Pumpkin Beer

About a month ago I was getting groceries and saw pie pumpkins and I knew it was that time of your again. It is time to brew a pumpkin beer!! I have brewed a pumpkin beer the past three years with great results. I have been trying different techniques and ingredients to see what is easiest and turns out tasting the best. The first year I tried the traditional technique of adding the pumpkin to the mash. It was very messy to say the least. The next year I read about throwing the pumpkin right in the boil. That was way easier and a lot less messy. It also seemed to give the beer a better pumpkin color. So here is what I did this year. First off I bought 4 pie pumpkins at the store. I quartered them and scrapped off all the seeds. If you have some baking pans it is a good idea to wrap them in at least one layer of aluminum foil, two is preferred. This protects the pan from the melting brown sugar that you will put on the pieces. I add brown sugar to each piece and bake in the oven at 350 for 60-90 minutes. This caramelizes the brown sugar and the pumpkin bringing out some nice flavors in the pumpkin. In past years I would stop here but his year they go back into the oven for a second baking. I heard that baking the pumpkin twice brings out more flavors that you cannot get with baking the pumpkin just once.



After it cools you cut the "meat" of the pumpkin away from the outside skin. You are now ready to add this to your boil. Using this method eliminates the worry of a stuck sparge that you could have if you put the pumpkin in the mash. I use a mesh strainer at the end of the boil to remove the pumpkin before I start cooling my wort. I do this because I use a March pump to whirlpool my wort as I chill with my immersion chiller. In the next couple weeks I will be bottling the beer and will post some tasting comments. Until then the recipe is below if you feel like brewing it for yourself. I normally do 12 gallon batches but for this one I bumped it up to 14 gallons to ensure I get 12 gallons at the end of the boil. With all the pumpkin and other protein and trub that will be in the bottom of the kettle I will probably loose two more gallons that normal. Cheers!!



Recipe: Pumpkin Ale
Brewer: Ashley Strube
Style: Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer
TYPE: All Grain

Recipe Specifications
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Batch Size: 14.00 gal
Boil Size: 16.76 gal
Estimated OG: 1.069 SG
Estimated Color: 13.3 SRM
Estimated IBU: 27.4 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
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Amount Item Type % or IBU
18 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) UK (3.0 SRM) Grain 52.17 %
9 lbs Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 26.09 %
4 lbs Aromatic Malt (26.0 SRM) Grain 11.59 %
1 lbs 8.0 oz Caramunich Malt (56.0 SRM) Grain 4.35 %
3.00 oz Glacier [6.00 %] (60 min) Hops 27.4 IBU
2.50 tbsp Ginger Root (Boil 12.0 min) Misc
2.50 tsp Nutmeg (Boil 5.0 min) Misc
7.00 tsp Cinnamon (Boil 5.0 min) Misc
9.00 tsp Vanilla Extract (Secondary 14.0 days) Misc
2 lbs Brown Sugar, Light (8.0 SRM) Sugar 5.80 %
2 Pkgs London ESB Ale (Wyeast Labs #1968)

Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body, No Mash Out
Total Grain Weight: 32.50 lb
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Single Infusion, Medium Body, No Mash Out
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
60 min Mash In Add 11.00 gal of water at 165.0 F 154.0 F

Notes:
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added 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp cloves, and 1/2 tsp cinnamon in secondary or at bottling.

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West Coast Beer Tour - Series Intro

This year my wife and I took our summer vacation out to the West Coast for a break from the Midwestern heat, to enjoy long distance friends and family, and of course drink our way up the coast. Contrary to my beliefs, this was not supposed to be a beer tour but seven breweries and over 100 samples later, one could extrapolate the trip to be just that, a West Coast Beer Tour. So for our purposes, that’s what it was.

I will be posting a four part series on the trip that will cover San Francisco to Seattle with multiple stops in between. Russian River was the must see on the trip and it did not fail to impress. I have to admit that I did swing by a couple wineries while going through Sonoma. So for all of you double duty drinkers out there, I will be doing a spot on the Sonoma Wine scene.

Here is a list of the stops on the trip that will be featured in the West Coast Beer Tour Series:


San Francisco: Magnolia Gastropub & Brewery and Social Kitchen & Brewery
Santa Rosa: Russian River Brewing Co. Brewpub
Sonoma: Benziger Family Winery, and Imagery Winery
Boonville: Anderson Valley Brewing Co.
Eureka: Lost Coast Brewery
Portland: Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB)
Seattle: Mac & Jacks Brewing Co. and Hale’s Ales Brewery & Pub

Great American Beer Festival 2010!

09.09.09 Vs. 08.08.08 Vertical Epic Ale's

We just returned from Denver for the 2010 Great American Beer Festival this last Sunday. It was our second year and was just as amazing as the first. The same four went as last year; the three writers and our friend Rob from Austin who we wrote a post on detailing his first homebrewing experience!

