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recipe

Smuttynose Brewing Company: Pumpkin Ale clone

“This beer was designed to have some nice sweetness created by a mix of caramel malts and we wanted a decent hop presence as well. Over the years we’ve reduced the amount of cloves we’ve added as that one spice always seems to be the one to throw things out of balance. If I was brewing this at home I’d go easy on the clove and add more in later batches if needed.” ~ David Yarrington, Brewmaster

Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale clone

(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.057 FG = 1.012
IBU = 35 SRM = 8 ABV = 6.1%

Ingredients

10.75 lbs. (4.9 kg) 2-row pale malt
0.9 lb. (0.41 kg) Hugh Bairds light Carastan malt (15 °L)
4 oz. (0.11 kg) crystal malt (60 °L)
4 oz. (0.11 kg) pumpkin puree
5.5 AAU Cascade hops (75 min.) (1 oz./28 g at 5.5% alpha acids)
4.1 AAU Cascade hops (10 min.) (0.75 oz./21 g at 5.5% alpha acids)
3.4 AAU Liberty hops (0 min.) (0.75 oz./21 g at 4.5% alpha acids)
0.14 oz. (4 g) ground cinnamon (0 min.)
0.14 oz. (4 g) ground nutmeg (0 min.)
1 pinch ground clove (0 min.)
Wyeast 1056 (American Ale) or White Labs WLP001 (California Ale) or Lallemand BRY-97 (American West Coast Beer) or Fermentis US-05 yeast
¾ cup (150 g) dextrose (if priming)

Step by Step

Heat 4 gallons (15 L) of strike water to achieve a stable mash temperature of 155 °F (68 °C). Add the crushed grains and the pumpkin puree in the mash and hold at 155 °F (68 °C) for 60 minutes. Sparge and collect 6.25 gallons (24 L) of wort in the kettle.

Boil for 75 minutes, adding hops and spices at times indicated. Give the wort a stir for at least a minute and let the hot wort settle for 15 minutes total. Then chill the wort to 68 °F (20 °C) and pitch the yeast. Maintain this temperature during active fermentation. Keg or bottle as normal.

Extract with grains option:
Substitute the 2-row pale malt in the all-grain recipe with 5.75 lbs. (2.6 kg) extra light dried malt extract. Heat 1 gallon (3.8 L) of water to 170 °F (77 °C) and place the crushed grains and the pumpkin puree in a brewing bag. Steep the grains and puree for 20 minutes at 160 °F (71 °C), then rinse the bag with 1 gallon (3.8 L) of hot water. Top off the kettle to make 6.25 gallons (24 L) wort and boil for 75 minutes. Follow the remaining portion of the all-grain recipe.

Tips for Success:
In the all-grain recipe, you may need to use 0.5 lb. to 1 lb. (0.23 to 0.45 kg) of rice hulls per 5-gallons (19-L) to prevent a slow or stuck sparge. You can also add a beta glucan rest at 122 °F (50 °C) for 15 minutes at the beginning of the mash.

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