Pumpkin beers can be pretty bad when done wrong, especially when brewers are too heavy handed with the spices. I wanted to make something like Dogfish Head's Punkin', which has a perfect balance of spice and pumpkin flavor, in my opinion. Sam Calagione's Extreme Brewing shares a recipe for Punkin' Porter, which I used to help me design my Master of Pumpkins recipe. I wanted Master of Pumpkins to have a deep amber, slightly sanguine hue rather than a the darkness of porter, so I replaced the black patent malt with Cara Red. I also made some tweaks to the hop profile, and I added sweet orange peel as a foil to the pie spices. I used Sam's method of mashing the pumpkin with 6 row barley to convert the starches and it worked very well. The beer was not hazy at all.
Master of Pumpkins
Style: Pumpkin Ale
Water:
1 gallon of water heated to 155 F in a separate kettle for mashing the pumpkin with the 6 row barley and specialty grains
1 gallon of water heated to 155 F in a separate kettle for mashing the pumpkin with the 6 row barley and specialty grains
3 gallons in brew kettle, heated to 155 F (hold at this temp while mashing the pumpkin and barley; use a half gallon of this water to sparge the mash)
Grains:
1 ½ lbs. 6 row
1 lb. of Cara Red
Pumpkin:
30 oz. of plain canned pumpkin (no spices already added)
Pumpkin:
30 oz. of plain canned pumpkin (no spices already added)
Extract:
7 lbs. light DME
Hops:
1 oz. Northern Brewer pellets (bittering @ 60 min.)
1 oz. Fuggles pellets (flavor @ 15 min.)
1 oz. Fuggles pellets (aroma @ 5 min.)
Spices:
1 tsp. cinnamon @ 5 min.
1 tsp. nutmeg @ 5 min.
1 tsp. allspice @ 5 min.
¼ oz. sweet orange peel @ 5 min.
Spices:
1 tsp. cinnamon @ 5 min.
1 tsp. nutmeg @ 5 min.
1 tsp. allspice @ 5 min.
¼ oz. sweet orange peel @ 5 min.
Yeast:
Wyeast 1056 American Ale
Other Ingredients:
1 Whirlfloc tab or 1 tsp. or Irish moss (added 15 minutes before flameout).
Water to add to the wort to achieve 5 ½ gallons of total volume in the primary fermenter.
¾ cup of corn sugar or 1 ¼ cups of ex light DME boiled in 2 cups of water for five minutes to prime beer before bottling.
Recipe:
Start by heating a gallon of water and the canned pumpkin up to 155 F in a separate pot of adequate volume (not the brew kettle). Stir in the 6 row barley and the specialty grains. The temperature will slightly drop after the grains are added; if necessary, add heat until the mash reaches 155 F. Cover and hold at this temperature for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. This mash time allows the enzymes in the 6 row barley to convert the starches in the pumpkin into fermentable sugars. Don't use distilled water for this step; spring or tap water is preferred when mashing because the mineral content helps the enzymes do their thing. While this mash is taking place, heat 3 gallons of water up to 155 F in the brew kettle and hold at this temperature.
When the mash time is up, reserve a half gallon of the 155 F water in the brew kettle to use for sparging. I carefully transfer it to a 64 oz. Pyrex measuring cup. I then use an 8 oz. Pyrex measuring cup to dole out doses of sparge water.
Place a large strainer over the brew kettle and pour half of the mash into it. Allow the wort to drain through; pour four cups of the sparge water over the mash and let this drain into the brew kettle. Gently stir with a large spoon to help the sparge water drain through, if necessary. Discard the spent grains and pumpkin solids from the strainer; repeat this process with the second half of the mash.
After this, it's extract brewing business as usual. Follow the ingredients schedule listed above and enjoy the aroma of the hops and spices.
By the way, I want to show off my new favorite novelty tasting glass. It's a snifter from the 2014 Great Pumpkin Beer Festival hosted by Elysian Brewing Company in Seattle. I have not yet had the pleasure of attending the event, but it looks like a lot of fun. I was lucky enough to score this one off of their website. Worship the gourd!
Recipe:
Start by heating a gallon of water and the canned pumpkin up to 155 F in a separate pot of adequate volume (not the brew kettle). Stir in the 6 row barley and the specialty grains. The temperature will slightly drop after the grains are added; if necessary, add heat until the mash reaches 155 F. Cover and hold at this temperature for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. This mash time allows the enzymes in the 6 row barley to convert the starches in the pumpkin into fermentable sugars. Don't use distilled water for this step; spring or tap water is preferred when mashing because the mineral content helps the enzymes do their thing. While this mash is taking place, heat 3 gallons of water up to 155 F in the brew kettle and hold at this temperature.
When the mash time is up, reserve a half gallon of the 155 F water in the brew kettle to use for sparging. I carefully transfer it to a 64 oz. Pyrex measuring cup. I then use an 8 oz. Pyrex measuring cup to dole out doses of sparge water.
Place a large strainer over the brew kettle and pour half of the mash into it. Allow the wort to drain through; pour four cups of the sparge water over the mash and let this drain into the brew kettle. Gently stir with a large spoon to help the sparge water drain through, if necessary. Discard the spent grains and pumpkin solids from the strainer; repeat this process with the second half of the mash.
After this, it's extract brewing business as usual. Follow the ingredients schedule listed above and enjoy the aroma of the hops and spices.
By the way, I want to show off my new favorite novelty tasting glass. It's a snifter from the 2014 Great Pumpkin Beer Festival hosted by Elysian Brewing Company in Seattle. I have not yet had the pleasure of attending the event, but it looks like a lot of fun. I was lucky enough to score this one off of their website. Worship the gourd!
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