Pumpkin Ale

[afreitag]

I am about to be brewing a pumpkin ale using canned pumpkin. Ive heard to put it in and steep with grains, or put it in during the boil. First time brewing a pumpkin ale so any help would be appreciated!!!

 

[glick]

I put mine in the mash. Don't forget rice hulls though!!!

 

[sodamhwf]

I got the can pumpkin and cooked it in the oven for 1 hour at 350 degrees. I then place in my mash tun and mashed it.
Like Glick said don't forget the rice hulls. Rice Hulls helps you from get a stuck sparge.
You also have to drain this slow due to you will get a stuck sparge if you don.t
So if you are not doing all grain just put the with your specialty grains. I have put the pumpkins in hop bags and then in the boil kettle. I like putting it in the mash much better.


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[treacheroustexan]

I have read not much taste comes from the actual pumpkin, but i have never brewed a pumpkin beer until last week. I made a basic cream ale and then add a can of pumpkin in the boil and at the end of the boil I used a tbsp of pumpkin pie spice. It's fermenting now so we shall see.

 

[KeninMN]

You mentioned steeping grains, so I'm going to guess that you're doing an extract brew. Check out the instructions page for the Smashing Pumpkin Ale Extract kit from Northern Brewer for how to use real pumpkin. You'll need to do a mini mash with some added 6-row malt, then add that into your boil water before proceeding with the normal recipe instructions...

http://www.northernbrewer.com/documentation/beerkits/SmashingPumpkinEX.pdf

 

[bobbrews]

Do a mini mash with 2-row and add the pumpkin to both the mash and boil. It's a win-win.

If done properly, the pumpkin will yield body, flavor, and aroma. This will be especially evident with fresh roasted pumpkin, seasoned during cooking (not after). I like to cut the pumpkin with a bit of butternut squash as well, which adds some complexity of flavor yet still keeps the theme.

Toast whole spices and grind them fresh; get your ratios right since too much of a certain spice might dominate the beer's flavor. Try not to make the beer too dry or highly carbonated. Pumpkin beers taste a little weird when they're too dry and too fizzy. I like them middle of the road; not too sweet/not too dry with low to low-moderate carbonation.

This type of beer works way better when brewed via 100% All-Grain since you can layer it with a variety of complimentary specialty grains and mash the majority of your fermentables, which allows you to control the overall body and FG a bit more.

 

[lolznrofls]

I just did a batch I based on a kit from lhbs. I started with a partial extract pumpkin spice ale kit w/specialty grains..I toasted two 30oz cans of Libbys pumkin pie mix with a generous sprinkling of brown sugar for an hour at 350. I added half at the start of the boil the other half at 30 min..then the spice pack with 2 mins left..I got it in the fermenter on July 4th..dont know the temp but I have it on the swamp cooler..its my second beer brew so I know to get a fermentation chamber..no basement

 

[lolznrofls]

Also plan on adding fresh toasted and steeped spices when I rack to secondary.if I keep it in a muslin bag to taste this is going to be absolutely perfect..and a little spice goes a long way I have been told.

 

[sodamhwf]

I have read not much taste comes from the actual pumpkin, but i have never brewed a pumpkin beer until last week. I made a basic cream ale and then add a can of pumpkin in the boil and at the end of the boil I used a tbsp of pumpkin pie spice. It's fermenting now so we shall see.

I have done three pumpkin beer. This first one I added to much pumpkin a very large can I got from us foods. It was way to sweet. But 2nd I did with the two 29 oz can. It was good also with a lot of sweetness from the pumpkins. But I couldn't taster the pie spice. The 3rd was awesome nice sweetness. 1 1/2 table spoons of pumpkin pie spice. I kegged it and waited 4 month and showed a few friends. It's all gone.


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[afreitag]

The third batch did you add any pumpkin or just the spice??

 

[treacheroustexan]

I took a hydrometer reading from my pumpkin the other day, and I couldn't taste any pumpkin at all and I used a can of pumpkin and a tablespoon spice. so i added another tablespoon into the bucket. we'll see.

 

[BierGut]

You don't get a lot of flavor from the canned pumpkin so you certainly do not want to only steep it for 30 min with your specialty grains. Some people roast a real pumpkin in the oven for a while, this may get better results but it's early in the year and most likely out of season. I staggered a total of 45 oz. of canned pumpkin in the boil, (some at the beginning, middle and end) the spice pack included with the kit and a few additional teaspoons of cinnamon and nutmeg. I got mild pumpkin flavor and a little spice. It's a hit at Halloween/Thanksgiving get togethers. Take notes and tweak the recipe next year if you don't get the desired results.

 

[erodzon]

When you add the canned pumpkin to the mash/boil, is roasting it always something you want to do? Also, when you add to boil, is it right when you steep the grains and just stir it in to get the flavor and aroma into the wort? I'm also doing the northern brewer smashing pumpkin ale since it's only going to be my second beer I've made.

