I am happy to share that I have put my first batch of brew into the fermenter that I will be sharing with the masses. I have put together what I am hoping will be a fantastic Pumpkin Ale, ready in time to share during Thanksgiving. I cannot take all the credit however. The idea came from the lovely, Vegan Miss. We both agreed that there was no better flavor for the season than pumpkin.
My ingredients are as follows:
My ingredients are as follows:
-
- 8 ounces each of Carapils & Caramel 20 L crushed grains
- 1 ounce each of Crystal and Cascade hops (I used pellets)
- 2 - 3.3 pound jars of Amber LME (liquid malt extract)
- 1 packet Nottingham dry active yeast
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1, 3-4 pound pumpkin
- 1 - 1½ tbsp of freshly grated cinnamon and nutmeg
- 2 large Muslin boiling bags
- 2, 7 lb bags of ice (you may not need both, but it's better to be safe than sorry)
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| LME Used in this boil |
*Note that this being the first post, it will be a little lengthy. Have to make sure all the necessary steps are there.
Let's start by roasting the pumpkin. Preheat your oven to 350°F. With the Halloween rush, I was unable to find a single pumpkin at the size I wanted, so I found two small ones. Start by cutting them in half and using a spoon, scrape out all the unwanted insides. Place the pumpkin halves on a baking sheet that has a layer of water. The water will keep the pumpkins from burning while they roast. Cover in foil and place in the oven for 30 minutes or until a fork softly sticks in the flesh of the pumpkins.
Use this time to prepare all of your equipment. For this step of brewing, we are going to use the fermenter and lid, the bubbler, the racking cane and the tubing. Everything needs to be sterilized. You can do this by mixing 1 to 2 tbsp of unscented bleach per 1 gallon of water. Place everything to be used in the fermenting bucket and cover with the bleach solution.
This would be a good time to check on the pumpkin. Peel the foil back, do a fork test and make sure that there is still water in the bottom of the pan. Lets get the kettle on the burner and prepare our grains. I put 3 gallons of water (I measured this using an old 1-gallon water jug) in to the kettle. Get the water heated but not boiling, the ideal temp being 155°F. It would be ideal to have a thermometer at this stage. I personally do not have one so I brought the pot up just before boil and kicked it slightly back. Place the crushed grains into one of the Muslin bags. Place the bag in the pot to steep like a big bag of tea for 30 minutes. This is another great time to check the pumpkins, they should be ready by this time. Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool.
After 30 minutes, kill the heat on the grains. If you are using an electric stove, be sure to remove the kettle from the burner. Let the grains steep for an extra 5 minutes off the heat. Remove the bag and if possible, try and to squeeze any excess water, careful not to burn yourself.
Before returning the the pot to the heat, add the malt and brown sugar. Be sure to stir to avoid the sugars from burning or sticking to the bottom. Return the pot to the heat and bring to a boil. Once boiling, it's time to add the Crystal hops. It's finally starting to smell like a real beer. Keep the wort (that's what the brew is called at this point) at a boil for an hour, stirring frequently. While this is going, the pumpkin should be cool enough to touch. Start spooning the meat of the pumpkin out into the second muslin bag.
At the last 10 minutes of of the boil, place the pumpkin in the pot. At the 2 minute mark, place Cascade hops in the boil with the spices. Now that it has boiled for 60 minutes, remove the kettle from the heat.
Let's start by roasting the pumpkin. Preheat your oven to 350°F. With the Halloween rush, I was unable to find a single pumpkin at the size I wanted, so I found two small ones. Start by cutting them in half and using a spoon, scrape out all the unwanted insides. Place the pumpkin halves on a baking sheet that has a layer of water. The water will keep the pumpkins from burning while they roast. Cover in foil and place in the oven for 30 minutes or until a fork softly sticks in the flesh of the pumpkins.
Use this time to prepare all of your equipment. For this step of brewing, we are going to use the fermenter and lid, the bubbler, the racking cane and the tubing. Everything needs to be sterilized. You can do this by mixing 1 to 2 tbsp of unscented bleach per 1 gallon of water. Place everything to be used in the fermenting bucket and cover with the bleach solution.
This would be a good time to check on the pumpkin. Peel the foil back, do a fork test and make sure that there is still water in the bottom of the pan. Lets get the kettle on the burner and prepare our grains. I put 3 gallons of water (I measured this using an old 1-gallon water jug) in to the kettle. Get the water heated but not boiling, the ideal temp being 155°F. It would be ideal to have a thermometer at this stage. I personally do not have one so I brought the pot up just before boil and kicked it slightly back. Place the crushed grains into one of the Muslin bags. Place the bag in the pot to steep like a big bag of tea for 30 minutes. This is another great time to check the pumpkins, they should be ready by this time. Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool.
After 30 minutes, kill the heat on the grains. If you are using an electric stove, be sure to remove the kettle from the burner. Let the grains steep for an extra 5 minutes off the heat. Remove the bag and if possible, try and to squeeze any excess water, careful not to burn yourself.
Before returning the the pot to the heat, add the malt and brown sugar. Be sure to stir to avoid the sugars from burning or sticking to the bottom. Return the pot to the heat and bring to a boil. Once boiling, it's time to add the Crystal hops. It's finally starting to smell like a real beer. Keep the wort (that's what the brew is called at this point) at a boil for an hour, stirring frequently. While this is going, the pumpkin should be cool enough to touch. Start spooning the meat of the pumpkin out into the second muslin bag.
At the last 10 minutes of of the boil, place the pumpkin in the pot. At the 2 minute mark, place Cascade hops in the boil with the spices. Now that it has boiled for 60 minutes, remove the kettle from the heat.
Before the boil can be transferred to the fementer, we need to bring the temperature down. This is where the ice comes in, it will be used to bring the temp down and get us to the 5 gallon mark. Start by mixing the first bag in to the kettle, stirring until the ice has melted. You may not need both bags of ice for this step, but it's better to be prepared. While cooling, prepare the yeast by mixing it with warm water and let it sit for about 5 to 10 minutes. Check the temperature of the wort, the target being around 80°F.
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| The wort being siphoned into the fermenter. |
Syphon the wort from the kettle to the fermenter using the racking cane and tubing (for a good example of how to do this, see this page). This step will help with filtering the wort and keeping sediment in the kettle.
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