November is a month of fun! The weather cools down, the tree leaves fall off, and all we want to do is eat pumpkin everything! It is incredible how many products companies can make in pumpkin flavor now a days. Pumpkin spice coffee, sweets, and candles can be found everywhere, but there are also companies that
have come up with out of the box, items like pumpkin spice soda, pumpkin spice potato chips, and even pumpkin spice shampoo! One thing I was actually pleasantly surprised by, was pumpkin spice beer! I really wanted to try it and decided to go with Samuel Adams Harvest Pumpkin Ale, since it was among the highest rated. Let me tell you, this beer was great!
While at the store I saw that pumpkin beer had become mainstream. I started wondering what the process of making it consisted of, and whether or not it would be easy for a home brewer to replicate. I immediately went to the Samuel Adams website and looked up the ingredients to this delicious concoction. Real Pumpkin, the first ingredient on the list, caught my attention right away. No wonder, the taste was so crispy, Samuel Adams actually uses real pumpkin in their beer instead of using artificial flavoring. Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and allspice where the remainder of the special ingredients.
After doing further research I found that large breweries integrate the pumpkin in during the mash step of the brewing process. These experts recommend using pumpkins high in fiber because they make for an easier mash. Some brewers also roast the pumpkin before the mash, because they claim it makes the pumpkin taste sweeter. If you want to save some time in this process, you can substitute the real pumpkin with canned pumpkin, many brewers use it instead, and have found no difference in the taste. Once in the kettle, hops and remainder of the ingredients are added to the mix. After they are boiled you let them sit in the pot for a while so that the spices settle out, then it is transferred to the fermenter.
If you are a home brewer, try something new this holiday season, go for your own special recipe of pumpkin beer! Remember, if you are growing hops at home, use our Deep Drip Watering Stakes to make them grow faster and healthier, while conserving water. Hops grown using Deep Drip are sure to make any beer special!
Your Friends at Deep Drip advise you to drink responsibly, and to never drink and drive. Happy Holiday Season!
Sources:
https://www.npr.org/2009/10/30/114288700/why-leaves-really-fall-off-trees