 

[KeninMN]

I'll defer to the pros:

https://byo.com/stories/item/324-brewing-with-pumpkin-tips-from-the-pros

 

[bobbrews]

I'll defer to the pros:

https://byo.com/stories/item/324-brewing-with-pumpkin-tips-from-the-pros

Nice synopsis from three different breweries that produce mediocre pumpkin beers:

Buffalo Bill's Pumpkin Ale scored 68 out of 957 reviews
Lakefront Pumpkin Lager scored 79 out of 448 reviews
New Holland Ichabod scored 80 out 1,028 reviews

If you want good advice from the pro's on pumpkin beers then research how Elysian and Schlafly do things.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

I've done this a few times and have had great results:

First time) Thinly spread a 30oz can of pumpkin on a baking sheet and baked at 350 degrees for 60 mins. Realized I spread it too thin in some areas and it got black. Added to boil with 60 mins to go. Added 1 tsp pumpkin spice with 5 mins to go.

Second time) Evenly spread a 30oz can of pumpkin on baking sheet and baked at 365 degrees for 50 mins. I have read that sugars begin to carmelize at 362 degrees, so I tried this, and it worked great. Added to boil with 60 mins to go. Added 2 tsp pumpkin spice with 5 mins to go.

The second beer was better and retained the pumpkin flavor longer. You don't really get "pumpkin flavor" from pumpkin, but rather from the seasoning/spices. Pumpkin in and of itself isn't horribly flavorful, but rather it's the seasoning which people usually taste so strongly.

 

[erodzon]

And this is for a 5 gallon batch I'm assuming? (30 oz of canned pumpkin)

 

[lolznrofls]

I would assume so..I used two 30 oz cans..lightly dusted with light brown sugar and a hand full of dark brown..then I baked them at 350 for an hour..then I eyeballed about half and added it at the beginning of the boil..the other half at 15.
Im racking to the secondary later on this afternoon if my hydrometer reading is stable..but with all the sugar im thinking even though the airlock has slowed down there is still plenty of things going on in there. Or I might give the yeasties a few more days to clean up after themselves. I have a 6.5 gallon brew bucket for a primary so I cant see whats going on inside..but my secondary is a 5 gal better bottle so I can watch it clear out.

 

[erodzon]

I don't have a Carboy or secondary fermenter so I should achieve relatively the same results just adding another week or two to the primary right?

 

[lolznrofls]

I have been told that I dont even really need a secondary..but I think the only downside on a pumpkin brew is all the trub..makes it a pain to move to the bottling bucket without alot of sediment

 

[Espkelly]

I just moved mine to secondary this afternoon. I baked 30oz of pumpkin, covered with maple syrup and a tbsp of pumkin spice and added it at the start of my boil and then an additional tbsp of spice at 15 minutes. Took a taste while moving to secondary and not much pumpkin flavor. Smelled really good, but was lacking in taste. I added another tbsp of pumpkin spice to my carboy before I racked it. I plan on letting it sit there for another two weeks. Cheers and Happy Halloween!

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Took a taste while moving to secondary and not much pumpkin flavor. Smelled really good, but was lacking in taste. I added another tbsp of pumpkin spice to my carboy before I racked it. I plan on letting it sit there for another two weeks.

Yeah, my experience has been that I leave it in the carboy for 2-3 weeks and rack it/bottle it. I usually just let it stay in one fermenter and rack off the trub.

As for flavor, mine usually takes a while in the bottle to get the best flavor. I want to say usually the flavor gets really good about 4-6 weeks after bottling. After two weeks in the bottle it's just okay, but the extra time it's stored really helps.

Cheers!

 

[lolznrofls]

I just moved mine to the secondary today also..I had almost 5 inches of trub in the bucket..looked like the Krousen got nice and high too..this is going to be great beer..i think I got the spice about just right but we shall see..if I need to add I will before I bottle..

 

[erodzon]

Do I need 6-row if I'm using canned pumpkin?

 

[lolznrofls]

I did a partial extract batch..so I steeped my grains..added amber and light dme...added one can lme ..hit the boil..added bitter hops and half my pumpkin at 60....last half of pumpkin at 15 with wirlfloc and immersion chiller..then the spice addition at 1..primary for 8 days..in secondary now.

 

[afreitag]

I brewed the pumpkin ale this afternoon. My og was 1.050. The instructions said og should range from 1.042-1.046. I guess I messed up somewhere.

 

[erodzon]

Did you add any sugar? You're probably fine it's not gonna elicit any noticeable changes in the taste. My first brew was 1.044 and I measured it at 1.040 and it turned out to be just fine

 

[afreitag]

I added brown sugar.

