Messages

1

Ingredients / Re: Pumpkin

« on: October 29, 2012, 07:29:48 AM »

Follow up...

Everything went pretty well with the mash. I ended up mixing the pumpkin in the strike water, and then adding that to the mash. Opted not to use rice hulls, and nearly had a stuck mash... lesson learned.

Added powdered ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg at 5 minutes to go, and then added vanilla extract in the secondary.

Other than some haze, I'm really pleased with this beer. Will probably do it again!

Thanks for all your advise and help!
Brian

2

Ingredients / Re: Pumpkin

« on: September 27, 2012, 06:26:26 AM »

No, I'll be making an all grain batch. Sounds like a good plan, I'll modify the recipe to throw the pumpkin in with the mash.

Thank you for your reply!!!
Brian

3

Ingredients / Re: Pumpkin

« on: September 26, 2012, 12:25:06 PM »

Agreed. Put in the mash, not the boil. I liked to use canned pumpkin for convenience.

I'm going to brew the Holiday Pumpkin Ale recipe from the Nov/Dec 2008 Zymurgy article (pgs. 20-24). In the article the author mentions using neck pumpkins, but due to availability and laziness I'll probably opt for the canned version. He mentions that you can indeed use canned pumpkin however in my experience, canned pumpkin is pretty much a pureed blob without much firmness at all.

Now, the author recommends boiling and not mashing the pumpkin. Questions... during the boil, won't the canned pureed pumpkin pretty much dissolve in the wort? Does this cause any issues with flavor in the final beer?

I suppose I'll put the pumpkin blob into the oven just as you would with neck pumpkin flesh, but it seems like canned pumpkin is already somewhat prepped. Maybe not.

Thanks!
Brian

4

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Refractometer vs. hydrometer

« on: January 30, 2012, 01:50:41 PM »

I've also been considering taking the leap to a refractometer. Apparently there are equations and spreadsheets to use the refractometer after fermentation to calculate f.g. and alcohol, but those seem like a pain in the butt and has been the biggest deterrent for me. However, the refracto's with both brix and s.g. scales look pretty cool.

5

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Clear Weizen beer?

« on: August 05, 2011, 11:42:21 AM »

"Drink 'em up faster"! Now that is good advice!!!!

Thanks for the tips!

6

General Homebrew Discussion / Clear Weizen beer?

« on: August 05, 2011, 11:30:58 AM »

Not sure why, but it seems like my weizen beers always turn out clear. Here are the details...

Wheat- Dingemans,  5 lb
Lager Malt-6 Row Briess,  5 lb
Saaz-Pellet, 0.25 oz, 120 min
Perle-Pellet, 0.4 oz, 30 min
Weihenstephan-3068

Step mash, 133° for 15 min, direct heat to 148° for 20 minutes, finally direct heat up to 155° for 30 minutes. o.g. 1.048, no filtering. After ~ a month or so in the keg, I get perfectly a clear weizen pour, and not much head retention either. Serving temp is about 45°, and I hand wash my beer glasses.

I thought weizens were supposed to be a bit cloudy!!! Thoughts?

Thanks!
Brian