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

[MMJfan]

This is my first time brewing this recipe as well so I have no past experience to go by...

 

[moscoeb]

Just bottled today, the OG sample tasted pretty good. Can't wait for 3 weeks to go by now!!

 

[crysaeon]

Brewing now... Second AG I have ever done. Heck its like the sixth batch total lol. Wish me luck! Scaled it down to 5 gal batch (well 5.5 to account for some trub loss from the pumpkin.) LHBS didn't have the yeast so I had to use Wyeast American Ale. Whole house smells like thanksgiving!

 

[MedicMang]

My pumpkin is in the oven.. smells great. Cant wait to get mashing.

 

[knox_brew]

Ok, so I've been reading just about all of this thread an am wanting to do the extract version but was only wanting to do a 2.5 gallon batch. Am I correct in just dividing the recipe in half? Can't wait to get this one going!

 

[moscoeb]

Ok, so I've been reading just about all of this thread an am wanting to do the extract version but was only wanting to do a 2.5 gallon batch. Am I correct in just dividing the recipe in half? Can't wait to get this one going!

Yup, although this is for a 6.5 gal primary to give you a 5 gal secondary. So you need to factor that in too. But yes, you have the right idea.

 

[knox_brew]

So 3.25 gallons when cutting it in half from 6.5 then. I need to get this one going if it's going to be ready by Halloween !

 

[Praesil]

From what I read about the difficulties and the benefits of adding pumpkin... what if I just add orange food coloring instead of pumpkin? Or would that screw things up?

 

[knox_brew]

Then it wouldn't be pumpkin beer but orange food coloring beer.

 

[ajohnson153]

I wonder how this would taste aged on some oak chips soaked in spiced rum. I might have to give this a shot later. This would be a good one to take to a halloween party.

 

[Praesil]

Then it wouldn't be pumpkin beer but orange food coloring beer.

From what I've been reading, the pumpkin will either make my sparge stick, or give me an ungodly amount of trub, and does nothing for the flavor.

It's all about the spices. I'd rather avoid the headache.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

Pumpkin seems to contribute to a smooth mouthfeel. It adds a bit of flavor, but it's very light. I recommend adding it in order to get the texture and flavor. I've only had one stuck sparge, and it was due to a crushed manifold. Add rice hulls.

 

[brehuh]

I'm not sure if this has been posted yet - i couldn't get my hands on the pampered chef cinnamon plus so i looked up how to make it.

http://www.food.com/recipe/baking-spice-copycat-pampered-chef-cinnamon-plus-mix-45672

Ingredients
6 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground allspice
1 tablespoon dried orange peel
2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
Directions
In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients.
Store in an air tight container.
Use this mix in recipes that call for the ingredients above.
I substitute this for all of my cinnamon needs.
If a recipe calls for the spices add up all of the measurments and just put in the same amount of this blend.
It tastes great used in cinnamon and sugar for toast and in cinnamon rolls.

I'm going to try it in the brew this week!

 

[brehuh]

Rofl i see it on the page right before this one.

 

[MMJfan]

Bottled my batch yesterday and all I can say it this sh!t is gooooooood! Now the hard part is waiting for it to condition in the bottles! With college football starting up this Saturday, I'm hopeful it will be somewhat carbed so I can enjoy a few during the Michigan-Alabama game!

 

[ajohnson153]

Bottled my batch yesterday and all I can say it this sh!t is gooooooood! Now the hard part is waiting for it to condition in the bottles! With college football starting up this Saturday, I'm hopeful it will be somewhat carbed so I can enjoy a few during the Michigan-Alabama game!

I've been a bit lazy about my brewing of late. I'm bottling a Belgian tomorrow but other than that I have 4 left of my last batch and nothing else going on. Oh well, I won't get to watch the game anyway, I work Saturday nights. All I will say about the Michigan Alabama matchup is ROLL TIDE!

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

Hmmm, so mine is 2 weeks old...finally got around to racking it to a carboy on top of the spice tea.

I used the Cinnamon plus "clone" recipe that was posted above and on previous pages, it does smell amazing but with 1tsp for my 4.5ish gallons it seemed really mellow...maybe i was expecting more of a kick from it.

Im guessing with this kind of spice tea, the flavor you taste right after mixing is the one you get, and its not a taste that builds in the beer over time? Or will it get stronger over the next week or two?
Regardless im not going to mess with it just yet, once i keg it and its cold and carbonated i'll determine if i like the spice level...

Thats another perk of kegging i suppose...if its not enough i can throw some more spice tea in there, pressurize it, shake the crap out of it to mix and try again.

 

[LateraLex]

Spend 5 minutes putting the ingredients into the software?

I am new to BeerSmith but this is a much bigger pain to do than you are implying. By default BeerSmith doesn't have any equipment profiles that are for 15 gallon batches, so it is messing up the calculations.

Can someone share the all-grain recipe for a 10 gallon batch?