 

[erodzon]

I'm gonna be doing the same thing when I make the brew at the end of the month

 

[lolznrofls]

Lmao..anytime you add sugar your og is going to go up.which means hopefully more alcohol. ..my batch finished at 6.3% abv..only slightly higher than the projected 5% of the origional recipe..I also added another 1/2 tsp of pumpkin spice mix with my priming sugar and I also dumped 1 tsp of vanilla extract to the secondary..now I just have to wait a week or so to carb up. Pas turise then wait till fall to crack these babies open..well hopefully they last that long..cheers!

 

[lolznrofls]

Update..bottle conditioning two weeks now..not much carbonation and not much head at all..hmmmmm..I figured I would have mild carbination by now.hmmmm

 

[dustinolsen84]

I am planning on brewing a pumpkin myself. I have researched and it appears that the pumpkin actually does nothing, but the spice gives the flavor. What I don't know is how much to put in. NB says to only put in 1tsp pumpkin pie spice, but I think that is low. Any thoughts on how much to put in?

 

[BigPerm]

Lmao..anytime you add sugar your og is going to go up.which means hopefully more alcohol. ..my batch finished at 6.3% abv..only slightly higher than the projected 5% of the origional recipe..I also added another 1/2 tsp of pumpkin spice mix with my priming sugar and I also dumped 1 tsp of vanilla extract to the secondary..now I just have to wait a week or so to carb up. Pas turise then wait till fall to crack these babies open..well hopefully they last that long..cheers!

Pasteurize? Why on earth would you pasteurize it?

 

[lolznrofls]

Pasteurize? Why on earth would you pasteurize it?

Thats easy..im bottle conditioning and carbing..so once I get the carbination just right I paturize to kill off the yeast and avoid bottle bombs..I dont have a spare fridge to store my brew in and my house doesnt have a basement..so I have to kill the yeast to properly store it..and I lack the resources to just cold crash and force carb.

 

[lolznrofls]

Pasteurize? Why on earth would you pasteurize it?

I dont have a kegging system, spare fridge, or a basement..need to kill the yeast to store it at room temp

 

[saskd]

Thats easy..im bottle conditioning and carbing..so once I get the carbination just right I paturize to kill off the yeast and avoid bottle bombs..I dont have a spare fridge to store my brew in and my house doesnt have a basement..so I have to kill the yeast to properly store it..and I lack the resources to just cold crash and force carb.

Are you using a calculator to figure out the amount of priming sugar? Have you had a problem with bottle bombs in the past? I bottle condition as well and have never had a problem storing beer at room temp. If you use the right amount of priming sugar it shouldn't be a problem. The yeast can't keep producing CO2 when they run out of sugar to eat.

 

[lolznrofls]

Pasteurize? Why on earth would you pasteurize it?

I dont have a keg system, a basement, or a spare fridge to cold crash and store it..so how else would you stop the fermentation after bottle carbing?

 

[peterj]

I dont have a keg system, a basement, or a spare fridge to cold crash and store it..so how else would you stop the fermentation after bottle carbing?

Like saskd said, it stops on its own. You only add enough sugar for the yeast to eat to produce the right amount of CO2 to carbonate it. Once they eat that, there's nothing left for them to turn into CO2.

 

[BigPerm]

Like saskd said, it stops on its own. You only add enough sugar for the yeast to eat to produce the right amount of CO2 to carbonate it. Once they eat that, there's nothing left for them to turn into CO2.

This is of course assuming there isn't a bigger problem afoot (wild yeast contamination, fermentation not complete)

As mentioned, assuming you are at terminal gravity, the yeast will consume the sugar added, and nothing else. So, if the amount of sugar you add is calculated to give a certain carbonation level, you'll never have a problem. Some people just add 1/2-2/3 c. corn sugar for priming. In this case, you may have some styles carbed too high/low, but bottle bombs will never be a problem.

Further, there are several very good reasons to NEVER pasteurize your beer:

1.) You're going to kill the yeast. The yeast plays a vital role in bottle conditioned beer and will continue to smooth flavors over time. Generally speaking, most styles peak after about 4-6 weeks in the bottle. If you kill the yeast after its carbed, say 3 weeks, your beer will never properly mature and you risk dead yeast (autolysis) flavors.

2.) Yeast preserves your beer by reducing oxidation. This is why bottle conditioned beers last so much longer than filtered/pasteurized beers. In those, the best day to drink it is the day its packaged. The yeast in the bottle will preserve for much longer, but if you pasteurize, you lose this effect.

In short, don't do it. Sorry to hijack the thread.

 

[lolznrofls]

Sorry all I had an issue posting earlier..but no I dont use a calculator..I use the priming sugar that comes with my kit..this is my fourth beer brew so im still using partial extract kits.