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RecipesI’m a huge fan of Summer but there’s only one season I love more than summer, Autumn. I mean, just take a few moments and think about all the products you can pick up around autumn; Pumpkin pies, pumpkin spiced lattes and I can’t forget the versatile Pumpkin beer.
There’s very little information about when the first pumpkin beer was brewed, but the first record we have of it is when it was mentioned in a song which is dated as far back as the 16th century. Originally, pumpkin was added to a beer due to a shortage of grains and so it reduced the cost of production whilst ensuring enough fermentable sugars were present to allow for a strong fermentation to take place.
Over time the whole concept of a pumpkin ale has really moved on from it’s original conception. Today, you’ll find a variety of different styles of beers that add pumpkin into the beer, not with the intention of reducing costs but to enhance the flavour. Buffalo Bills Brewery was the first brewery to produce pumpkin beers on a large commercial scale in the late 1980’s and they changed things up my using the traditional pumpkin pie spices. Just as the ‘pumpkin spiced’ craze increased so did the number of pumpkin beers. It’s estimated that there’s somewhere in the region of 400+ that you can get your hands on commercially but we decided to embrace the season and brew our own pumpkin ale based on the famous Dogfish Head’s Punkin Ale.
Give it a go and let us know what you think.
Beer Style
Fruit and Spice Beer
ABV:
6.9%
OG:
1.064
FG:
1.012
Final Volume
5 Gallons
Fermentation Temp
18˚C / 64˚F
Pale Malt (2 Row) US
5.78kg
Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L
0.56kg
Special Roast
0.56kg
Brown Sugar, Light
500 grams
Hallertauer
60 mins
50 grams
Hallertauer
5 mins
35 grams
US-05 Safale American
1 pkg
Pumpkin Puree
33oz
Pumpkin Pie Spice Mix
2 tb spoons