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

BrewSwag 728
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.
The bubbling as slowed tremendously and I plan on transferring to secondary and adding my spice tea next Tuesday after 10 days although I might wait till Saturday and make it a full 2 week primary. I kind of want to take my time with this brew so it'll be on tap for my Christmas party, but I could also keg it and have another ready by then too.
 
HootHootHoot said:
Is anyone using the AG approach getting a stuck sparge? I've read this can be a problem mashing pumpkin...
Click to expand...

I have brewed this 4 times AG style, and have never had a stuck sparge. SLOW sparge? heck yes - plan for at least an hour to drain your mash, then another 30-45 min to drain the sparge.

Well worth it - haven't tried the non all grain version, but the AG version provides plenty of pumpkin flavor and is one of my favorites.
 
Yuri_Rage said:
I'm partial to a clean fermenting strain that will leave a bit of residual maltiness - WLP002 is a great strain for that, but 1056/US-56 or 1098 will do just fine if you can't get WLP002.
Click to expand...

I guess this was dumb on my part but LHBSS was out of the recommended yeast in this thread. So I started reading packages and decided to go with Wyeast 1332 Northwest Ale. After reading a lot of reviews on 1332, it sounds like its some bad stuff, and turns out decent for beers with high levels of hops. Just wondering anyone use 1332 in this brew, or a similar brew?

Chris
 
clydo said:
Did you just pour lyour entire boil in or did you try to filter through the pumpkin? I'm going to brew this up next weekend and I'm thinking I'm going to just dump it all in.

Also thinking of adding 1/4 cup or so of Molasses spread over the pumpkin bake? Has anyone tried something similar with success?
Click to expand...

I'm planning on spreading a layer of brown sugar over the spread pumpkin during the bake fwiw...
 
I brewed this AG today. I added some pure maple syrup to the pumpkin bake, a little more than 1/4 cup drizzle over the top. I also used a different type of ale yeast, just for preference. And I added some rice hulls for the mash.

I did get a stuck sparge when I was about half way done, even with the rice hulls. I ended up pouring the wort back in and sparging again after a good mix. I found that if I mixed just the top of the grain bed periodically during my sparge, it went much better (not sure if this is standard practice). And yes, I went very slow with my sparge.

I did a 90 minute boil. This only added about 1 IBUs which you can't detect in taste

My OG was at 1.051, which seems about as close as I could with the issues I had sparging. I figure .001 won't be much of a difference in the end.

Initially I was not counting on doing a secondary, but I think this might be better for the beer with the amount of trub that will form. Also, I forgot to add a whirfloc tablet, so I may want to try a secondary.

I will also post some updates to this as it goes along. But overall for my first pumpkin, or any additive to the mash for that matter, I think it went pretty well.

Brewing a lager tomorrow. Will be a fun couple of weeks watching these two go!
 
Just racked this over. Added my spice tea. I tasted it before the spice tea addition and thought the body was great and while you didn't taste the pumpkin per se, you can tell what it was. After the spice tea, (1 and a half teaspoons of pampered chef cinnamon plus) it wasn't over spiced. I thought it was very mildly spiced. I kind of hope it comes out more as it ages.

Here is a picture of the final trub settled in a 6.5 gallon carboy.


image-194088469.jpg

And here is a picture of the actual beer racked into a 5 gallon carboy.



image-3589415687.jpg
 
Is it necessary to rack to a secondary? Couldn't you leave it like most ale brewers typically do?

Just wondering... My secondary is lagering. I could rack over to a 6 gallon carboy though
 
HootHootHoot said:
Is it necessary to rack to a secondary? Couldn't you leave it like most ale brewers typically do?

Just wondering... My secondary is lagering. I could rack over to a 6 gallon carboy though
Click to expand...

I guess you could leave it. But I believe the racking was to get it off of the large trub left by the pumpkin.
 
HootHootHoot said:
Did you guys use a starter? Mynstarter jug already has lager yeast going for a Munich helles I'm doing Friday, with pumpkin ale on Saturday. I've never had a problem pitching my yeast into ales without a starter. I don't want to do this incorrectly though

Thanks
Click to expand...

I didn't use a starter and had the quickest, liveliest fermentation I've ever had.
 
moscoeb said:
I guess you could leave it. But I believe the racking was to get it off of the large trub left by the pumpkin.
Click to expand...

Good point. Maybe I'll rack it into the 6 gallon. It's 3 gal anyways so it'll have dead space in the carboy.

I've always had some kind of fermentation continue (very slow action in the air lock) after racking so maybe that'll eventually be co2 more than oxygen
 
oh yeah, it's that time again, can't wait to brew this again i found i liked it best after being in the cellar for 3 months
 
This is just canned pumpkin you are using, right?

Will be attempting my first pumpkin ale this fll. Want it to be great!
 
I just want to say the pumpkin makes the 5 gallon grain bill so very heavy. I lost about a gallon of the wort.
 
scottvin said:
I just want to say the pumpkin makes the 5 gallon grain bill so very heavy. I lost about a gallon of the wort.
Click to expand...

