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Author Topic: HGB Killer Pumpkin Imperial Ale  (Read 2672 times)

Offline quovadisnp

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HGB Killer Pumpkin Imperial Ale
« on: November 18, 2010, 09:19:29 am »
I bought an extract kit from Beer-Wine.com. I've never use Pumpkin in beer before and some of these instructions seem odd.


Place 2 gallons of cold water in brew pot, bring to 150F.
Remove from heat; add grain bag, let seep for 30 min.
Remove grain bag and discard
Add the DME and Willamette hop pellets and boil gently (150F) for 30 minutes
Then add pumpkin and all spices and continue to simmer for 25 min
The add Hallertau hop pellets and Irish Moss and simmer for 5 minutes
Remove from heat


This says to remove from heat and steep grains for 30 minutes. I've always kept it on the heat while steeping. Does it sound correct to remove it from heat?

Boil gently at 150F? Can it even boil at 150F? I never even see a gently boil until 190F.

All this "simmering" instead of boiling sounds odd but I've never used pumpkin before so I wondered if the instructions sounded right to anyone else.

Offline morticaixavier

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Re: HGB Killer Pumpkin Imperial Ale
« Reply #1 on: November 18, 2010, 09:33:42 am »
No you can't boil anything at 150 degrees. I have seen removing from heat to steep grains though. it's really a mini-mash. I have never seen instructions to do a gentle boil or simmer either wierd.
"Creativity is the residue of wasted time"
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Offline gordonstrong

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Re: HGB Killer Pumpkin Imperial Ale
« Reply #2 on: November 18, 2010, 09:37:47 am »
Quote
Can it even boil at 150F?

Maybe if you're at 50,000 feet of elevation.
Gordon Strong • Beavercreek, Ohio • AHA Member since 1997 • Twitter: GordonStrong

Offline morticaixavier

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Re: HGB Killer Pumpkin Imperial Ale
« Reply #3 on: November 18, 2010, 09:40:11 am »
Quote
Can it even boil at 150F?

Maybe if you're at 50,000 feet of elevation.

Right! of couirse this is a recipe to be brewed while in low orbit!
"Creativity is the residue of wasted time"
-A Einstein

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

Offline gordonstrong

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Re: HGB Killer Pumpkin Imperial Ale
« Reply #4 on: November 18, 2010, 09:42:40 am »
Maybe that's what they mean by Killer Pumpkin.  Drop it on someone from low orbit.
Gordon Strong • Beavercreek, Ohio • AHA Member since 1997 • Twitter: GordonStrong

Offline tschmidlin

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Re: HGB Killer Pumpkin Imperial Ale
« Reply #5 on: November 18, 2010, 10:04:12 am »
No you can't boil anything at 150 degrees.
Methanol ;D

Yeah, those instructions are messed up.  I would just do what you normally do but follow their timing for the additions.  But maybe roast the pumpkin in the oven for a while before you put it in :)
Tom Schmidlin

Offline bluesman

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Re: HGB Killer Pumpkin Imperial Ale
« Reply #6 on: November 18, 2010, 10:10:23 am »
I like the idea of roasting the pumpkin. There's a guy in my LHBC that makes an awesome Pumpkin Ale, he's been perfecting it for years, anyway he roasts the pumpkin at 250F along with the spices and splits it between the boil and the secondary ferment.  I had a sample of it last week and it is "Killer".
Ron Price

Offline quovadisnp

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Re: HGB Killer Pumpkin Imperial Ale
« Reply #7 on: November 18, 2010, 10:23:18 am »
Thanks for all the replies!

If I boil as normal will that affect the pumpkin? Make the beer cloudy, extract too much flavor, etc...

The recipe calls for pouring cans of pumpkin in the beer but I bought sugar pie pumpkins and I planned on baking it, pureeing it, and substituting canned pumpkin for real pumpkin. Does having canned pumpkin or real pureed pumpkin in the boil possibly affect the temperature you boil at or can I still do a full boil?

If it doesn't affect the pumpkin then I'll just do as normal, steep and then bring to a full boil.

Offline bluesman

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Re: HGB Killer Pumpkin Imperial Ale
« Reply #8 on: November 18, 2010, 10:30:11 am »
I would follow the recipe as designed. If you want to substitute the pumpkin then go ahead it shouldn't affect your process. My only concern is the relative sugar that's in the canned pumpkin vs. your pureed pumkin as it could affect your OG.
Ron Price