That time of the year to start thinking about making a batch of pumpkin ale for your Halloween party.  If you never tried pumpkin beer your in for a treat.  It's like drinking your pumpkin pie but with a little kick.

(5 gallons/19 L, extract with grains and pumpkin)
OG = 1.048 FG = 1.012 IBU = 19 SRM = 6 ABV = 4.6%


Ingredients

 
1.25 lbs. (0.57 kg) Muntons Extra Light dried malt extract
3.5 lbs. (1.6 kg) Northwestern Gold liquid malt extract
1.0 lb. (0.45 kg) 2-row pale malt
1.0 lb. (0.45 kg) CaraPils malt
5–6 lbs. (2.3–2.7 kg) pumpkin (cubed)
5 AAU Cascade hops (60 mins)
(1.0 oz./28 g of 5% alpha acids)
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
Dried ale yeast
0.75 cup corn sugar (for priming)

Step by Step

 
Boil pumpkin cubes in water for 15 minutes. Heat 0.75 gallons (2.8 L) of water to 163 °F (73 °C). Place crushed grains in steeping bag and steep grains at 152 °F (67 °C) for 45 minutes. When pumpkin is ready, add chunks to grain bag and add cool water (to maintain 152 °F (67 °C) temperature). Combine grain and pumpkin "tea," dried malt extract and water to make 2.5 gallons (9.5 L) of wort. Boil for 60 minutes, adding hops at the start of the boil. Add liquid malt extract and spices with 15 minutes left in the boil. Cool wort and transfer to fermenter. Top up to 5 gallons (19 L) with water. Aerate and pitch yeast. Ferment at 69 °F (21 °C).

All-grain option:

Replace malt extract and 1 lb. (0.45 kg) 2-row malt with 8.0 lbs. (3.6 kg) 2-row pale malt. Boil pumpkin cubes in water for 15 minutes. Mah grains and pumpkin chunks at 153 °F (67 °C) for 60 minutes, stirring occasionally. Boil for 90 minutes, adding hops with 60 minutes left. Add spices with 15 minutes left in boil. Ferment at 69 °F (21 °C).

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Technorati Tags : Beer, Homebrewing, Pumpkin

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This is one of the very first beer recipes that I recorded.  Prior to that time, I just was messing around and getting my procedure down.  I knew how to make the beer, but never recorded any of the results.  Just remembered what worked and what didn't work.

I made this beer a couple of months after visiting the Yuengling Brewery, where I was told that they used corn meal in making their beer.  So, stupid me decided to try to make a beer using some corn meal in it.  Well, let me tell you this the corn meal is messy.  If you are not careful, it will stick to the bottom of your brewpot.  It also felt like it added about 10 pounds to the wort.  The Benefit --  It does add a unique flavor to the beer and when young (2 weeks) will taste like Rolling Rock.   After about 6 weeks, the malt and corn flavors blended and there seemed to be a more smoother body and tasting beer.

This recipe will make about 4 gallons.

Corn Meal Beer

64 ounces Alexander's Pale Malt Extract

24 ounces Dry Malt Extract

10 ounces Carapils  Malt

6 ounces Crystal 10 Malt

8 ounces Corn Meal

1 ounce Liberty Hops 4.7% Alpha

4.8 ounces Corn Sugar for priming

1 packet Doric Dry Yeast

Irish Moss

Original Gravity 1.055

Finished Gravity 1.022

1.  Crush the Carapils and Crystal Malts.  Steep in 1 gallon of water for about 60 minutes.  Strain and add the wort to your brewpot.

2.  Add about 1 - 1 1/2 gallons water to the brewpot and turn up the heat.  Slowly add the malt extract and the dry malt extract to the brewpot.  Stir while adding to prevent the malt from sticking to the bottom and scorching.

3.  After the wort begins to boil slowly add the corn meal and stir. Then add the hops and boil for 45 minutes.  After 45 minutes, add Irish Moss and continue boiling for another 15 minutes.

4.  After 60 minutes of boiling, remove the wort from the heat and chill down.  Add about a gallon of clean water to your fermenter and then add your wort.  Add additional water to take the total wort up to 4 gallons.

