Please post your favorite Pumpkin’ Ale recipe so I can deduce my next creation!
No one? C’mon…
First question I’m trying to answer is when to add the pumpkin…
Some recipes add it to the mash…is there conversion that happens there?
Some recipes add it to the boil…
Some recipes add it to a secondary…
I’m leaning towards the latter two, as I don’t want to booger up the mash. In the boil the pumpkin would go in raw. But 'm also thinking about broiling the pumpkin in the oven with a wee bit of sugar on it…maybe even brown sugar, (which would sterilize it) and adding it to the secondary…
And then there’s cans…
This advice might help - I’ll be doing a pumpkin ale next month, probably following something like this although I haven’t started working on the recipe yet.
http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/forum/index.php?topic=3319.msg37793#msg37793
http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/forum/index.php?topic=8110.msg101093#msg101093
I know that adding pumpkin puree to the mash and the boil is one secret to getting some pumpkin flavor in the beer. Spices are a personal choice but be gentle with the spices as they can overwhelm the beer if not used sparingly. I recommend adding the spices at flame out (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice and clove). I like Gordon’s idea of making a tea then adding that back to the wort.
Spicing the beer when done with a tea, to taste, is a great idea… will definitely do that.
Still debating on when to put in the pumpkin…
Still wondering whether there’s any significant fermentable sugar in the pumpkin…
I wanna do a pumpkin, I really do, but I just don’t care for spiced beers. Does pumpkin alone add anything in terms of flavour? I may do pumpkin and the vodka tea to try to get a very, very subtle spice presence and see if it is more palatable.
Nothing to help you out Oscar. Would you just add pumpkin to your American Brown?
Not that I’ve been able to detect.
Same here, though there is a very subtle mouthfeel I get from most pumpkin ales – it could be from the spices. I made pumpkin ale last year and used fresh baked pumpkin (organic pie pumpkins) in the mash and the boil. It came out a great color. The beer was average–no huge flaws, just meh – but at least I have now punched the pumpkin-ale card. I used a recipe from Brewing Classic Styles. I steeped spices in vodka and use the infusion for spicing and that worked well.
If I get Pumpkin Fever again, I’ll use the pumpkin to make pumpkin ice cream and brew an imperial stout to serve with it. Mmmm. Now I’m wishing I wasn’t traveling for Thanksgiving! 
Re: Getting closer to pumpkin time…
« Reply #4 on: September 06, 2011, 03:17:54 PM »
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Spicing the beer when done with a tea, to taste, is a great idea… will definitely do that.
Still debating on when to put in the pumpkin…
Still wondering whether there’s any significant fermentable sugar in the pumpkin…
I set my ProMash extract for pumpkin at 1.025 points per pound and that seems to be about right. Not a lot of fermentables, but some. I am a huge advocate AGAINST putting the pumpkin in the boil. I think that will just lead to haze and stability problems. The pumpkin does add color and I think I can tell the difference in flavor as well, even with the spices. It contributes to mouthfeel as well. I get a creaminess in the beer I attribute to the pumpkin.
I use canned pumpkin just because I think dealing with the whole pumpkin scraping and baking is a PIA.
Hmmm, the more I read the more I realize the pumpkin is cool, but a lot of work for not much result. Apparently it’s in the SPICES. OK, so why do we want to booger up a perfectly good beer with spices? 'Caus it’s the HOLIDAYS, o yeah, forgot.
So, spicing up my ABA is a thought… then again this Hurricane Imperial Stout I made…(hello Irene) would be a very nice candidate…
Got an invite to a halloween party so I did a pumpkin ale today on a whim. Not sure how it’ll turn out but here’s what I went with.
10 gals
14 lbs pale malt
1 lb crystal 45
1 lb Munich
0.5 lb wheat malt
1 lb brown sugar
2 pie pumpkins baked for 2 hours and scraped out.
A big old bunch of rice hulls.
Mashed the grain and “mashed” pumpkin at 154 for an hour, drained off the wort
2 oz Northern Brewer at 60, 1 oz EKG at 20.
Very healthy pitch of WLP002 from a pale ale I kegged yesterday.
Final results 10 gals at 1.052 which is about what I was shooting for. Gonna add spice to taste using the "tea"method. Wouldn’t have tried this except for the party invite. I’ll let you know if it’s any good.
“Getting closer to pumpkin time…”
Midnight?
Last year I brewed beerfan’s SNPA recipe with 4# of roasted pumpkin in the mash, it turned out nice. The pumkin added some color and slight earthyness to the aroma. No spices were added, that is just gross IMO! You mileage may vary!