My first pumpkin ale

Love it, please send me a sample

 

2 vanilla sticks may be too much, I find vanilla to overpower very quickly. I would also probably half the clove, and maybe the allspice to get a better balance between the spices.

I have never actually used the pumpkin (just the spices), so maybe someone else can comment on how it will contribute to the thickness or mouthfeel on this beer. Something is telling me you may want to mash lower, but I really don't know why. The recipe as is looks good.

 

I've found that adding pumpkin doesn't do anything. Doesn't change the taste, doesn't add fermentables (that I know of, as long as my efficiency was the same for those batches), and is just an extra step. I would recommend sticking with the spices you have, then adding the same amount to secondary.

Also, for base malt, I like about 65% Maris Otter and 35% Munich with some Aromatic malt for the specialty. Makes a good base beer to work with.

 

If the pumpkin is added to the mash then it won't really contribute much since it will be mostly converted to simple sugars that will ferment out.

FWIW, I think the spice additions look good as long as you are expecting a very spice-forward beer. 2 Vanilla sticks may be too much, so I'd taste it regularly after you rack it to secondary until you think it has the right amount of vanilla flavor, then bottle/keg it.

 

You say too much spice, and I said to double up in the secondary One of your suggestions sounds like a good compromise. Brew with the spices he has, then if he wants more, add to personal taste in secondary.

 

I didn't really say OP has too much spice, but I brewed a pumpkin beer that had a higher OG that used a similar amount of spices and it was very spice heavy (which was delicious!). I also added 1/2 a tsp of Pumpkin Pie Spice at kegging, though. I was just saying that OP should expect lots of spice in the final product.

I do like the idea of adding more spice to taste in secondary, though

 

I would just say, it is easy to overspice. And spices don't really mellow with age.

This isn't a porter or stout with a big roast flavor to mix the spices...so I would error on the side of caution.

 

I'll have to look up the pumpkin spice milk stout I brewed last year. I didn't like it but a lot of people seemed to think the spiciness was just right for the sweetness. I tried one a month ago and it's all nutmeg and cinnamon now.