Skip to main content

Pumpkin Beer Review & Recipe

Life has a way of filling up pretty quickly.  But, no excuses.  I haven't been as diligent as I want with this blog.  Now that Thanksgiving is over, maybe I can get back in the swing of things.

For this post, I am going to review our pumpkin beer, Fairytale Debacle.

Appearance
The beer looks great.  It is one of the clearest beers I have brewed with an amber color, almost with an orange tint.  The head is nice and fluffy.  Very respectable pint of beer, if I do say so myself.

Aroma
I get some spice flavors coming through the nose, though, not a whole lot.  Has a good malt presence, too.  Nothing to overpowering, but pleasant.

Flavor
Good beer, easy drinking.  I get a bit of pumpkin flavor with some spice, but not a whole lot going on.  The spice flavors are more subtle and in the background.  Also, I think there is too much nutmeg or ginger which gives it a bit of a sharp aftertaste, but that is not unpleasant and mellows as I drink the pint.

Mouthfeel
Good and easy to drink.

Overall Impression
Overall, I think we did a very fine job with this beer.  It looks good, smells good, tastes good.  I do wish there was a little more spice to it - not an overpowering spice flavor, but something a bit more than what is present.  It was fun using pumpkin in the mash and the beer had a nice, orange-y hue to it.  That may have been my imagination, but I like to think the pumpkin actually DID something.

-----

So, there is the review.  It is kind of funny that I am doing a review on this beer now considering the keg kicked before Thanksgiving.  I did have some notes jotted down from actual pints I drank, so I am not making up anything above.  We had a birthday party for my son and all the guests drank up my homebrew!  Guess they enjoyed it.

As I mentioned, there wasn't a whole lot of spice going on.  I wish we would have added more... but there is a way to correct that, or at least supplement that.  But that will be a post for another day.

Here is the recipe for a 10 gallon batch:
Malts/Adjuncts (lbs)

15 Rahr 2-row Pale
5 German Munich Malt
1 Briess Caramel 80
0.5 Bries Caramel 60
1 Rice Hulls
8.25 Roasted Pumpkin

Mash at 152 F for 60 minutes.
Our OG - 1.052

Hops

2 ounces of Cluster (6.8%) @ 60 minutes
Added spices at knockout (use any pumpkin pie spices you like)

Fermented cool, around 67 F.

So, while it may be a bit out of season, give the recipe a shot.  I was quite pleased with the results.

Cheers.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Equipment Progression

I am an all-grain, fermentation-controlled, kegging homebrewer (with other bells and whistles thrown in there, too).  But I didn't start out that way.  I was thinking about my progression as a homebrewer and wondering if I would change anything about my journey (hindsight is 20/20).  So, I made a list of my progression.  The list below doesn't contain every gadget or step, and some steps include multiple purchases/equipment, but it hits key milestones.  Here is a brief overview of how I have progressed so far as a homebrewer: Extract on the stove top Wort chiller Turkey fryer/Burner for outdoor use Kegerator Pump Fermentation control Yeast starters All-grain (all the equipment at once) Plate Chiller Oxygenation system So, what would I change?  How would I choose to progress now that I am more advanced?  Or, I guess a pertinent question also is, where did I get the most bang for my buck?  What was most worth the money?  Below is m...
4 comments
Read more

First of many...

So, while Eric and I are figuring out our mash tun and boil kettle situation, I decided it would be good to go ahead and purchase/create some things I know we want.  One benefit of this is I can use it now for extract batches until we get up and running with the all-grain setup. The first thing I invested in was the quick disconnects (QDs from here on out) and high-temp tubing.  The QDs are sold in 2 pieces, male and female connections.  They are simple enough to install, assuming that all your sizes are compatible.  Since everything was 1/2", I was golden.  Funny how things like that work when you plan ahead.  Anyways, I just slipped the barb from the female QD into the hose and clamped it on with a screw clamp.  Simple as that. I got three hoses, so six female connections.  All it took was a screw driver.  I got a few male connections which will be attached to mash tun, boil kettle, and the pump.  There are a couple of them...
3 comments
Read more

The Research: Part 3

The final post I want to make in the research category is one about the traditional, brick & mortar, local homebrew store.  If you are lucky enough to have a store nearby, this is a great place to visit.  (You can find a nearby store by visiting the Homebrewers Association directory .) In this modern world, full of instant information, huge selection, and Amazon.com pricing, why visit an actual store ?  Several reasons. First, the people.  These people are passionate about brewing and passionate about helping you brew.  They are a great resource for practical questions on ingredients and, in this specific case, equipment.  They probably have used most of what is in their store and can speak to it first hand.  You get much better service than online retailers (which usually provide no customer service  unless something doesn't work the way it should) because there are actual people with whom to talk and ask questions. Hops/Yeast Fridge ...
2 comments
Read more