15 replies to this topic

[DaBearSox]

So this is an updated recipe from the one that turned out very very nice last year. The longer it aged the better it was spice wise, so I am a little late but it should be decent by Halloween, and great by Thanksgiving. Made some tweaks here and there for the process/equipment changes from last year. 5 gallons6 lbs Rahr 2-row2 lbs Global Dark Munich1 lb Belgium Biscuit 1 lb Light Crystal 4 oz Special BMash everything around 154 for an hourWhile mash is in progressCook 2 cans of pumpkin for 1 hour at 350 - take out - steep in maybe a gallon of waterCollect first runnings then add steeped pumpkin mixture on top of mash and add sparge water. Boil:.6 oz Perle 7 AA 60 min.3 oz Hallertauer 4 AA 45 min.5 oz Hallertauer 4 AA 30 min*** I may switch out Willamette for the Hallertauer - last years was around 27 IBU using Willamette (bittering) and Tradition (bittering/flavor) so that is what I am shooting for.2 T Pumpkin Pie Spice 10 minSafale 04 (used Wyeast 1968 last year, but i have this on hand)Ferment around 66 degreesSo now the question is if I want to add more spice in the 2ndary or at bottling. I was thinking of just boiling up my priming sugar with some more spice and then add it to the bottling bucket then commence bottling, but this may mean too much spice particles in each bottle. So I may use a rum/spice mixture in the 2ndary.OG: 1.054 FG: 1.014 IBU: 27

Edited by DaBearSox, 15 September 2009 - 11:20 AM.

[DaBearSox]

Question I forgot to ask...i notice a lot of people just add the spice at flameout...I added at 10 minutes last year mostly for sanitary reasons it seemed to thicken up the wort a little but i may have been seeing things...is there any reason that the flameout addition would be better?

[Jimmy James]

Good question. I added spice at bottling when I did my pumpkin ale last year. So, my preference would be to add at bottling/kegging and taste as I add the spice to get it right. In my experience spices can be highly variable depending on source, how long they've been stored, etc. So, I don't just go with a specific measure but rather by taste. I think the other advantage of adding them at packaging is that the beer is fermented and you racked off the yeast, so the spices won't be metabolized or absorbed by the yeast. I would just dump them straight in as I doubt much anything is growing in the spice jar and you aren't going to age a pumpkin beer for a long time anyways. If you are set on adding the spices earlier I would go with secondary. I think during fermentation the yeast will absorb a lot of the spices and achieving the proper spice level will be harder and less consistent. Basically, my experience is the later you can add spices in any brew the more you'll taste the spices and the easier it is to control.

[DaBearSox]

Good question. I added spice at bottling when I did my pumpkin ale last year. So, my preference would be to add at bottling/kegging and taste as I add the spice to get it right. In my experience spices can be highly variable depending on source, how long they've been stored, etc. So, I don't just go with a specific measure but rather by taste. I think the other advantage of adding them at packaging is that the beer is fermented and you racked off the yeast, so the spices won't be metabolized or absorbed by the yeast. I would just dump them straight in as I doubt much anything is growing in the spice jar and you aren't going to age a pumpkin beer for a long time anyways. If you are set on adding the spices earlier I would go with secondary. I think during fermentation the yeast will absorb a lot of the spices and achieving the proper spice level will be harder and less consistent. Basically, my experience is the later you can add spices in any brew the more you'll taste the spices and the easier it is to control.

Were the spices noticeable in your bottles or did they drop out....I brewed this one up last week and I am going to transfer it to the 2ndary tonight. I put a teaspoon and a half of my spice mixture in about a tablespoon of bourbon 3 days ago. I transfer onto gelatin so I can get the yeast to drop out quicker but since I don't know the charge of the spice mixture i am not sure if the gelatin will effect them. I am going to taste before I rack tonight to see how noticeable the boil additions are....if I want to add more I am going to have to decide to add it while racking onto gelatin or add it when I bottle (I just dont want spice particles very noticeable when I pour).

[Jimmy James]

Both - they were noticeable in the beginning, then faded over time. After a couple months I still had a couple bottles left and there was virtually no spice character. I also used roasted pumpkin in my mash - quite a bit. Not sure how much flavor the pumpkin contributed but it did give a nice orange color. I am not sure how the gelatin will affect it. Why not just dissolve the spices in some vodka or bourbon and add into the bottling bucket? I don't see any advantage to adding to secondary.

Were the spices noticeable in your bottles or did they drop out

[DaBearSox]

Both - they were noticeable in the beginning, then faded over time. After a couple months I still had a couple bottles left and there was virtually no spice character. I also used roasted pumpkin in my mash - quite a bit. Not sure how much flavor the pumpkin contributed but it did give a nice orange color. I am not sure how the gelatin will affect it. Why not just dissolve the spices in some vodka or bourbon and add into the bottling bucket? I don't see any advantage to adding to secondary.

