Pumpkin Beer
I have been reading a lot of people who are doing pumpkin brews - I've never had one before. Has anyone here made a pumpkin brew before, and if so, what was the outcome?
Now to me pumpkin brew doesnt really sound like something that should even be done if you ask me. Thats like making kool aid brew.
i love the pumpkin ale that the local microbrews offer each year at this time! so seasonal and hearty! i have not yet made an ale, but this time last year, i made a pumpkin pie mead, and it turned out fantastic! i used actual pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spices, molasses, and honey. it is so yummy!!!
i think the key to a quality ale would be the molasses, and figuring out how to keep it from being cloudy. the mead sat all year, so the pumpkin sank to the bottom. hopefully the same would occur with an ale.
i cant see any connection to kool-aid beer. kool-aid is sugary and soda-like. pumpkin has many of the attributes we look for in a brew : sweet but not too, hearty, goes well with malt extract or molasses, and adds nutrition.
kool aid goes well with vodka though 
A colleague of mine and I have enjoyed a commercial pumpkin ale this time of year for the past few years. Last year he tried to brew his own and it turned out.... well, let's just say neither of us took more than one sip.
I recall him mentioning that pumpkin seemed to be a particularly tricky flavor to introduce into the mix. Not sure if it's because he'd been brewing his own for only a few months at that point, or because it's that tricky.
I have made about a dozen of these in different ways and the trick if there is one is not to put the pumpkin in the boil. It makes a mess (huge trub) and turnsd vegetal like in flavor after a few months in the bottle. Try putting it into the mash and use a very aggressive attenuating yeast (Wyeast belgian abbey 2 is my favorite). Lately my recipes have become more and more belgian-like even for these new world styles like pumpkin and I think the results are defintely improved. One other item is to put in plenty of spice and go very esasy on the hops or it will taste like a weak IPA. Just my $0.02, Curt.
There's the Pumpkin Ale recipe I dug up...might post the variant on it a bit later
http://www.brewingkb.com/recipes/pumpki … ml#msg1673
I would be interested in a Pumpkin Mead. Are there any recipes around or has anyone brew one that could share a recipe?
Just made a pumpkin ale the other night. I just used a big can of Libby's pumpkin puree (29oz or 1.75 lbs. I think) and put it right into the mash. Didn't have any trouble sparging. Hoping it turns out good, hoping it tastes like Smuttynose Pumpkin.
DT
to the person who wants to make a pumpkin mead : if you like the sound of the pumpkin pie mead that i mentioned a few posts up, here's what i did. it turned out fantastic! the pumpkin is not an overwhelming part of the taste. the pumpkin kind of just blends into the overall flavor. what is most noticable is the pumpkin pie spices and the honey. it has been in the fermenter for 1 year now. i used a dehydrated yeast packet intended for wine. the mead is a bit like dry wine that is sweet and pumpkin pie spiced.
so here's what i did.
boiled 5 gallons of water with the pumpkin pie spice added at the start (to the cold water)
once boiling, added the pumpkin puree (i used canned) and honey.
stirring often, i let that boil for about 40 mins, just to get all the flavors to marry and extract into the water. let it cool, strain, pour into the fermenter. add yeast.
i actually had no trouble with the trub, or getting the pumpkin to strain. like i said, i used canned puree, so most of it stayed in the wort and went into the fermenter. then when i racked it into a secondary, it stayed behind in the primary.
this mead came out tasty and has a very strong alcohol level.
good luck!
[edited 10/13 because i checked my recipe]
Had a pumpkin ale? Yes! Made one? No!
Had my first last year. It was just like drinking a pumpkin pie. I liked it, but I didn't like it enough to make 5 gallons. When I had it, I had just started all grain, but wasn't advanced enough to know how to add all the spices. Now I can.
Best thing I can offer is to google for pumpkin ale recipes. I have found LOTS of them, and each is a little different here and there.
I can't say any one receipt might be better than the next. Everybody has different tastes. For example, I LOVE fruit beers, hardly anybody I know does.
If you have never had a pumpkin ale, I recommend buying a sixer first, and if you like that, give it a shot and make it. Recipes are easy to find. No sense in making it if you have never tried it.
Arrogant Bastard comes to mind. Heard how great it was. Finally tried it. Didn't like it. Glad I didn't brew up 10 gallons.