Last year around this time I made a holiday pumpkin beer. The recipe was simple -
Respect Beer: Drink Responsibly.
.5 lbs American Crystal Malt (20 Lov.)
.14 lbs Chocolate Malt
6 lbs of Pumpkin (sugar pumpkins)
6.5 lbs Light Malt Extract
.5 oz Crystal Hops (boil)
.25 oz Crystal Hops (15 min.)
.25 oz Crystal Hops (5 min)
5 inches Cinnamon Bark
3/4 tsp Nutmeg
3/4 tsp Freshly Ground Clove
1 tbsp Irish Moss
1 Packet of American Ale Yeast
This year I wanted to take my pumpkin recipe in a different direction. I’ve been brewing all-grain this year with quite a bit of success, so I knew right away that I wanted to keep this recipe all-grain as well.
Looking at the recipe above, I realized that I was working with a pretty generic list of ingredients (sans pumpkin and spices.) Crystal and Chocolate malt with a light extract base… Nothing too fun there. I’m not sure that I would drink that beer as a stand alone. But maybe we have the beginnings of something else.
I decided I wanted a good solid base beer, but something that wouldn’t overpower. The last recipe was on the right track simplicity-wise, so I went with something equally as basic, a Mild, as the base beer.
6 lbs Briess Ashburne Mild Malt
.5 lbs Crisp Amber Malt –
.25 lbs Crisp Brown Malt
.375 lbs Franco-Belges Kiln Coffee –
.125 lbs Simpsons Golden Naked Oats –
1 oz US Fuggle Hop Pellets 60min
1 packet of Wyeast 1026 Cask Ale
Now that looks like a beer I would enjoy on its own. Mild Malt makes up the bulk of the base, with some great toasted and roasted malt adjunct grains thrown in to fill out the flavors. Additionally, this beer, while tasty, will not be overpowering ABV or taste wise. We can build flavors into this without having to go too nuts for the pumpkin and spices to come through.
To this base recipe I added -
8lbs of Roasted Sugar Pumpkins
7 inches Cinnamon Bark
3/4 tsp Nutmeg
3/4 tsp Freshly Ground Clove
3/4 tsp Freshly Ground Allspice
Very similar to what I did last year, but with more pumpkin and cinnamon, and the addition of some allspice for good measure.
Here is how I put everything together -
Slice Pumpkins into halves, remove seeds, and roast in an oven (cavity side down) at 350 degrees until the skin soft to the touch.
Remove, cutting into cubes once they have cooled slightly.
Add these cubes to your mashing grains, being careful to maintain a temperature of 154 degrees. Mash with your grains at 154 degrees for 60 min.
Lauter, and sparge to achieve 6 gallons of wort.
Bring wort to boil, add your hops, and boil uncovered for 55 min.
After 55 min, add your spices as if they were a final hop addition.
Boil for an additional 5 min, remove from heat, and cool to yeast pitching temperature.
Aerate your wort.
Take your gravity reading.
Pitch the Yeast.
Seal, and wait for visible signs to fermentation to cease. You will want to confirm total fermentation with a proper gravity reading.
Bottle, keg, distribute to the masses.
I’ll let you know how it turns out!
November 17th, 2010 at 2:25 pm
Do you not use a secondary fermenter?
November 18th, 2010 at 1:44 pm
For this one – no. I very often do, but this is based off a mild recipe, and I usually turn these around in around a week or so – no need for conditioning in a secondary. As soon as the patty falls, I will check the gravity. Once it is ready, it is going in the keg.
If I were keeping a beer for any longer than a quick fermentation cycle, I would absolutely rerack it to a secondary fermentation vessel.
For instance, my next post will be on a Holiday Season Winter Warmer. That will ferment in the primary until the patty falls, and then it is going into the secondary to mellow out.