Membership questions? Log in issues? Email info@brewersassociation.org

Author Topic: Priming pumpkin beer with brown sugar  (Read 3658 times)

Offline ANDREW.GROGAN1

  • Assistant Brewer
  • ***
  • Posts: 133
Priming pumpkin beer with brown sugar
« on: June 30, 2014, 07:15:02 am »
I just brewed a pumpkin beer this weekend so I can give it some extra time in the bottle before fall.  Although I’ve brewed 20 or so batches, I’m still getting use to all the flavors in homebrewing and how they interact.  I was thinking I would prime with brown sugar but I'm not 100% sure what kind of flavor it will create.  I'm thinking the brown sugar was impart some nice flavors but I'm not sure.  The recipe calls for corn sugar.  If someone would recommend brown sugar, light or dark? 

Here is the recipe I used. 

Did a partial mash of (60 minutes at 152)
2 lbs Rahr 6 Row Malt
0.5 lb Briess Caramel 40 
30oz of organic pumpkin

Proceeded with the extract recipe as follows   
3.15 lbs Amber malt syrup (60 min)
1.0 lb Pilsen dried malt extract (60 min)
3.15 lbs Amber malt syrup (15 min)
1 oz Cluster (60 min)
1 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice (0 min) 
Yeast- While Labs WLP001- California Ale

Offline reverseapachemaster

  • Official Poobah of No Life. (I Got Ban Hammered by Drew)
  • *********
  • Posts: 3781
    • Brain Sparging on Brewing
Re: Priming pumpkin beer with brown sugar
« Reply #1 on: June 30, 2014, 07:59:51 am »
Brown sugar, at least as far as what we think of as brown sugar in the US, is just table sugar sprayed with molasses. If you prime with it you will get a small amount of molasses flavor. Not a terrible thing for a pumpkin beer.
Heck yeah I blog about homebrewing: Brain Sparging on Brewing

Offline ANDREW.GROGAN1

  • Assistant Brewer
  • ***
  • Posts: 133
Re: Priming pumpkin beer with brown sugar
« Reply #2 on: June 30, 2014, 08:09:59 am »
Would maybe adding it to the secondary give it a more desirable taste and then just prime with corn sugar as normal?

Offline morticaixavier

  • I must live here
  • **********
  • Posts: 7781
  • Underhill VT
    • The Best Artist in the WORLD!!!!!
Re: Priming pumpkin beer with brown sugar
« Reply #3 on: June 30, 2014, 08:33:03 am »
ounce for ounce you will get more flavor from priming sugar than any sugar added to the fermentation if for no other reason than delicate aromatics that would be driven off in a fermenter will be sealed in the bottle.

But the amount you use for priming is very small and only quite strong flavors will survive. I think a touch of brown sugar flavor would likely go well with your beer. it won't hurt anything to prime with it. you will need to use more.

http://www.northernbrewer.com/priming-sugar-calculator/ check this calculator out to calculate your desired priming amount.
"Creativity is the residue of wasted time"
-A Einstein

"errors are [...] the portals of discovery"
- J Joyce

Offline denny

  • Administrator
  • Retired with too much time on my hands
  • *****
  • Posts: 27129
  • Noti OR [1991.4, 287.6deg] AR
    • Dennybrew
Re: Priming pumpkin beer with brown sugar
« Reply #4 on: June 30, 2014, 08:41:53 am »
My experience priming with brown sugar is that you can't tell it's there.
Life begins at 60.....1.060, that is!

www.dennybrew.com

The best, sharpest, funniest, weirdest and most knowledgable minds in home brewing contribute on the AHA forum. - Alewyfe

"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts." - Bertrand Russell

Offline Jeff M

  • Brewmaster
  • *****
  • Posts: 821
  • Currently upgrading to Brewery 3.0
Re: Priming pumpkin beer with brown sugar
« Reply #5 on: June 30, 2014, 11:42:16 am »
My experience priming with brown sugar is that you can't tell it's there.

How about if you prime with molasses/Treacle Denny?
Granite Coast Brewing Company.
Building a clone of The Electric Brewery to use as a pilot system for new recipes!

Offline denny

  • Administrator
  • Retired with too much time on my hands
  • *****
  • Posts: 27129
  • Noti OR [1991.4, 287.6deg] AR
    • Dennybrew
Re: Priming pumpkin beer with brown sugar
« Reply #6 on: June 30, 2014, 12:04:18 pm »
My experience priming with brown sugar is that you can't tell it's there.

How about if you prime with molasses/Treacle Denny?

Never tried that.  I think you would get little flavor due to the small amount you'd use, but I have no first hand experience.
Life begins at 60.....1.060, that is!

www.dennybrew.com

The best, sharpest, funniest, weirdest and most knowledgable minds in home brewing contribute on the AHA forum. - Alewyfe

"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts." - Bertrand Russell