to work with.
• Pumpkins were halved and scooped of seeds/guts, then baked (face up) in a 350˙F convection oven for 1 hour.
• Once cooled, they were de-skinned and smooshed thoroughly. I then heated them to 158˙F (mash temp), mixed in with rice hulls, and then put into the mash together with the grain bill.
• Next time, I will probably go after it with the stick blender to break it up a bit more. I had ZERO problems sparging -- it fly-sparged just like normal...
• 15 pounds of whole pumpkins yielded about exactly what I wanted: 8+ pounds of cooked/peeled flesh

 

[bh10]

Made this and while it taste great out of the hydrometer tube, I just racked it and its horrible, Im hoping its just still real green (but Ive never had green beer taste like this). But I the spices during the boil, and it doesnt even smell like the spices, it smells and taste like almost diluted rubbing alochol, so Im lost. I scale mine back a tad and had the OG at 1.050 and the FG was 1.015. I dunno, Ill give it a while, but Im going to try and brew another batch and hopefully this one turns out go.

 

[mojotele]

What does that do for the brew?

It stops all enzymatic activity in the mash and can help prevent a stuck sparge. More information.

 

[Randar]

I'm in my fourth hour of sparging with no end in sight. There has to be a better way, I just have to find it. Damn that pumpkin goop.

I did 13.5 gallon batch and didn't have any issue with a stuck sparge. It took about 2 hours, though. It was steady. I used 1.5 lbs of rice hulls in the mash.

 

[Squid]

Anyone use US-05 yeast for this?

I used US-05 and it was great as usual. Attenuated down to 1.020 after about 5 days. A little high perhaps, but there's a lot of extra pumpkin goop in this beer.

 

[OldFatherHubbard]

Costco has been selling Libby's pumpkin. It comes in 3 cans of 29oz.

Good luck to all you brewers!!!

 

[GoNova]

Costco has been selling Libby's pumpkin. It comes in 3 cans of 29oz.

Good luck to all you brewers!!!

Whole Foods has it as well.

 

[Squid]

1. Easy with the ginger! I added all the spices individually instead of using Cinnamon Plus or somesuch. 1/2 tsp of ginger at 5 min completely dominated the flavor when I sampled after 5 days. I let it sit in primary for 3 weeks, which did tame it some, but I still used some cinnamon/nutmeg "spice tea" for secondary to hopefully balance it out.

2. Rice hulls are your friend. 1.5 pounds for my 6-gallon batch and my sparge was normal. My MLT has a PVC manifold tho.

3. I used 20L Crystal instead of 60L. After 3 weeks the color is a beautiful pumpkiney orange.

 

[GillandCo]

Just finished brewing 11 gallons of this and 5.5 of my amber...Dual days are rough! I also used a grain bag to try to contain my pumpkin in the mash but my luck was slim...under half remained after my 3 sparges! I really need to get my false bottom in the mail. Anyways I also added pumpkin in the boil and the color is outstanding! I will be waiting tell secondary to add the spices and let it clear for a while...split 11g's into 2 5.5 gallon batches and pitched with 2 different yeast...I cant wait to try the Burton out. I'll post pics when I get some energy.

 

[snevey]

Just finished brewing 11 gallons of this and 5.5 of my amber...Dual days are rough! I also used a grain bag to try to contain my pumpkin in the mash but my luck was slim...under half remained after my 3 sparges! I really need to get my false bottom in the mail. Anyways I also added pumpkin in the boil and the color is outstanding! I will be waiting tell secondary to add the spices and let it clear for a while...split 11g's into 2 5.5 gallon batches and pitched with 2 different yeast...I cant wait to try the Burton out. I'll post pics when I get some energy.

Did you use canned pumpkin or fresh? I used cooked fresh pumpkin that was pureed in a food processor. I threw this in a grain bag, and honestly I don't think I lost much at all through that grain bag!

 

[elproducto]

I apologize, can someone walk me through the logistics of a full boil extract batch?

Assuming on a turkey fryer, how much water to start with for a 5 gallon batch?

Do I steep the grains in the full amount of water?

Thanks, and sorry if this has been covered.

 

[OldFatherHubbard]

Am I correct in that the Brew-Master Yuri has continued to update his recipe on post #1 and 2 or is there are new version in one of the hundreds of posts?

 

[GillandCo]

Did you use canned pumpkin or fresh? I used cooked fresh pumpkin that was pureed in a food processor. I threw this in a grain bag, and honestly I don't think I lost much at all through that grain bag!

Yeah i used canned pumpkin and baked it first...Ohnestly It was contained during the dough in but after that the multiple sparges got the best of it...heck even my grain bag had some wear and tear! Pumpkin is one way to get that Vintage look out of your Cooler. I need to Bleach it after that!

 

[Yuri_Rage]

Am I correct in that the Brew-Master Yuri has continued to update his recipe on post #1 and 2 or is there are new version in one of the hundreds of posts?

I've tried to keep it up to date. Maybe read onto page 2 just to be sure.

I didn't brew it last year, so my posts are a bit dated. I do intend to brew it again this year.

 

[GillandCo]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f36/dual-brew-days-success-failure-197156/

Link to some pics of Yuri's Pumpkin Smash

 

[elproducto]

I'd REALLY love to have this thing ready for a Halloween party I'm going to on Oct 30. I can brew it this Sunday. Is 5 weeks enough, or will it just be too young?

Bottled BTW.

 

[snevey]

I'd REALLY love to have this thing ready for a Halloween party I'm going to on Oct 30. I can brew it this Sunday. Is 5 weeks enough, or will it just be too young?

Bottled BTW.

It won't be it's best, buy it could be ready. 1 week in the primary, 1 week in the secondary, 1.5 weeks to carbonate, and 1.5 weeks to cold condition in the bottle.

Do-able... If you have any left, it will be great by Thanksgiving!

 

[elproducto]

Ok, I'll try.

It's a small party, so I was only planning on taking 24. I'm doing a Graff Cider as well, so I can take 24 of that.

Rest for myself. Although to answer your question it won't be ready for CANADIAN thanksgiving