Yuri said that too. That's why he recommended 6.5 gal to get 5gal into the secondary.
I'm getting ready to rack mine into secondary, I can't wait to try this!!
 
moscoeb said:
Yuri said that too. That's why he recommended 6.5 gal to get 5gal into the secondary.
I'm getting ready to rack mine into secondary, I can't wait to try this!!
Click to expand...

I meant I lost it on the floor. :). Spilled everywhere
 
Brewed the extract recipe last night and it smelled DELICIOUS during the boil!!! Spread pumpkin pie seasoning over the pumpkin for the first 15 minutes of the bake and spread brown sugar over the pumpkin for the last 5 minutes of the bake.

My OG was a little high at 1.059. I'm guessing it's because of the brown sugar added to the pumpkin during the bake?

Can't wait to drink this beer!!!
 
Looks like this is tried and true. Plan on brewing the extract version this weekend. Just a question on the pumpkin. It says to add for the boil, did anyone have an issue with the pumpkin getting stuck on the bottom of the kettle and burning? I know whole pumpkins float, but I am not sure about purée.
 
brices121 said:
Looks like this is tried and true. Plan on brewing the extract version this weekend. Just a question on the pumpkin. It says to add for the boil, did anyone have an issue with the pumpkin getting stuck on the bottom of the kettle and burning? I know whole pumpkins float, but I am not sure about purée.
Click to expand...

Don't you stir your boils?
 
HootHootHoot said:
Good point. Maybe I'll rack it into the 6 gallon. It's 3 gal anyways so it'll have dead space in the carboy.

I've always had some kind of fermentation continue (very slow action in the air lock) after racking so maybe that'll eventually be co2 more than oxygen
Click to expand...

Boil off some sugar and water for 15 minutes (barely any really) and add this to secondary for a little CO2 head from the fermentation it will create. I do this with my meads and my Oaked beers I plan on aging for a while in secondary to prevent oxidation.
 
Racked over to secondary, added 1.5 tsp of spice. Only had about 4.5 gal, but started with just over 6 in my 6 gal carboy. Still tastes good, I have high expectations still!
 
moscoeb said:
Racked over to secondary, added 1.5 tsp of spice. Only had about 4.5 gal, but started with just over 6 in my 6 gal carboy. Still tastes good, I have high expectations still!
Click to expand...

Did you taste it after adding the spice mix? Did you think it was spiced?
 
tuckferrorists said:
Did you taste it after adding the spice mix? Did you think it was spiced?
Click to expand...

Ya, I took my hydro and taste sample after the spice adding.
I smelled/tasted the biscuit malt as I was bringing the glass up, tasted the spice initially, and finished with a touch of pumpkin. Very good, it was strong, but I had just added it a minute before! I assume it will lessen slightly as it ages. I'm happy with it so far.
 
moscoeb said:
Ya, I took my hydro and taste sample after the spice adding.
I smelled/tasted the biscuit malt as I was bringing the glass up, tasted the spice initially, and finished with a touch of pumpkin. Very good, it was strong, but I had just added it a minute before! I assume it will lessen slightly as it ages. I'm happy with it so far.
Click to expand...

I was actually a little disappointed by the lack of spice from my hydro sample right after adding. Hopefully it will come through more. Or I can always add more since I'll be legging.
 
tuckferrorists said:
I was actually a little disappointed by the lack of spice from my hydro sample right after adding. Hopefully it will come through more. Or I can always add more since I'll be legging.
Click to expand...

How much did you use? I did 1.5-1 3/4 tsp. just kinda threw it in there. I had read from someone else that the 1tsp wasn't quite enough and they added more. I like the spice flavors so I figured it couldn't hurt to add extra.
 
My LHBS doesnt seem to carry Biscuit Malt, what other roasted malt could I sub in instead? just standard Chocolate?
 
So what seems to be the general consensus on what the best spice(brand & name) besides the Pampered Chef stuff?

There is no real place to purchase it here in Portland Oregon area as far as i can tell, and i dont want to pay $6.75 to ship a $6 2.5oz container of spice.
 
FuzzeWuzze said:
So what seems to be the general consensus on what the best spice(brand & name) besides the Pampered Chef stuff?

There is no real place to purchase it here in Portland Oregon area as far as i can tell, and i dont want to pay $6.75 to ship a $6 2.5oz container of spice.
Click to expand...

I just went to meijer (regular grocery store) and picked up regular pumpkin pie spice in the spice aisle.
 
moscoeb said:
How much did you use? I did 1.5-1 3/4 tsp. just kinda threw it in there. I had read from someone else that the 1tsp wasn't quite enough and they added more. I like the spice flavors so I figured it couldn't hurt to add extra.
Click to expand...

I did 1.5 tsp. of pampered chef.
 

Similar threads

zinn
How does my creamy pumpkin ale recipe look?
Replies
4
Views
1K
Leezer
Leezer
Zippy123
Feedback on recipe to split mash for two different beers
Replies
2
Views
442
Zippy123
Zippy123
S
Autumn Wheat Ale
Replies
5
Views
1K
kwilson16
kwilson16
P
Steep to convert - Steeping grains
Replies
5
Views
370
hottpeper13
H
H
Citrusy Pale Ale to clean out the freezer
Replies
7
Views
794
lumpher
lumpher
Brewer's Friend 300

Latest posts

Back
Top