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

[Calman2k]

I kegged mine this year.

It was lighter than I remember, could late extract additions really lighten it up that much, or am I misremembering the color?
It tasted VERY green and almost a young wine flavor, I was worried I screwed up. But after four days in the keg, it is already tasting better. How long do y'all normally give it to age in the keg?

Not sure why you'd add stuff late in an extract batch other than some hops. When I did mine I added a spice tea at the bottling bucket but in the brew itself I had all the stuff in at the boil. I actually used cut up pumpkin in hop bags that I spiced and baked. It was extra work but resulted in not as much trub. This year I'll be kegging my pumpkin beer (last year was bottles). I can't wait to try it. In the bottle I had to let it sit for at least a couple weeks before it really started tasting good. But after 6 to 8 months, WOW.

 

[moscoeb]

Not sure why you'd add stuff late in an extract batch other than some hops. When I did mine I added a spice tea at the bottling bucket but in the brew itself I had all the stuff in at the boil. I actually used cut up pumpkin in hop bags that I spiced and baked. It was extra work but resulted in not as much trub. This year I'll be kegging my pumpkin beer (last year was bottles). I can't wait to try it. In the bottle I had to let it sit for at least a couple weeks before it really started tasting good. But after 6 to 8 months, WOW.

Late extract addition gives a lighter color. I'm just not sure how much. I thought I remembered this being a dark nice pumpkin beer color, this year it was a much lighter color.
I could be mistaken on how dark it was last year though.

 

[SourHopHead]

My latest batch took a 3rd place.

 

[LateraLex]

Brewed this one a couple months ago. Did a couple things different. I added another .25oz hops at the last minute for flavor, worked well, kind of helped cut some of the sweetness from the pumpkin flavor. For the pumpkin, I ended up buying a pumpkin (large) and scraped the inside clean and cut it into about 1.5x1.5 inch chunks. Put on ALL of the different spices, then cooked the pumpkin in my waterless cookware. After it was softish (its a word now) I put the pieces into tight mesh hop bag and put it in at the boil, took it out after 60 min. I kept stirring it around every 10 min or so to get the wort moving through the bag. The result was AMAZING. I had some pumpkin ale at BJ's (SoCal brewery and pizza joint) and I liked this one better. Kuddos on the recipe.

I like this approach to the pumpkin... I am going to brew this again this year but was going to skip the pumpkin as I'm not sure what kind of impact it had (and it was a pain). This might be the move for me, if I can get a fresh one.

 

[jonnyp1980]

Hosting a small homebrew contest for the best pumpkin brew if anyone might be interested prizes for the winner. looking for 10 entries already have two. Check out our YouTube page for the video on it. Should be fun. Cheers.

 

[DArsenault]

Is the extract version on the first page, just extract or is it partial mash? I'm just curious because I've heard that simply steeping Wheat Flaked isn't the best thing(not sure why, I'm still pretty new to this). Also 6.5 pounds of DME seems a little light for 6 gallon batch(again, sorry if that sounds ignorant). Hopefully it's extract so I can try brewing this, I'm not quite at partial mash yet.
Thanks.

 

[moscoeb]

Is the extract version on the first page, just extract or is it partial mash? I'm just curious because I've heard that simply steeping Wheat Flaked isn't the best thing(not sure why, I'm still pretty new to this). Also 6.5 pounds of DME seems a little light for 6 gallon batch(again, sorry if that sounds ignorant). Hopefully it's extract so I can try brewing this, I'm not quite at partial mash yet.
Thanks.

It is extract with steeping grains.
And the 6.5 lbs of DME is correct. This is an excellent beer, sweet and easy drinking.
Follow them to a T at first and you will be fine, then explore or play next time. (I didn't feel it needed it though, I thought it was excellent as is). I couldn't keep this stocked last year as everyone drank it!!

 

[DArsenault]

It is extract with steeping grains.
And the 6.5 lbs of DME is correct. This is an excellent beer, sweet and easy drinking.
Follow them to a T at first and you will be fine, then explore or play next time. (I didn't feel it needed it though, I thought it was excellent as is). I couldn't keep this stocked last year as everyone drank it!!

Thanks for clearing that up. I'm going to scale it down to a 5 gallon from the 6 gallon recipe on the first page, but other than that I plan on following the exact recipe.

