Adventures in Homebrewing-Pumpkin Ale (Batch 1)!

This weekend, I brewed up a batch of Pumpkin Ale.  This will be an ongoing tradition every year in October.   Last year was the first year that I brewed a Pumpkin Ale.  Last year’s version was not as tasty as I would have liked it, but many of my friends seemed to like it.  Personally, I like my Pumpkin beers to be robust and bursting with flavor but I know that not everyone enjoys an Imperial high gravity beer.  Because I am still searching for the perfect pumpkin ale to serve on Thanksgiving, and the fact that I have friends who want six packs of my pumpkin ale, I have decided to brew two different batches of Pumpkin Ale this year.  By brewing 2 batches,  I will have more beer to share with friends and family, and two different beers to compare against each other.  I brewed Batch 1 this weekend.


Here’s the recipe:

Malts:
10lbs Pilsner
2lbs 4oz  CaraMunich (meant to order Munich and ended up ordering Cara-Munich on accident.  Hope it turns out to be a good mistake)
11oz Crystal 10L
4oz Black Patent

Hops:
.75oz Hallertau @ 60mins
1oz Hallertau @ 10mins

Other Ingredients:
5 Pie Pumpkins (Roasted in Oven for 90 minutes. Scooped out the meat and added on top of mash)
1 lb of Brown Sugar @50 mins
1 Cinnamon Stick @45 mins
2 Cinnamon Sticks @2 mins
1/8 oz bitter orange peel @ 2 mins
3 g Ginger Root @ 2 mins
1/2 tsp Whole Cloves @ 2 mins
1/4 tsp All Spice @ 2 mins
3 1/2 g Cardamom @ 2 mins
3 1/2 g Coriander @ 2 mins
1/4 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice @ 2 mins

Mashed for 1 hour at 153 degrees

Yeast: Wyeast American Ale Yeast

OG 1.066

Here's the pics from the brew day!

 Small Pie Pumpkins (they were about the size of a softball)

 Cut off the stem, then cut in half and roasted (350 degrees for 90 minutes) face down (I did cut one up into segments)

 It was easy to scoop out the pumpkin.  Mashed it up a bit and added some Pumpkin Pie Spice.  Then added to the mash. 

 The grains from Austin Homebrew (nicely milled)

 The spice is nice!

 Aren't hops beautiful?

 Have used this yeast before and liked the results

 Added these spices to the boil with 2 minutes left in the boil

 This won't be a very hoppy beer, just enough to balance the sweetness

Added 1lb of Brown Sugar at beginning of boil

 The lovely mash!

 The setup on the patio

 After the sparge!! Looks awesome!

 It was a perfect day to brew!

In the fermenter, trying to keep fermentation temp around 68 degrees

 Roasted some pumpkin seeds to snack on too!

Sampled my Oaked Bourbon Stout (I donated a keg of it to the Charlotte Oktoberfest in exchange for a free ticket)

I always try the beer before I put it in the fermenter, and it tasted pretty good!  I am excited for this batch.  Stay tuned. Will provide updates in a few weeks!

Cheers!

Other Adventures!
Oaked Bourbon Stout
Belgian IPA

Posted in: adventures,adventures in homebrewing