The Great Pumpkin

I brewed the infamous Nut Brown recipe that is posted on Homebrewtalk * :

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=30187

The recipe:
11.00 lb Pale Malt
1.0 lb Munich Malt
1.0 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L
1.0 lb Oats, Flaked
0.75 lb Victory Malt
0.75 lb Chocolate Malt
1.5 oz Fuggles [4.0%]
1.5 oz Goldings, East Kent [4.00%]
1 Pkgs Nottingham (Danstar #-) Yeast-Ale

I ramped it up to 6.5% ABV. I kept it proportional with everything but the Victroy malt. I weighed an eighth of a pound low. It was just based on what I had in the basement at the time. Victory could be kept proportional and the beer would still be very balanced.

I made a pumpkin spice mix that follows:
1T cinnamon
1T ginger (powdered)
2t mace (The stuff smells amazing!)
and roughly 1 tsp of the following. This should be to taste.
cardamom
coriander
nutmeg
allspice
a pinch of clove (This is the one I hate, but it rounds everything out in very small amounts)

All these spices were ground fresh, sifted through a colander to remove shellls, coarse stuff and mixed together. I used a heaping 1/2 teaspoon just after high krausen and didn't think it was enough--until I got it on tap. The stuff is divine. I could add more to the keg or the pint glass if need be. If any of these spices are overkill for you, back them down! Go by taste and don't be afraid to mix testing batches in some hot water or some tea to test it. If you do this, let the spice steep for at least 5 minutes before you make up your mind on strengths of your spices.

Feel free to add some darker roasts to this recipe too. (More)Chocolate, RB and patent malt would play nice for a porter or stout. I'll definitely be going this route next year.


No, there's no pumpkin in this beer. You don't get much flavor out of the stuff and it's not worth a stuck mash.

This is hands-down the best pumpkin beer I've ever tasted. It's not too sweet. It's not over spiced. It's balanced. An insinuation of spice to a tasty beer.

*Where infamous = 51 pages of responses. I've brewed 20 gal based on this recipe.

 

I'll bring it up again next year with the inevitable question, "How Much Pumpkin Should I Mash?"

 

I just tried to add everything proportionally to ramp it up. I think that just adding more base malt would back the color down a little more towards an amber, (not a bad thing). Mine is very dark brown and nearly a porter color.

 

The spice was added to the fermenter. It wasn't boiled and it wasn't much spice. It was freshly ground and was as potent as possible, so if you're pulling from preground tins you might have to add more. You might also like more spice than I do. I'd say go light, add to the fermenter if you need to, and have it taste right by the time it hits keg.

(Going from memory here) I believe the beer was roughly 6 weeks to 2 months old when I posted that recipe. It turned out great and I'll be rebrewing it again this fall. I did notice, however, that the beer did become a little thin as it aged and the spice settled out some. It was great until the keg kicked anyway. Things I'll tweak: I will look for a low attenuating English yeast to try to keep it chewy. if I were to use Notty on it again I'd bump up the mash temp up to 155 or 156. That strain's a monster. I wouldn't hold you back from adding the first 1/2tsp to flameout or the last 5 min of the boil. I would taste carefully after the beer hits FG to decide if you want to add more.

 

I don't take notes anymore. I tend to make tweaks to recipes, but I just brew for fun and for something tasty to drink. Grains are so modified you probably won't get much benefit out of a protein rest anyway. I won't tell you not to do a double decoction. I wouldn't

I think you should chose your favorite English yeast, honestly. You might not have to worry about a high FG with some of the sluggish ones. The mineral profiles of most the yeasts should play nice with the malts and should work well with the spices. Just focus on getting it as spicy as you like. 1/2 as much as you think in the boil, and then tweak it at the end of primary. Wyeast Irish 1084 is a house yeast for me. That'll be the next one I use. I'm in the process of buying a house so it might have to be a winter warmer for me instead of a Halloween beer. ^.^

 

House yeast is a loose term meaning the strain is either on tap or there's a culture in the fridge 365 at my house. The Notty's absolutely a good choice. I tend not to like this yeast in other English beers but it does well here.

I brew every month to 6 weeks. It's hard to keep more than 2 or 3 types chugging along.