I think the one thing is that i would like them spices to fall out in the 2ndary...i guess it all depends on what my flavor is like when I rack it tonight, if there is enough I will just forget about adding them anywhere. It's funny you say your spice flavor faded after time, b/c the pumpkin I made last year got more spicey with age.

[Winkydowbrewing]

Couple questions for you guys. I am going to make a pumpkin ale tomorrow, but I am trying to avoid the spice aspect of it and go in the direction of a lighter pumpkin flavor and sugar rim the glass with sugar,cinnamon, and nutmeg for those who would like the spiciness. So what do you think if I were to do almost the same recipe listed (Id have to sub MO for the 2 row and something for the munich), and vary the hopping a bit. I was contemplating doing a little amarillo/cent combination, but am concerned that they may totally overpower the pumpkin...give me some input since you are familiar with the flavor on this one already.1) yay or nay on Amarillo/Cent (maybe a little over an oz total split at 60 and flameout)?2) Add a 3rd can to bring the pumpkin through a little more?

[chadm75]

Couple questions for you guys. I am going to make a pumpkin ale tomorrow, but I am trying to avoid the spice aspect of it and go in the direction of a lighter pumpkin flavor and sugar rim the glass with sugar,cinnamon, and nutmeg for those who would like the spiciness. So what do you think if I were to do almost the same recipe listed (Id have to sub MO for the 2 row and something for the munich), and vary the hopping a bit. I was contemplating doing a little amarillo/cent combination, but am concerned that they may totally overpower the pumpkin...give me some input since you are familiar with the flavor on this one already. 1) yay or nay on Amarillo/Cent (maybe a little over an oz total split at 60 and flameout)? 2) Add a 3rd can to bring the pumpkin through a little more?

You have to keep in mind that the addition of pumpkin mix or roasted pumpkin adds very little (if any) flavor to the beer. The pumpkiny flavor comes from the spice additions. But if you're looking for just a slight pumpkin flavor, my suggestion would be to cut back on the amount of spice you add. What the pumpkin will give your beer is a nice orangy/pumpkin color. I would recommend making a pumpkin spice extract, which consists of taking two or three ounces of vodka or spiced rum and mixing that with two or three teaspoons of pumpkin spices. So not only did I add pumpkin spice at the end of the boil, I added this pumpkin extract in the secondary. I wouldn't use that "big" of hop in this beer. Like your yeast, use something more nuetral (Willamette, EKG, Mt. Hood) that will let the pumpkin flavor shine through. I just brewed my Spooky Spice Pumpkin Ale three weeks ago and it came out awesome! Going to be brewing it again probably next week. Brew on!

[DaBearSox]

I love the idea of the sugar rim...I'd have to say that amarillo and cents would totally over power pumpkin flavor. It is a very very subtle flavor but you can pull it out, the more pumpkin the better. With the different ways i have made these over the years the best flavor i have pulled out was probably with this years batch. Some of my process changed a little bit so here is what I ended up doing. (this is only judging on taste tests of the wort and then the sample I pulled before racking to the 2ndary last night)I baked my pumpkin in a glass sheet cake pan for 1 hour at 350. I let it rest for an hour to 90 minutes after baking. I brought my sparge water up to 160 degrees and then added the pumpkin into it. It probably steeped in there for 20-30 minutes while my first runnings drained. I put a layer of rice hulls over the grain bed...(don't know if this helped but it was just a precaution) then I poured my sparge water in. for something where you want the pumpkin flavor to shine i would limit the hops to bitterness additions just to balance out the sweetness (depending on your FG)Mine started with an OG of 1.056 (got some extra points from the pumpkin) and I ended at 1.013...I used two additions of Perle one at 60 and one at 45 to bring the IBUs to 27. I tried a Unita Punk'n and it was no where near the best pumpkin beer i have ever had but the pumpkin flavor that they had was outstanding...according to them they use "Pumpkin essence" which i don't know how available that is.edit: I had a conversation with my girlfriend before brewing and said something along the lines well i probably won't pull too much flavor from the canned pumpkin...I let her taste the wort after brewing and she told me she could absolutely taste the actual pumpkin in there along with the spices. I think some of the misconception is that the spices are what make you think of pumpkin so you think that there is pumpkin in there...to me though the spices make me think of the season and cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves etc...eat a little bit of the pumpkin before you add it...then taste after and see if you can find that specific flavor...with mine I did

Edited by DaBearSox, 30 September 2009 - 11:49 AM.

[Winkydowbrewing]

awesome input guys, thanks!So i definitely have some Mt. Hood and Goldings which I can use instead of the high AA% hops. In terms of the cans of pumpkin, are you referring to the stuff premade for pumpkin pie basically? And are the spices you mention labeled pumpkin spice and in a grocery store? My main concern is to not overpower the beer with the nutmeg and cinnamon. Ive had a few beers where they just took complete control of the taste (granted it tasted like pumpkin pie), but just not what I am looking for in this beer, but if I went light on the spice it might add just the right touch of flavor that I am looking for.