 

[moscoeb]

Thanks for clearing that up. I'm going to scale it down to a 5 gallon from the 6 gallon recipe on the first page, but other than that I plan on following the exact recipe.

You will need about 6 gal to end up with 5.
I usually fit about 5.5 in my carbon and finish with about 4.5 after racking off the trub.

 

[46binder]

I just did this as an AG, 5 gallon batch. I used 1/2 lb rice hulls, and started the mash with a tad more water than the usual 1.3 qts per lb. Mashed in 3.75 gallons, batched sparged with 3.5, no stuck sparge, got 5.75 gallons, and thats all. Had a visitor, lost track of time, boiled extra 15 min, got a little less than the 5. Looking forward to this one.

 

[DArsenault]

You will need about 6 gal to end up with 5.
I usually fit about 5.5 in my carbon and finish with about 4.5 after racking off the trub.

So if I scale the recipe down to 5 gallons, I would end up with about 4 gallons of beer? I'm still pretty new to brewing so for me 5 gallon batches just seem easier, I'm okay if I only end up with 4 gallons to bottle, so long as the 4 gallons taste good. I'm fermenting in a 6 gallon better bottle, so I'd be left with a half gallon of head space, do you think it would be a better idea for me to scale to 5.5 and end up with the extra half gallon at the end?

 

[moscoeb]

So if I scale the recipe down to 5 gallons, I would end up with about 4 gallons of beer? I'm still pretty new to brewing so for me 5 gallon batches just seem easier, I'm okay if I only end up with 4 gallons to bottle, so long as the 4 gallons taste good. I'm fermenting in a 6 gallon better bottle, so I'd be left with a half gallon of head space, do you think it would be a better idea for me to scale to 5.5 and end up with the extra half gallon at the end?

Heck, I would brew it as is, and top my better bottle off as much as I can. Worse case scenario your beer has a higher ABV.
It will taste great if you follow the directions. I couldn't keep it stocked last year.
Either way is fine though if you want ton scale it. Whatever is easiest for you.

 

[DArsenault]

When I plug the extract recipe from the first page into Beersmith, the IBU's are coming up at around 7 as opposed to the 12-14 that the front page is listing. I know the recipe is pretty straight foreward and only calls for .75oz of hops, but I feel like it should be up higher than 7, and can't figure out where the discrepancy is coming from.

Edit: As far as the OG goes, I didn't realize you needed to input the recipe as partial mash when steeping grains.

 

[fitzy]

Two broken thermometers and a stuck sparge later, this brew is happily bubbling away. Have to love that 04 yeast. Started up not 8 hours after pitching.

Went to get rice hulls at the LHBS - they didn't have them, or a clue what they did (how?!). Thanks DeFalco's.

Cheers Yuri! The family is already getting geared up for this brew. A cornerstone of Turkey Fest.

 

[MMJfan]

Got all my ingredients ready to brew this beer this weekend except for the cans of pumpkin which I'll be picking up this week!

Held back 2 bottles of my last batch I brewed of this last winter which I'm planning on enjoying while I RDWHAHB during the brew day!

 

[MMJfan]

I do have one question before I brew my next batch of this. As I mentioned earlier, I'm attempting to do this AG doing BIAB. My question is when to add the pumpkin? When I did the extract version, I added the pumpkin after I baked it for 30 minutes to the boil. But in the AG version it says to add the pumpkin in with the mash. I was just wondering why I couldn't just add the pumpkin after I baked it into the boil doing BIAB just like I did with the extract version?

 

[rjthomas21]

I've added pumpkin during the last few minutes of the boil. I think the only advantage to adding the pumpkin to the mash is to not have so much pumpkin absorbing liquid after the boil. If you add it to the boil, just account for additional loss in volume, I don't think you have to worry about anything else.

 

[m_stodd]

I made this recipe last year, and it was a huge hit. If I wanted to make an imperial version of this, are there some basic guidelines?

Add more pale malt and C60, keeping ratio the same?
Add more hops/spices?

 

[temple240]

I picked up the ingredients today for my first time brewing this since I went ag. Lhbs didn't have any rice hulls because the local Iron Hill bought 14lbs of it due to a stuck sparge. Bastards.

