On Munising Beers cast I was asked to talk about Pumpkin ales. My ideas techniques etc. The result was giving out my recipe for what I call Pub Pumpkin Ale. This recipe will closely mimic the amber pumpkin ale you will find in many brewpubs. It's a nice drinking beer leaning slightly more to the total pie flavor than spice extreme.
6 Gallon Batch
8 Lbs English Pale Ale Malt (American Pale Ale, Golden Promise, or Maris Otter Work Great As Well)
1 Lb Belgian Biscuit Malt (Breiss Victory is a good sub or Dark Munich if in a pinch)
1 Lb Caramel/Crystal 60 (Crystal 40, Crystal 80, Caramunich II, or British Crystal 55 Work Fine Too)
3 (15 oz cans) spice FREE pumpkin pie filling toasted in the oven @400 Degrees for 30 Minutes
10 Crushed Graham Crackers (plain or honey, dont get the cinnamon flavored)
1 lb Rice Hulls (for lautering. You WILL need them!)
154 Degree Mash for 60 Minutes
Mash a bit thinner for easier runoff. Around 1.5-1.7 Quarts Per Lb
Sparge as your system allows to collect a total volume of 7 Gallons
At the start of the boil add in 1 (15 oz) can of pumpkin pie filling and add in your hops.
For hops choose anything you like (I prefer high alpha hops - Magnum, Warrior, Summit)
Use brewing software such as
www.beertools.com to figure out how much hops you need to achieve 18-20 IBU's
There is no flavor or aroma addition of hops in this beer. They will interfere with the spice character we will add later on.
Cool down and pitch your yeast. I prefer S-05 or Nottingham for their fast and clean fermentation profiles. Alternatively select an English Ale Strain from Wyeast or White Labs which will leave the beer a touch sweeter, enhancing the pumpkin pie sweet character. I use Wyeast London Ale III for this method.
Ferment As Normal. I go 10 Days in Primary
Rack to a Seconday vessel. You really do need to rack to a secondary for this beer.
At this time add in 2 teaspoons of Spice Island Brand Pumpkin Pie Spice and an ounce of GOOD QUALITY vanilla extract. Dont use imitation vanilla crap intended for baking.
Let the beer sit for 2-3 days till clear and then keg/bottle as you normally would.
Cheers,
Jerid (AKA HeavyRiffBeer)
Co-Founder/Head Brewer
Heavy Riff Brewing Company
For extract use enough extract to get you to 1.048-1.052 starting gravity. Around 7 lbs I believe.
