I just finished bottling my second ever homebrew. I used this kit: http://www.midwestsupplies.com/pumpkin-ale.html I followed the directions exactly. As I was bottling I saved a little for sampling. To my dismay, I do not detect *any* pumpkin flavor at all. I added 30oz of canned pumpkin during the brewing process. Just like the recipe called for. What is the chance the beer will have a pumpkin flavor when bottling/carbonation is done? What could have gone wrong?
Generally speaking, pumpkin adds more to the "mouthfeel" of a beer than to the flavor of a beer. Sometimes it imparts a hint of gourd / squash flesh flavor, but it can be a hard flavor to detect for most. Try to think back to other commercial pumpkin beers you had. Do you remember tasting the pumpkin itself? It's usually the spices (in this case nutmeg, cinnamon, and ginger) that provide the "pumpkin pie flavor" to a pumpkin beer. Do you taste the spices and not the pumpkin, or neither?
^^^ what he said ^^^ You can add some pumpkin pie spices if you like (most Americans think pumpkin tastes like cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves). Personally, I would advise against it, but tastes/preferences vary and that may, indeed, what you're looking for, in which case, go for it! If you do, make it very, very subtle, otherwise, you'll tire of it before the season's over .
The ingredients had spices listed. If you added those, when in the boil would be important. If early, not much will be left.
you are right. i am looking for the spice flavor of the cinnamon, nutmeg, etc. the recipe calls for it but i dont detect much of that either. im wondering what the point of adding all that is if i cant taste it?