 

[Calman2k]

I like this approach to the pumpkin... I am going to brew this again this year but was going to skip the pumpkin as I'm not sure what kind of impact it had (and it was a pain). This might be the move for me, if I can get a fresh one.

Hope it works out for ya. It came out really good for me. Make sure to cook the pumpkin until its soft, this will ensure you get the max flavor out of the pumpkin since it will breakdown the cells down to the middle of the pieces. If you think about it after, let me know how it comes out. It'll be nice to now my successful result wasn't just an accident so I can do it again this year.

 

[bigelowsbest]

I've added pumpkin during the last few minutes of the boil. I think the only advantage to adding the pumpkin to the mash is to not have so much pumpkin absorbing liquid after the boil. If you add it to the boil, just account for additional loss in volume, I don't think you have to worry about anything else.

The reason that you add the pumpkin to the mash is to have the enzymes in the 2-row barley convert the starches in the pumpkin into fermentable sugars. I'd also worry about those same starches ending up in your beer if the pumpkin is simply boiled, as there is no enzymatic activity at the high temperature of a boil

 

[beamar]

just brewed this tonight. Was also my first time brewing ever. Think it went pretty smooth. Had 1 boil over(opps). I don't have a lot of head room left in my carboy, will that be as issue? Also seemed like my Gravity was a little high(1.15), hopefully that won't mess things up.

 

[bigelowsbest]

I'd double check that gravity... That's higher than a lot of wines OG.
Did you use the measurements for the 15 gallon batch and only use five gallons of water?
If that gravity is correct, what yeast are you using? Most strains will only ferment between 8-12% alcohol, whereas you have potential for over 16% in that wort. If you have another fermenter consider splitting the batch and topping off with water to a more appropriate gravity. (Whenever I make this my SG is between 1.06-1.07)

 

[beamar]

No kidding. I will double check when I get home I suppose.

I used 1318 London ale smack pack. Made it with a starter. Boiled with 3 gallons of water and added 3 once it was all in the carboy. ended up pouring a little out so there would be some head room. before adding the water I was at like 2.5. If it is still at 1.15 when I check later tonight, should I add water to get it down to 1.053?


I checked on it in the AM and it was bubbling over. Ran to menards and switched up my airlock to a blow-off setup.


Thanks,
Brian

 

[MMJfan]

The reason that you add the pumpkin to the mash is to have the enzymes in the 2-row barley convert the starches in the pumpkin into fermentable sugars. I'd also worry about those same starches ending up in your beer if the pumpkin is simply boiled, as there is no enzymatic activity at the high temperature of a boil

Yes, but if you look at the recipes, the extract recipe says to bake the pumpkin and then add it at 60 minutes of the boil. You aren't baking the pumpkin when you are adding it to your mash when doing AG.

I brewed this 3 times last fall using the extract recipe and each time I first baked the pumpkin and then added it to my boil at 60 and each time my beer turned out great.

I just brewed up my first AG version of this recipe over the weekend doing BIAB. I just chose to use the same method with adding the pumpkin as I did brewing the extract versions as I didn't see there being any issue as to why I needed to mash the pumpkin. I just baked it the same way I had when brewing the extract version and added at 60 just like always. We'll see how it turns out I guess, but I don't see why it would be any different?

 

[Yuri_Rage]

I bake the pumpkin in both recipes. The extract version risks some starch content. No worries...it adds body. The AG version is mashed high to keep body a bit sweet and full.

 

[rdneckbrew]

Hey Yuri. Im getting ready to brew this and was just wondering (since there are a crap load of pages) if the original recipe on page one for all grain is still the most current?

Just tried a pumpking last night and it was fantastic. Can't wait to try this one out.

Thanks!

 

[MMJfan]

Just tried a pumpking last night and it was fantastic. Can't wait to try this one out.

Thanks!

I don't know if you're looking for a Pumpking clone, but you won't be getting a Pumpking from this recipe. IMHO, this recipe is MUCH better than Pumpking...

 

[rdneckbrew]

Not necesarily looking for a pumpking just saying that it was delicious. It was the first pumpkin ale I had the chance to try.

Still really new at brewing and craft beer consuming. I have been missing alot!

 

[Yuri_Rage]

Original recipes are valid. Brew away!