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Smashing pumpkin additions

Extract/Partial Mash Brewing
#1

I’m brewing the Smashing pumpkin extract kit this weekend and wanted to play with the partial mash a little bit. I know the recommendation is to use 2-3 lbs of 6 row in with the pumpkin but I’m thinking about adding 8 oz of biscuit and an additional 8 oz of caramel 40L along with 2 lbs of the 6 row based on some recommendations I’ve found. The kit comes with 1/2 lb of caramel 40 already. Should I bump the caramel to a full lb or leave it at 1/2 lb?

Also, I’m planning on adding the pumpkin to the mash on my stove in a bag, do I need to worry about rice hulls?

:cheers:
Rad

#2

Check this link for diastatic power of common malts and Wikipedia for a discussion of what diastatic power is about.

I believe the 6-row is in the recipe to convert the starches in the pumpkin to sugar. The biscuit and crystal will not convert - their enzymes are denatured in the roasting/stewing process. If your process does not include some malt with active enzymes, you’re doing a steep, not a partial mash.

#3

Did you maybe forget to post the link you referenced? I did read through the wiki as well.

Sorry, I may have had some of my terminology or understanding wrong. I am doing the extract recipe and the instructions say that to add real pumpkin, you should mash it with 2-3 lbs of 6 row for an hour at 152. The biscuit and caramel would be part of the specialty grain steep for my typical extract brewing process and as I understand it are just to add some different flavors rather than fermentables. I haven’t done a partial mash attempt yet so this is an experimental batch to help me learn how it works.

:cheers:
Rad

#4

[quote=“Radagast”]Did you maybe forget to post the link you referenced? I did read through the wiki as well.

Sorry, I may have had some of my terminology or understanding wrong. I am doing the extract recipe and the instructions say that to add real pumpkin, you should mash it with 2-3 lbs of 6 row for an hour at 152. The biscuit and caramel would be part of the specialty grain steep for my typical extract brewing process and as I understand it are just to add some different flavors rather than fermentables. I haven’t done a partial mash attempt yet so this is an experimental batch to help me learn how it works.

:cheers:
Rad[/quote]

Did I forget to post the link? Of course I forgot to post the link! I ALWAYS forget to post the link! Good Grief!

Here’s the link: http://beersmith.com/blog/2010/01/04/di … your-beer/

I also overlooked your comment that you intended to use the two pounds of 6-row and assumed you were subbing the caramel and biscuit for the 6-row. Good Grief!

OK, I’ll try again: I can’t comment on the advisability of increasing the caramel or adding the biscuit. I’d brew the recipe as provided by NB, evaluate it, then modify the next batch to see how the grains change it. With all the spice and amber extract, I doubt you’ll notice much change. Whatever you decide about the types and amounts of added caramel and biscuit, just throw them in with the 6-row. They’ll steep as the 6-row converts the starches in the pumpkin and the 6-row itself.

Hope this helps. I’ll go looking for my memory. Be back in a bit.

#5

Am I right in saying doing the partial mash with the pumpkin and 6-row will change the gravity and ABV of the final beer? I would imagine the extra fermentables extracted will push it to around 1.066 with albs instead of 1.054?

#6

I assume the mashed pumpkin will increase the OG, but I can’t guess by how much. You’ll have to let your hydrometer tell you.

#7

I added 2 lbs of 6 row, 1 lb of Caramel 40L and 1/2 lb of biscuit along with 3 lbs of canned pumpkin. My OG measured out at 1.072 Monday morning before I pitched my yeast. My ground water can only get my beer down to about 78 at 1/4 speed through my CFC in the summer so I sealed up the carboy and let it come down to 70 overnight before aerating and pitching.

Per the recommendations of the video on NB, I heated 3 gallons of water to 160 and then added my grain and pumpkin (which I baked at 350 with some brown sugar on top for 45 mins) which brought my temp down to 156. Over the course of the hour it dropped down to 154 which is a bit higher than the target of 152 but for my first partial mash attempt, I thought it went pretty smoothly. Now I need to find me a cooler and try all grain. :lol:

:cheers:
Rad

#8

Please keep us posted on your progress. I’m brewing the all grain version the weekend after next…

#9

Bingo. I did the 1 gallon Smashing Pumpkin kit back in May and added the 6 Row and one can of pumpkin to the steeping grains as recommended in the instructions. My OG came out at 1.066. Finished off at 1.012, so around 7% ABV.

#10

I attempted the smashing pumpkin with real pumpkin, and 2lbs of 6 row rahr. Did my mash at 152, good boil, wort chiller down to 70 degrees, pitched, and had a visibly rolling ferment for over a week. Transferred to secondary for almost 3 weeks due to work and then bottled. I realized when I bottled that I forgot to get corn sugar. I used cane sugar, 2/3 cup in 16oz water, andthe beer smelled WONDERFUL in teh bottling bucket. Put it into 22’s and hid it for 2 weeks.

When I opened my first bottle I noticed an odor. Not unbearable, and very hard to describe. I poured the beer into a pint and I have great carbonation, good head retention, nice golden ale color slightly darker and a very full ALE taste. No pumpkin taste, no pumpkin aroma, no pumpkin nothing. A somewhat sour odor and good tatste.

I’m stumped.

#11

So I wanted to follow up on how this turned out. I split, quartered and scraped two vanilla beans and soaked them in vodka for a week and then put that mixture into the secondary fermenter for a week before I transferred the beer to the keg. I posted a picture of my pint. This beer came out delicious, just enough pumpkin flavor (I don’t like too overpowering pumpkin pie flavor so I stuck with just the spice packet that came with the kit), very smooth and great color. All my buds who have tried it have really enjoyed it as well, even the pumpkin beer nerds who live for this time of year. :lol: It came out at about 7.5%.

:cheers:
Rad

#12

I completed my all grain batch. I added 1 tsp of my secret blend of pumpkin pie spices during the last ten miutes of the boil, created a spice extract by steeping two tablespoons in vodka for two weeks and then adjusted the spice level at bottling. (I hate the taste of nutmeg, so I didn’t use the spice packet that came with the kit.) I also added one pound of lactose at bottling. I added an additional pound of base malt to the grain bill, as I mash in a bag and used the standard Northern Brewer grain crush, and I underestimated by efficiency, so my OG was 1.062, so I added additional water at bottling and yielded 58 bottles of 4.6% ABV ale. It turned out fantastic! A beautiful orange color with a full mouthfeel, slight sweetness, low bitterness and the perfect level of spice.

#13

I did similar except did a bourbon cinnamon tincture, and created a tea with pumpkin spice at bottling and I added the Lactose during the boil. Do you know what impact lactose at boil vs. bottling would play? It came really close to what I was looking for but would still like a thicker mouthfeel and it to be a little sweeter.

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