Brewing Notes // Pussed-Out Pumpkin Ale

The name? Last year it was called Stolen Pumpkin Ale, but the hard line of morality bit me in the ass and I couldn't get myself to steal one this year. I pussed out.

So this year I decided to go a slightly different route. I purchased some actual Pie Pumpkin, sometimes called sugar pumpkins, and I guess in some circles they are known as cheese pumpkins. No, I don't know why.

This beer starts with oven-roasted pumpkins, steeped with a pound of Chrystal malt and a pound of Carapils. The Chrystal malt gives it some color and the Carapils some body. I steeped this in my giant steeping bag (no, really, a medium sized dog could be tied up and carried over your shoulder in this grain bag) for about 30 minutes. I went with an ounce of Fuggles and 1/2 ounce of Mt. Hood hops for bittering. Around 15 minutes left I added 1/2 cup each of Molasses and Brown Sugar. I scattered a few pellets of the Mt. Hood here and there over the last 15 minutes as well. They are supposed to be spicy, so we'll see if they just get in the way, or if they add another dimension. Most pumpkin beers don't get a flavor addition. But I like hops. I threw in cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and ginger with about 5 minutes left. Forgot about the vanilla, so I dropped some in at blowout.