[DaBearSox]

awesome input guys, thanks! So i definitely have some Mt. Hood and Goldings which I can use instead of the high AA% hops. In terms of the cans of pumpkin, are you referring to the stuff premade for pumpkin pie basically? And are the spices you mention labeled pumpkin spice and in a grocery store? My main concern is to not overpower the beer with the nutmeg and cinnamon. Ive had a few beers where they just took complete control of the taste (granted it tasted like pumpkin pie), but just not what I am looking for in this beer, but if I went light on the spice it might add just the right touch of flavor that I am looking for.

Hops: I think Mt. Hood or Goldings would work very well with this recipe Pumpkin: Its just canned pumpkin look on the ingredients and make sure the only thing listed is "pumpkin" mine said "prepared pumpkin" you want nothing else in the way of preservatives or anything Spice: Yes since it's coming to the season there should be a spice that is called "Pumpkin Pie Spice" however if you want to fine tune the taste of the spice I would make your own if you have the spices on hand. This is what I did my mixture (for the taste i wanted) was as follows: 4 tablespoons Cinnamon 4 teaspoons ground ginger 3 1/2 teaspoons nutmeg 3 teaspoons allspice 1 1/2 teaspoon cloves Of course I did not use all of this the rest will be used in cakes, cookies, etc.

[DaBearSox]

Winkydow...let me know how your brew day goes today

[cavman]

I love the idea of the sugar rim... I'd have to say that amarillo and cents would totally over power pumpkin flavor. It is a very very subtle flavor but you can pull it out, the more pumpkin the better. With the different ways i have made these over the years the best flavor i have pulled out was probably with this years batch. Some of my process changed a little bit so here is what I ended up doing. (this is only judging on taste tests of the wort and then the sample I pulled before racking to the 2ndary last night) I baked my pumpkin in a glass sheet cake pan for 1 hour at 350. I let it rest for an hour to 90 minutes after baking. I brought my sparge water up to 160 degrees and then added the pumpkin into it. It probably steeped in there for 20-30 minutes while my first runnings drained. I put a layer of rice hulls over the grain bed...(don't know if this helped but it was just a precaution) then I poured my sparge water in. for something where you want the pumpkin flavor to shine i would limit the hops to bitterness additions just to balance out the sweetness (depending on your FG) Mine started with an OG of 1.056 (got some extra points from the pumpkin) and I ended at 1.013...I used two additions of Perle one at 60 and one at 45 to bring the IBUs to 27. I tried a Unita Punk'n and it was no where near the best pumpkin beer i have ever had but the pumpkin flavor that they had was outstanding...according to them they use "Pumpkin essence" which i don't know how available that is. edit: I had a conversation with my girlfriend before brewing and said something along the lines well i probably won't pull too much flavor from the canned pumpkin...I let her taste the wort after brewing and she told me she could absolutely taste the actual pumpkin in there along with the spices. I think some of the misconception is that the spices are what make you think of pumpkin so you think that there is pumpkin in there...to me though the spices make me think of the season and cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves etc...eat a little bit of the pumpkin before you add it...then taste after and see if you can find that specific flavor...with mine I did

Can't agree on Amarillo being too strong for a pumpkin ale, mine is a simple pale all amarillo(60 and 15 additions). Libby's in the mash, pumpkin pie spice and a dash of extra cinnamon last 5 of the boil. Fermented with wlp002 and is a nice fall beer, I prefer spices to be subtle so you may not like mine as much as others but that's why we brew our own right?

[Winkydowbrewing]

So the brewday went well. Deviated from the recipe a bit14# MO1# Victory1# Carared1/2# 10L2oz Blackfor hops I went with the same weights you chose, but subbed in Goldings at 60,45 and Mt Hood for 30 min..6 oz Goldings (60).3 oz Goldings (45).5 oz Mt Hood (30)I went to my local grocery store and they had no canned pumpkin of any sort, I thought about doing a real pumpkin cut up but after reading the other information that the pumpkin does more for color I opted to just leave it out (no one who drinks it needs to know!)I made your mix of spices and went with about 3T in the last 10 minutes of the boil. The cooled wort tasted awesome so I am fairly confident that the final product will be as well. The color of the beer is fantastic I forget the SRM, but it should be a really nice reddish brown in the glass and will compliment the sugar rim idea quite well. I will post back once its carbed up with a final evaluation.Thanks again!

[Noontime]

I went to my local grocery store and they had no canned pumpkin of any sort, I thought about doing a real pumpkin cut up but after reading the other information that the pumpkin does more for color I opted to just leave it out (no one who drinks it needs to know!)

So your pumpkin beer has no pumpkin in it?

[Winkydowbrewing]

Thats right, but no one will know because the spices covered it up.