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Pumpkin Beer – September Group Brew

It’s September, which for most of you means summer is winding down and cooler autumn days are ahead; here in Florida, summer doesn’t let up until Thanksgiving 😉 It also means it’s time for the next installment of the Homebrew Academy Group Brew.

If this is your first Group Brews, this is where we pick a beer style for the month and any homebrewer who wants to participate brews their own variation. Your recipe gets posted in the comments of this post, brewed by the “brew by” date and then come back to let us know how the brew turns out!

This month we’re taking on the seasonal! Fall (or autumn depending on your place of birth) beers are pretty varied, ranging from Oktoberfest style brews to beers brewed with seasonal ingredients, such as pumpkin. And that’s where we’re going this month – pumpkin beer!

Here is the base recipe that you can use as a guide:

OG: 1.055
FG: 1.018
ABV: 4.9%
IBU: 23
Mash Efficiency: 75%
Batch Size: 5 Gals

Malt and Fermentables

  • 7 lb. – 2-row Malt
  • 1.5lb. – Crystal 60L
  • 1lb. – Biscuit Malt
  • 1lb Flaked Wheat
  • 4 x 14-15 oz cans of Pumpkin, spread out onto a flat roasting pan & cooked at 375 deg for 25 mins
  • or if fresh, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes, roast at 375 till very soft, likely about 40-50 mins depending on the type of pumpkin you use – boil 60 mins.
  • *OPTIONAL:  1 tsp pumpkin pie spice mix in the last 10 minutes of the boil

Extract brewers substitute 4 lb. Light DME for the 2-Row

 Hops

  • 1 oz. East Kent Goldings (~5% AA) – 60 minutes
  • 1 oz. East Kent Goldings (~5% AA) – 20 minutes

Yeast

  • White Labs English Ale (WLP002) /Wyeast 1968

N.B. You can change this recipe up a LOT by switching yeasts – I’d love to hear everyone’s takes! I actually think I might sub out for a saison yeast…we’ll see!

Here is Beer Advocate’s description of a Pumpkin Ale:

“Often released as a fall seasonal, Pumpkin Ales are quite varied. Some brewers opt to add hand-cut pumpkins and drop them in the mash, while others use puree or pumpkin flavoring. These beers also tend to be spiced with pumpkin pie spices, like: ground ginger, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, and allspice. Pumpkin Ales are typically mild, with little to no bitterness, a malty backbone, with some spice often taking the lead. Many will contain a starchy, slightly thick-ish, mouthfeel too. In our opinion, best versions use real pumpkin, while roasting the pumpkin can also add tremendous depth of character for even better results, though both methods are time-consuming and tend to drive brewmasters insane.”

Some commercial examples:

  • Dogfish Head Punkin’
  • Southern Tier Pumking
  • Shipyard Pumpkinhead Ale

As with last month’s beer, you can modify the original recipe as much or as little as you like.

 Brewing Schedule

  • Post recipe and brew by 9/23/2011
  • Tasting post on 10/28/2011 (Right in time for Halloween!!)

Filed Under: Beer Brewing Recipes

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