Traditional Pumpkin Ale

Traditional Pumpkin Ale

(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.054   FG = 1.014
IBU = 15  SRM = 14  ABV = 5.4%

This is my traditional amber spiced pumpkin ale recipe, a classic example of what would come to mind if you ordered a pumpkin beer a decade ago.

Ingredients
4 lbs. (1.8 kg) pale ale malt
2 lbs. (0.9 kg) Vienna malt
1.5 lbs. (0.68 kg) dark Munich malt
12 oz. (340 g) flaked oats
12 oz. (340 g) flaked wheat
12 oz. (340 g) caramel malt (20 °L)
6 oz. (170 g) brown malt
2 oz. (57 g) chocolate malt
8 oz. (227 g) brown sugar
3 oz. (85 g) light molasses
9 lbs. (4.1 kg) canned pumpkin puree (plain, unspiced)
6 cinnamon sticks, broken up
1.5 Tbsp. crystalized ginger, chopped
1 whole nutmeg, chopped
10 dried allspice berries, crushed
0.25 tsp. ground mace
4.1 AAU UK Goldings hops (60 min.) (0.7 oz./20 g at 5.9% alpha acids)
Wyeast 1272 (American Ale II), White Labs WLP051 (California Ale V), or Mangrove Jack’s M36 (Liberty Bell Ale) yeast
3⁄4 cup corn sugar (if priming)

Step by Step
Prepare the pumpkin (can be done the night before brewing) by removing from cans and putting into a large baking dish. Roast in a 400 °F (204 °C) oven for about one hour, stirring every 15 minutes, until fairly dry and caramelized but not burned. Put in a fine mesh bag. If prepared the night before, allow to cool, cover, and refrigerate until brew day. Remove from refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature before using.

Prepare spices (can be done during the mash or boil). Place spices in a fine mesh bag (a hop bag works nicely).

This recipe uses reverse osmosis (RO) water. Adjust all brewing water to a pH of 5.5 using phosphoric acid. Add 1 tsp. of calcium chloride to the mash.

Step mash: Mash in first five grains at 131 °F (55 °C) using a 1.5 qts./lb. water-to-grist ratio (3.1 L/kg). Hold for 15 minutes. Raise to 149 °F (65 °C) and rest for 30 minutes. Raise to 158 °F (70 °C) and rest for 30 minutes. Finally, raise to 168 °F (76 °C) to mashout. Add the pumpkin in the mesh bag, and the caramel, brown, and chocolate malts, and recirculate for 15 minutes, recirculating over the top and through the mesh bag.

Sparge slowly and collect 6.5 gallons (24.5 L) of wort. If lautering is difficult, adding a pound (0.45 kg) of rice hulls can help.

After the wort has been collected, add the mesh bag of pumpkin to the kettle. Leave it in the kettle as it comes to a boil. Remove the bag when the wort has come to a boil, allowing liquid to drip back into the kettle.

Boil the wort for 90 minutes, adding hops at the time indicated in the recipe. The sugar and molasses are added with 15 minutes left in the boil. Put the spices in a tight mesh bag and add when boil is complete, stirring; remove after 10 minutes. Run off from the kettle slowly, preferably filtering through the spent hops.

Chill the wort to 66 °F (19 °C), pitch the yeast, and ferment until complete.

Rack the beer, allowing the beer to drop bright, using crash cooling or fining if necessary. Adjust spices to taste, if desired. Prime and bottle condition, or keg and force carbonate.

Traditional Pumpkin Ale

(5 gallons/19 L, extract with grains)
OG = 1.054   FG = 1.014
IBU = 15  SRM = 14  ABV = 5.4%

Ingredients
6 lbs. (2.7 kg) amber liquid malt extract
12 oz. (340 g) caramel malt (20 °L)
6 oz. (170 g) brown malt
2 oz. (57 g) chocolate malt
8 oz. (227 g) brown sugar
3 oz. (85 g) light molasses
9 lbs. (4.1 kg) canned pumpkin puree (plain, unspiced)
6 cinnamon sticks, broken up
1.5 Tbsp. crystalized ginger, chopped
1 whole nutmeg, chopped
10 dried allspice berries, crushed
0.25 tsp. ground mace
4.1 AAU UK Goldings hops (60 min.) (0.7 oz./20 g at 5.9% alpha acids)
Wyeast 1272 (American Ale II), White Labs WLP051 (California Ale V), or Mangrove Jack’s M36 (Liberty Bell Ale) yeast
3⁄4 cup corn sugar (if priming)

Step by Step
Prepare the pumpkin (can be done the night before brewing) by removing from cans and putting into a large baking dish. Roast in a 400 °F (204 °C) oven for about one hour, stirring every 15 minutes, until fairly dry and caramelized but not burned. Put in a fine mesh bag. If prepared the night before, allow to cool, cover, and refrigerate until brew day. Remove from refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature before using.

Prepare spices and place them in a fine mesh bag.

Use 6 gallons (23 L) of water in the brew kettle; heat to 158 °F (70 °C). Place the pumpkin (still in the mesh bag), and the caramel, brown, and chocolate malts in another mesh bag, and steep in the hot water for 30 minutes. Remove the mesh bags, then turn the heat off. 

Add the liquid malt extract and stir thoroughly to dissolve the extract completely. You do not want to feel liquid extract at the bottom of the kettle when stirring with your spoon. Put the pumpkin mesh bag back in, turn the heat back on and bring to a boil. Once a boil is reached, remove the pumpkin, allowing liquid to drip back into the kettle. Boil the wort for 60 minutes, adding the hops at the time indicated in the recipe. Add the sugar and molasses with 15 minutes left in the boil.

Follow the remainder of the all-grain recipe.