BJCP Style: 30B - Autumn Seasonal
I've been putting off the Pumpkin Spice Beer (PSB) but now's the time. Chill is in the air, the Halloween gear is showing up in grocery stores and the pumpkins are ripening up.
This is a British Strong Ale base made with 1L of maple syrup and 1.8kg of pumpkin goop from cans in the boil. Really getting fancy over here. I'll finish it with spices and an oak spiral soaked in bourbon because why not?
Full recipe is on BrewersFriend but here's the TL;DR
- 2021-9-29: brew day
- Malts/Fermentables: Rahr Pils, c60 and 120, maple syrup, pumpkin
- Hops: [Apollo] (Centennial)
- Yeast: Verdant IPA (London III)
- OG: 14°P; FG: 1.8°P; ABV: 6.5%
- 2021-10-5 (+6): kegged
- 2021-10-10 (+11): tapped
I used up the last of 2 bags of c60 and c120. About 250g of 120 and the rest is c60 
Mash complete
Bag out
Floor Manager Steve having some outside time
3g/L (72g) Centennial for the late addition
Pumpkin goop and maple syrup
All combined in a bucket for the late boil
This was actually super tasty!
Brew session beer: Station 26 Fresh Hop Juicy Banger. This is the best time of year. I realize I'm making a pumpkin spice beer but my favorite Fall beers are fresh hopped and German Festbier and Märzen.
Boil calming down after going a bit bonkers (I got distracted and it went full blast for a bit once it hit temp before I turned down the heat)
All chilled and into the fermenter
Away we go. Starting this with a blowoff because the last batch exploded out the airlock like Ripley's Alien...
2021-9-30 (+1): Oak spirals and spices added to some bourbon for a fancy tincture
2021-10-5 (+6): kegged with the oak and bourbon, strained out the spices. FG looking like 1.007 or 1.8°P putting this at 6.5% ABV.
2021-10-10 (+11): tapped. still pretty orange and murky. Tasting like it should at this point though lots of spice coming through and a sharp cider character from the pumpkin puree.
2021-10-19 (+20): Clearing up but still a bit cloudy. The weird cider taste from the pumpkin is all but gone and this is cleaning up nicely. Still spicy but there's some c-malt sweetness coming through to balance. Not the worst pumpkin spice beer I've had...
2021-11-18 (+51): This came out way better than expected. The spices dropped off a bit, in a good way. The pumpkin actually came through adding body and mouthfeel to an otherwise dry beer. The bourbon and oak provided a subtle background layer. All of these things worked together and I actually found myself saying something I never thought I would: "That's a rather tasty pumpkin spice beer!"
Mash complete
Bag out
Floor Manager Steve having some outside time
3g/L (72g) Centennial for the late addition
Pumpkin goop and maple syrup
All combined in a bucket for the late boil
This was actually super tasty!
Brew session beer: Station 26 Fresh Hop Juicy Banger. This is the best time of year. I realize I'm making a pumpkin spice beer but my favorite Fall beers are fresh hopped and German Festbier and Märzen.
Boil calming down after going a bit bonkers (I got distracted and it went full blast for a bit once it hit temp before I turned down the heat)
All chilled and into the fermenter
Away we go. Starting this with a blowoff because the last batch exploded out the airlock like Ripley's Alien...
2021-9-30 (+1): Oak spirals and spices added to some bourbon for a fancy tincture
2021-10-5 (+6): kegged with the oak and bourbon, strained out the spices. FG looking like 1.007 or 1.8°P putting this at 6.5% ABV.
2021-10-10 (+11): tapped. still pretty orange and murky. Tasting like it should at this point though lots of spice coming through and a sharp cider character from the pumpkin puree.
2021-10-19 (+20): Clearing up but still a bit cloudy. The weird cider taste from the pumpkin is all but gone and this is cleaning up nicely. Still spicy but there's some c-malt sweetness coming through to balance. Not the worst pumpkin spice beer I've had...
2021-11-18 (+51): This came out way better than expected. The spices dropped off a bit, in a good way. The pumpkin actually came through adding body and mouthfeel to an otherwise dry beer. The bourbon and oak provided a subtle background layer. All of these things worked together and I actually found myself saying something I never thought I would: "That's a rather tasty pumpkin spice beer!"
