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Will-o'-Wisp Pumpkin Ale

Brewed: 09/19/2021   Kegged: 09/25/2021

willowisp.jpg
The SheppyBrew Beer Model (aka my wife), is really a fan of pumpkin ales. In fact, the past couple of years, her whole GABF strategy was to visit breweries with pumpkin beers to try. Every year the SheppyBrew Brew Master tells himself that he should brew a pumpkin beer, but every year just runs out of Autumn time brewing other things. Finally, in 2014, he decided to finally give it a try.

It took him a fair amount of time to figure out what he wanted the base beer to be. Eventually, he decided a basic Brown Ale would be the best. The recipe uses mostly rich English malts and a  higher than usual mash temperature to add a bit of perceived sweetness, balanced up just a bit with bitterness.

Canned pumpkin is grilled and then added to the mash. This should provide some fermentable sugars, but the Brew Master was unable to determine how much and so left that off the recipe. The grains themselves should bring this to a 5% AVB beer. We will have to see how much more the pumpkin adds.

If everything goes as planned, this beer should be ready to drink sometime around mid-October.

Batch 7 was brewed on the Anvil Foundry.  

WillOWisp_Small.jpg

For more information about this beer on the blog, see Sheppy's Blog: Will-o-Wisp.


Will-o'-Wisp Pumpkin Ale --- Batch 7 (297)

Style Autumn Seasonal Beer Batch Size 6.00 gal
Type All Grain Boil Size   7.12 gal
Brewhouse Efficiency   68.00   Boil Time   60 minutes

Recipe Characteristics

Recipe Gravity 1.053 SG Estimated FG 1.013 SG
Recipe Bitterness 25.9 IBUs (Rager) Alcohol by Volume 5.2 %
BU : GU   0.489        
Recipe Color 18.4 SRM
Color
   
Measured OG:   1.053    Measured FG:   1.013 
ADF:   74.6    Measured ABV:   5.3 

Ingredients

Ingredients
Amt Name Type # %/IBU Volume
8.77 gal Denver, Colorado Water 1 - -
6.00 g Calcium Chloride (Mash) Water Agent 2 - -
2.00 g Epsom Salt (MgSO4) (Mash) Water Agent 3 - -
2.00 g Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash) Water Agent 4 - -
0.50 tsp Lactic Acid (Mash) Water Agent 5 - -
3 lbs 10.0 oz Pumpkin (8.0 SRM) Adjunct 6 23.2 % 0.41 gal
9 lbs 12.0 oz Golden Promise (Simpsons) (2.0 SRM) Grain 7 62.4 % 0.76 gal
2 lbs Crystal, Medium (Simpsons) (55.0 SRM) Grain 8 12.8 % 0.16 gal
2.0 oz Midnight Wheat Malt (550.0 SRM) Grain 9 0.8 % 0.01 gal
2.0 oz Pale Chocolate Malt (200.0 SRM) Grain 10 0.8 % 0.01 gal
1.000 oz Magnum [10.90 %] - Boil 35.0 min Hop 11 25.9 IBUs -
1.00 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 mins) Fining 12 - -
1.00 tsp Yeast Nutrient (Boil 15.0 mins) Other 13 - -
0.50 tbsp Pumpkin Pie Spice (Primary) Spice 14 - -
1.0 pkg SafAle English Ale (DCL/Fermentis #S-04) [23.66 ml] Yeast 15 - -
1.00 tbsp Pumpkin Pie Spice (Secondary) Spice 16 - -
1.00 Items Cinnamon Stick (Secondary 5.0 mins) Spice 17 - -

Mash Profile

Mash Steps
Name Description Step Temperature Step Time
Saccharification Add 35.06 qt of water at 159.7 F 152.0 F 45 min
Heat Heat to 158.0 F over 10 min 158.0 F 15 min
Mash Out Heat to 170.0 F over 7 min 170.0 F 10 min


If steeping, remove grains, and prepare to boil wort

Recipe Notes
Brewing salts in the mash water. This should bring Denver water profile (as defined by BeerSmith) to
Ca=95,Mg=14,Na=21,SO4=108,Cl=111,HCO3=104
Acid addition to bring calculated pH around 5.4
Mash grains and pumpkin as directed.
Boil as directed. Cool to as close to 60 degrees as possble. Add first 1/2 tbsp of pumpkin pie spice to fermentor with wort.
Hold low temperature for first 24 - 48 hours of fermentation, allowing to raise where it wants after that.
After about a week of fermentation, add more pumpkin pie spice. Add spice and Cinnamon Stick to secondary fermentor and rack beer on top of this.
Make a tincture with more pumkin pie spice so that you can evaluate spicing of beer at time of bottling and add tincture to taste.

Brewing Record

Brew Date:   Strike Temp:  
Mash Temps:  
Pre-boil OG   (1.048 SG)   Pre-boil Vol   (7.12 gal)
Actual Mash Efficiency   Pitch Temp    
Fermentation            
Day 1: 
Day ... 
Day ... 

Click here to see previous recipes
 
Brewing Notes:
09/10/2021 esheppy
Made a tincture of the pumpkin pie spice and updated the recipe for the Foundry.
09/16/2021 esheppy
The Beer Model bought pumpkin yesterday. Picking up the grains and yeast today. Brew day Sunday.
09/19/2021 esheppy
Brew day went pretty well. Kept getting stuck recirculation and overflowing the basket, but the gravity ended up right on. 6 gallons into fermentor. Should be a nice base beer.
09/20/2021 esheppy
Going strong this morning. Temperature strip says 63ish.
09/22/2021 esheppy
Fermentation seems to be done. Really nice color. Clarity looks pretty good in the fermentor.
09/25/2021 esheppy
Kegged and added tincture. Also got almost a gallon in a separate bottle. Base beer was d3licious. FG 1.013. Right on.
09/29/2021 esheppy
Sampled. Love the color and clarity is pretty good. Needs more carbonation, but it is getting there. It has more pumpkin pie spice than I remember from last year, but I think the Beer Model will like it.
10/01/2021 esheppy
Carbonation close. Pumpkin spice might be a bit overdone. Might have to brew base to dilute this beer.
10/07/2021 esheppy
Moved to kegerator.
10/29/2021 esheppy
I've been drinking this more than the Beer Model. Strangely, this is because she thinks there is too much PP spice based on her first taste. Hopefully she likes it better once she tries it again.
01/15/2022 esheppy
Still drinking this. I've mostly been blending it. Caliente Fuerte makes this taste better to me.
02/26/2022 esheppy
The Beer Model has been drinking and think it is almost gone. Still good if you like this type of beer.
03/04/2022 esheppy
Killed the keg. This beer has been on tap for 5 months. Nice to have that side of the kegerator spot open.
Comments:
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