Pumpkin ale doesn't taste like pumpkin?

[Superstorm]

I just finished fermenting my pumpkin beer that I made from a recipe that I found online. When I was bottling it today, I poured a little in a cup to taste and I noticed that it tasted bitter and had no pumpkin taste or aroma, it just tasted like a regular beer. I don't know how this could have happened because I followed the recipe, the only two things I did differently was reduce the recipe because I made a 3 gallon batch instead of 5 and when I was adding the liquid yeast, I added too much because it started fizzing up like a soda and I didn't have control over how much I was adding. Will it taste more like pumpkin after it's been in the bottles for awhile or is it going to taste the same?

Recipe link: http://www.thebrewsite.com/pumpkin-ale-recipe/

 

[DocScott]

Pumpkin doesn't add much in terms of noticable flavors or fermentable sugars in the final beer. Many people don't even use it in "pumpkin" beers because of this fact (and the large amount of trub/stuck sparges created by using it in the mash). I'm a purest, but I've realized that it doesn't add much of anything to taste/color/sugars, so I add a tiny bit to my pumpkin beers -- 1 can, unroasted into my mash water when its heating.

Pumpkin beers get their "pumpkin" flavor from the spices used. Your recipe uses 1/2-1 tsp at the end of the boil, which is probably about right for my taste buds. I would've suggested that if it doesn't taste "pumpkin"y enough, to add a bit more of the spice mixture with your priming sugar when you bottle, but it looks like I missed you by a day.

The bitter flavor you note will probably improve with some time conditioning in the bottles, however, I think the spice flavor will actually lessen with time. Cinnamon/nutmeg tend to fade fastest, followed by allspice and then clove in my experience.

BTW, adding more yeast than expected probably helped your beer rather than hurt. It is difficult for most homebrewers to overpitch, and with one vial, there is no way you overpitched this one! More yeast = better beer

 

[Seven]

Like DocScott said, the pumpkin isn't where the big "pumpkin" flavors come from. It's the spices. One way you can fix an under-spiced beer is to add pumpkin spices to each glass as it's poured. You can spice the rim of the glass similar to salting the rim of a margarita glass. Mix the spices with some brown sugar in a shallow container, wet the rim of the glass on a damp towel, dip the rim into the spice mix until it's coated, then add your beer.

 

[Beernik]

Indeed it's the spices that make or break a pumpkin beer. While not adding much in the way of flavor, pumpkin does add creaminess to the mouthfeel.

 

[HopSong]

'nuther lil factoid.. When you buy pumpkin to make pie,bread, whatever.. check the label.. It is usually, if not always, NOT pumpkin. It is another winter squash.. With the TONS of leftover pumpkins at the end of the halloween season, one would think it would be a gold mine. NOT. IIRC, canned pumpkin is Blue Hubbard Squash with seasonings.

 

[Beernik]

Pumpkin pie pumpkins are really small. Jack-o-lantern pumpkins don't have enough flavor for it.

Blue hubbards are extremely hardy, taste like sweet pumpkin, and are freaking huge.

 

[The_Professor]

What temperature are you serving the beer at?

I recently made my first pumpkin beer. I based mine on a Belgian dubbel. I added two baked sweet pie pumpkins and their roasted seeds to the all grain mash. I added dark candi syrup. There are no added spices, just the spiciness from the Belgian yeast.

It is best at a cellar temp (50ish) rather than ice cold. I get some body, flavor, and tartness from the pumpkin which is more like pumpkin in the aftertaste.

 

[grimzella]

Pumpkin pie pumpkins are really small. Jack-o-lantern pumpkins don't have enough flavor for it.

Blue hubbards are extremely hardy, taste like sweet pumpkin, and are freaking huge.

I've read that cooking pumpkin pulp in the oven will bring out more flavor.. I grow pumpkins every year, and I grow the small ones for this very reason.. Jack-o-lanterns have very little flavor.. taste one and u will see.

Source: page 267, Brewing Classic Styles - Jamil Zainasheff & John Palmer