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

I am new to BeerSmith but this is a much bigger pain to do than you are implying. By default BeerSmith doesn't have any equipment profiles that are for 15 gallon batches, so it is messing up the calculations.

Can someone share the all-grain recipe for a 10 gallon batch?

Not really that big of a pain? Take all of the amounts for the 15 gallon and multiply them by 2/3rds...whala, 10 gallon recipe...

Thats what everyone is doing for the 5 Gallon AG amounts...

 

[Yuri_Rage]

I got to try DFH Punk'n last night - it was VERY good. It may be a bold statement, but I think a good batch of Thunderstruck is quite similar in flavor and texture.

 

[bob1852]

I got to try DFH Punk'n last night - it was VERY good. It may be a bold statement, but I think a good batch of Thunderstruck is quite similar in flavor and texture.

Thanks for this recipe. Gonna finally make it this year!

 

[Yuri_Rage]

Make a batch for me. I'm brewing vicariously through HBT. I don't have my rig set up at the new place yet, and I'm probably not going to be able to get a batch going until next year sometime (life happens).

 

[bradford0113]

Hmmm, so mine is 2 weeks old...finally got around to racking it to a carboy on top of the spice tea.

I used the Cinnamon plus "clone" recipe that was posted above and on previous pages, it does smell amazing but with 1tsp for my 4.5ish gallons it seemed really mellow...maybe i was expecting more of a kick from it.

Im guessing with this kind of spice tea, the flavor you taste right after mixing is the one you get, and its not a taste that builds in the beer over time? Or will it get stronger over the next week or two?
Regardless im not going to mess with it just yet, once i keg it and its cold and carbonated i'll determine if i like the spice level...

Thats another perk of kegging i suppose...if its not enough i can throw some more spice tea in there, pressurize it, shake the crap out of it to mix and try again.

I just had the EXACT same experience about an hour ago. I used the Cinnamon Plus clone recipe and racked about 4.5 gallons onto a tea with 1tsp. I too was expecting more spice flavor than what I am getting right now. I'll be bottling and plan to be prepared to add a little more spice tea to the bottling bucket if necessary. I too am wondering if the spice flavor will come through more with time?

 

[LateraLex]

Not really that big of a pain? Take all of the amounts for the 15 gallon and multiply them by 2/3rds...whala, 10 gallon recipe...

Thats what everyone is doing for the 5 Gallon AG amounts...

Oh. No reason to battle with BeerSmith then. Thanks

 

[BrettV]

So, I transferred this to my secondary the other day. For reference, I was the one who got the ridiculously high OG of 1.089. The gravity has dropped to 1.017, which if my OG was correct would give me a beer with 9.6% ABV. The beer certainly doesn't taste very imperial (in fact it tastes pretty bland and neutral,) and I'm more inclined to believe that something was off the day I took my initial gravity. Is there another way to measure alcohol content? Knowing the actual alcohol content would help me decide whether to just bottle after a couple weeks, or let it sit in the secondary for a few months.

 

[moscoeb]

So, I transferred this to my secondary the other day. For reference, I was the one who got the ridiculously high OG of 1.089. The gravity has dropped to 1.017, which if my OG was correct would give me a beer with 9.6% ABV. The beer certainly doesn't taste very imperial (in fact it tastes pretty bland and neutral,) and I'm more inclined to believe that something was off the day I took my initial gravity. Is there another way to measure alcohol content? Knowing the actual alcohol content would help me decide whether to just bottle after a couple weeks, or let it sit in the secondary for a few months.

There is a device that gives estimated abv by how many drops remain in it. It looks like a pipette. I think it's only 5-10$, and I don't know how accurate it is. But might get you in the ball park. Liquor barn sells them here locally.

 

[Dutch218]

So I brewed the extract version today. Holy moly the trub on this. I think I am gonna lose 3 liters on trub alone.

 

[moscoeb]

So I brewed the extract version today. Holy moly the trub on this. I think I am gonna lose 3 liters on trub alone.

It will pack down some, but you will lose quite a bit. I had 6gal and got about 4.5 when I racked it.

 

[BeerArchitect54]

I am brewing the extract version of this on Saturday and have a few questions.

1) Do I strain the pumpkin out of my wort when adding to the primary to help reduce the turb?

Or will that remove something that will contribute to the taste and or finished product.

I was just thinking that this might help cut down on turb and the loss of head space in the primary.

I'm also worried the build up of turb will clog my tap when racking into the secondary.

2) Is it best to add the spice tea (Pampered Chef recipe) to the secondary?

3) Thoughts on using 120 oz of pumpkin vs the 30 oz called for?

Cant wait to brew this!

Thanks

 

[Dutch218]

I did a biab and used the pumpkin in the mash. I know this recipe calls for it in the boil but most others say mash. I needed to use another clean pot and smaller lid to push the wort out of my bag and then pour it back into my kettle. What a P.I.T.A. I never fully understood stuck sparge until I made this yesterday.