Help with Imperial Pumpkin Ale recipe

If I were you I'd leave out the bourbon barrel. Bourbon usually dominates the flavor so if you're making a beer with spices you're not going to taste them.

When I want my beers to be rich and creamy I add oatmeal to the mash. That usually does the trick.

 

I brewed the Northern Brewer Pumpkin Ale Extract recipe. I added 3 pounds or Rahr 6 row to the grains and mashed with 45oz of canned pumpkin. I would double the amount of spice they include to get a better spice aroma since I detected none. I bottled 1 gallon of the batch with 1.25oz of Makers Mark in the bottling bucket with the priming solution and it was unbelievable! Don't know if this helps you much but just my experience with a pumpkin ale from last year. The extra grain bumps up the ABV a bit too.

 

Couldn't disagree more. I brew a bourbon barrel Pumpkin Ale and the flavors meld wonderfully. Certified judges seem to agree, as this beer has scored as high as 40 in official brewing competitions. It just takes some practice to find the right balance.

To the OP, you're welcome to try my recipe. The original is linked below, but I make tweaks and improvements every year (I just brewed my third year of this last week). If you have any interest in using the recipe, let me know and I'll give you some tips/tricks on different things that I've tried.

http://www.pangaeabeerandfood.com/2010/12/one-only-gentleman-jack-olantern.html

 

Why not Rum instead of Bourbon? Rum and pumpkin spices go together like lamb and tuna fish. Yummmmm

 

Bourbon and spices go together great, too. Just depends on the flavor profile you're looking for.

 

I was going to order the Smashing Pumpkin extract recipe myself. Does that make 5 gallons? (Disclaimer: I'm new to the brewing scene.) They recommend 2 lbs of crushed Rahr 6 row... you suggest 3 lbs? Also, how could I double the spices when I order the extract kit? Definitely a fan of more spice... AND I love bourbon in beer. For 5 gallons, I could go with 6.25 oz like you did with your 1 gallon. Would you recommend adding the bourbon during fermentation or bottling/kegging? What was your final ABV for both the bourbon and non-bourbon varieties? I'm full of questions... thanks for whatever you can offer.

 

1. It makes 5 gal.
2. I'm assuming that HopNuggets added the extra 6row and pumpkin and did a mini mash to "imperialize" the beer. I would not add any 6row to the kit if I were you unless you are prepared to do a mini mash in order to convert the starch in the grain to sugar (6row is a base malt and needs to be mashed and so does pumpkin)
3. It would be cheaper for you to go to the grocery store and buy pumpkin pie spice
4. I would add the bourbon at bottling/kegging for maximum flavor impact. I have added as much as a pint for 5 gallons but that was very prominent. I think you'll be right on with 6.25 oz.

 

I brewed this a few weeks ago, I'd call it a cross between DFH Punkin and Pumking, leaning more towards Punkin, I like i more than the most pumpkin ales (Harpoon, Smuttynose, etc).

6.5 lb 2-row
.75 lb crystal 40
1oz EKG (60 min)
WLP002 with a 750 mL starter
OG ended up being around 1.070
FG was around 1.020
30 oz pumpkin purée mixed with maple syrup and baked at 350F until carmelized and add into the mash.
1tsp (or less) of pumpkin pie spice with 5 min left in boil.
I also made a tincture of pumpkin pie spices and put it in the secondary.

 

5 gal kit like hopsandmalt said. Added 3# Rahr 6-row since they said 2-3lbs. It needs to be minimashed with the 45oz of canned pumpkin. I don't know if you can just scale up the bourbon but it was subtle and not overpowering so you should be safe with 6-7oz (maybe even more) for the 5 gal batch. Extra spice from store or you can see if they can double it in your order if you don't want to buy the spice. I think my ABV on the non-bourbon beer was 6.9%ish, off the top of my head. With the bourbon, I don't know how to figure it out but it was only 1 shot for a gallon so probably only a hair higher.

 

Part of the fun of homebrewing is coming up with your own recipes... I'm just now enjoying the first couple of bottles of my first pumpkin ale and have been quite thrilled results... I attribute my success to the following two items, both of which I think will help in creating the "rich and creamy, less spicy" character you describe:

• The addition of flaked oats to the mash
• I struggled with yeast choice, but settled on WLP028 (Edinburgh Scottish Ale Yeast)