This year was the 29th annual festival. There was over 2,200 beers served in the main convention center hall which was the biggest variety served at any beer festival, ever! There were 462 breweries serving over 36,000 gallons of beer to over 49,000 attendees. This year there were four new categories: American Style India Black Ale, Wood and Barrel Aged Strong Stout, Pumpkin Beer, Field Beer.

We went to the Friday night session and the Saturday afternoon session. We salute those who attend all four sessions as it truly is an impressive feat!

Sam's Number 3

Before our session on Friday, we went to the Falling Rock Taphouse which is a GREAT beer bar. We were able to meet Dean, one of the brewers from Pike Brewing in Seattle, WA. He was nice enough to entertain about three hours of questions regarding commercial brewing and was a great guy to hang out with. Their beers were great at the festival. At the taphouse we imbibed Russian River Consecration and Redemption, Stone 08.08.08 Vertical Epic Ale and 09.09.09 Vertical Epic Ale, 2010 Sierra Nevada Estate Ale, among others. They actually set a record for fastest keg poured non-stop with the Sierra Nevada keg. They were all amazing beers. This hampered our ability to go hardcore at the first session and we ended up trying about 110 different beers. The second session on Saturday we were able to try about 175 or so.

Some highlights:

New Glarus - Rasberry Tart

Russian River - great stuff

Cascade Brewing - all of their sour beers are great!

Jolly Pumpkin - all were great, Biere De Mars especially

Lost Abbey - Angel's Share and their Framboise

Pike Brewing - meeting Dean

The pizza by our hotel!

SAM'S NUMBER THREE - EAT THERE FOR BREAKFAST WHEN YOU ARE IN DENVER!

The beers we returned with!

Lower Manhattan Beer Bar

I just happen to be in New York this summer and swung by the Blind Tiger Beer Bar. If you are in New York and have time to grab a beer, try this fine local establishment that caters to the craft beer aficionados. The Blind Tiger is a favorite of many as a great place to grab a beer while visiting Lower Manhattan. Touted by the New York Times as being “One of New York’s best beer bars,” they are sure to fulfill your need for quality beer.



Unless of course you want a large selection of summer style beers and happen to show up during Christmas in July! Unfortunately for me, and fortunately for the locals, Blind Tiger was running their annual summer special featuring a large lineup of winter seasonals. So rather than getting my much anticipated Festina Pêche by Dogfish Head, I was presented with Bad Elf, Mad Elf, and a multitude of Winter Ales. Lucky for me on day that was pushing 90 degrees they had one of my favorites Allagash White and for my business partner Graham a Brooklyn Wheat. Both beers were poured to perfection and tasted their prime during the hot summer day.



Blind Tiger has 28 beers on tap, 3 on cask, and an excellent selection of over 60 bottle beers, of which almost half are on the ‘Vintage” list. With a selection like this you are in the right place to try beers that are few and far between, and some you might not ever get to try again depending on the depth of your local bar’s cellar roster. So from the guys at KC Hop Heaven, cheers to the Blind Tiger!

Blind Tiger Ale House

281 Bleecker Street, New York NY
http://www.blindtigeralehouse.com/

Beer Run!!!

A couple weeks ago my fiance Anne informed me that Victoria (our friend in DC) found an awesome place to buy beer and wine in Washington D.C. She also mentioned that Victoria would be driving back to Kansas in a few weeks. I immediately asked if she would be willing to pick me up a few beers to bring back with her. Fortunately for me she said yes and the search began. The store she was going to was called Chevy Chase Wine and Spirits. With a name like that it had to be good right?!?! The website has a search feature so you can browse their inventory to see what they have or usually have in stock. I was looking to pick up a few 750ml and 6 packs of beer you can not get around here. I was in luck Chevy Chase Wine and Spirits was loaded with good beer I have been wanting to try!! Here is a run down of the beer I was able to score.

(1) 750ml Dogfish Head Theobroma
(1) 750ml Brooklyn Brewery Locol #1
(1) 750ml Brooklyn Brewery Sorachi Ace
(1) 12.7 oz Cantillon Iris
(1) 6 pack Kona Brewing Fire Rock Pale Ale
(8) 12 oz Firestone Walker Double Barrel Pale Ale
(2) 6 packs Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale
(3) 6 pack Yuengling Traditional Lager

Good mix of beers for breweries we can not get in Kansas. There were many more at Chevy Chase I would have liked to get but I didn't want to over do the gracious offer I was extended. I just want to give a shout out to Victoria.....your awesome!!! I plan on sharing these with the KC Hop Heaven crew and posting some tasting notes on here in the near future. Cheers!!