5.  Pitch your yeast at the wort temperature that you feel comfortable with.  I pitch mine at "blood temperature" which is around 98 degrees.  Of course, I open ferment too, which is something you will not find in most homebrewing books.

6.  Allow the wort to ferment for about a week and then take a hydrometer reading.  If the reading is low enough (at least 65% less the the original) then you can bottom your beer.  Otherwise, rack over and allow to further ferment for another week.  

7.  After bottling, let the beer age for about 2 weeks before trying.  Personally, I try one each week to gauge how the beer matures.

Hope you enjoy this recipe.  At first I thought it was more a pain then anything else, but after it aged, it was one of my best tasting beers.

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Technorati Tags : Beer, Homebrewing, Corn, Meal, Recipe

I usually post every Monday a new recipe but since yesterday was September 11th, I felt that it should be a day to remember instead of a day doing beer recipes. This recipe is one out of my vault and is called Gold Beer. Not because you use gold to make it, but more the color of the beer. Most of use homebrewers find that our friends and neighbors usually shun away from amber or dark colored beers, so here is one that they would even quaff down.

Gold Beer Recipe

8 pounds Extra Light Malt Extract (I used 2 cans of Alexander's Extra Light)

8 ounces Crystal Malt 20

8 ounce Cara-Pils Dextrine Malt

6 ounces Crystal Malt 40

1 ounce Cascade hops

1 ounce Saaz hops

Irish Moss

Original Gravity 1.056

Finished Gravity 1.014 - 1.020

1 packet Lallemand Doric Yeast

Crush the crystal malts and the dextrine malt and simmer in 1 gallon of water for 1 hour

Strain the grains and add the wort to your brew kettle along with 1 gallon of water

As the wort begins to heat up, slowly stir in the malt extract

After the wort begins to boil, add the 1 ounce of Cascade hops and boil for 45 minutes

Once the wort with the Cascade hops has boiled for 25 minutes, add the Saaz hops and the Irish moss

Chill the wort and add to your fermenter along with an additional 2 gallons of water

Take your hydrometer reading. If the Original Gravity is greater than 1.062 add a quarter gallon of water and retake reading

Pitch the yeast. I generally use the Doric yeast, but use whatever you are comfortable with

At this stage, I open ferment for the first 12 hours, then close fermentation for about a week

After about a week, take another hydrometer reading and if the beer is between 1.014 - 1.020 either bottle or rack to a secondary fermenter

If you want to make a lighter colored beer, cut back on the crystal malts by only adding half of them

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Technorati Tags : Beer, Homebrewing, Gold, Recipe

Browsing the internet, I found this article about the top "college" beers. (Voice). Suprisingly, the most of the "college" beers are light beers. Now, when I was in college, light beer meant the color, since Miller Lite was the only light beer available. So, in honor of all those how are going back to school, here is two light beer recipes.

Light Beer Recipes: American light beer has fewer calories than a standard beer. Light in color, it has a thin body, low hopping and high carbonation.


Caanan's Barn: So enraptured with the color of his newest homebrew, the creator of this recipe painted his barn to match. Ninety-one calories per 12 oz. Ferment for 45 degrees for 14 days. Rack into secondary fermenter at 45 degrees for 28 days.

• 3.3 lbs. Briess CBW Golden Light liquid malt extract
• 2.5 lbs. Briess Brewers Corn Syrup
• 1 oz. Cluster hops (Boiling time: 60 minutes)
• 0.4 oz. Hallertau hops (Boiling time: 5 minutes)
• 1 pkg. #2308 Lager yeast

Distant Whistles: The author of this recipe claims the taste of his homebrew reminds him of the sound of a distant train on a summer night. It should come as little surprise that he's a retired railroad engineer. Rack into secondary fermenter at 45 degrees for 28 days.

• 3.3 lbs. Briess CBW Sparkling Amber liquid malt extract
• 1 lb. Briess CBW Porter dry malt extract
• 1 lb. Rice syrup, dry
• 0.8 oz. Northern Brewer hops (Boiling time: 60 minutes)
• 0.2 oz. Mt. Hood hops (Boiling time: 5 minutes)
• 2 pkgs. Nottingham Lager yeast, dry

Recipes from Breiss Malting

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Technorati Tags : Beer, Homebrew, College, Light, Recipes