Maple Pumpkin Ale

The newest concoction in this latest round of homebrewing was brewed in time for autumn: Maple Pumpkin Ale. Some seasonal pumpkin ales are named because of their color (pumpkiny) and their spices (cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, etc.) but have no real pumpkin to them. This recipe has both. To wit:

1 lb Munich Malt
1 lb Vienna Malt
8 oz Cara-Pils Malt
8 oz Crystal 60L Malt
6 lbs Extra Light Dry Malt Extract (DME)

8 oz Maple Syrup (90 mins)
four 15 oz cans of carmelized pumpkin (90 mins)
1 oz Liberty hops (90 mins)
1 tbsp Cinnamon (90 mins)
0.5 tbsp nutmeg (90 mins)

1 oz Fuggles (20 mins)
1 tbsp Cinnamon (20 mins)
0.5 tbsp nutmeg (20 mins)
4 oz Maple Syrup (20 mins)

1 tbsp Irish Moss (15 mins)

1 oz Cascades (2 mins)
1 tbsp Cinnamon (2 mins)
1 tbsp nutmeg (2 mins)
1 tbsp Corriander Seeds (2 mins)

WLP060 - American Yeast Blend

Four 15 oz cans of Libby's Pure Pumpkin were caramelized on a cookie sheet at 350 F for one hour to break down some sugars and add something to the fermentation. The recipe called for just leaving it alone for an hour, but Chris (always one to tinker on a recipe and not let anything be) swirled it around after 30 minutes to maximize the surface area being caramelized. The kitchen smelled absolutely wonderful during this!

The ingredients were gathered, and the brewing began in earnest. Some primo frou-frou maple syrup from Whole Foods in Alexandria was acquired for the day, and it was quite the tasty variety.

If only Smell-o-Vision were employed on the internets, because the initial tablespoon of cinnamon thrown into the boil was divine. Such a scrumptious aroma. When the boil got going, it was easily the most rigorous and vigorous boil of the bunch. Observe these findings in this edge-of-your-seat video:




All in all, this was by far the most nasally appealing brewday session in a while. And, hopefully if it turns out well, a repeat brew for every October's consumption. Sadly, 4 weeks of sitting need to occur. There is a lot of gunk and solids in this beer, with pumpkin flesh settling out. One week in primary, transfer for a 2nd week into secondary, then transfer it a THIRD time to sit for TWO more weeks. After all that, then it's the 2 to 3 week wait to carbonate in the bottles.

Now if we got rid of the toilet downstairs, we'd have more room for carboys....