After a busy night slaying Vampires Buffy loved nothing more than taking her cape off, putting down her cross and wooden stake and tucking into a warming glass of Spiced Pumpkin Ale.  Throwing her bloodied stake on the fire and a real steak in the pan nothing warmed her heart more than the rich depth of malt and spices and the loving glow of a pumpkin pie background.  We are sure you will find this Autumn and Winter delight so special you will save a few bottles for Halloween just in case something or someone tries to scare you! Trick or Treat??? Buffy, where are you???

Cheers! #brewhappy #don’tbescared #enjoyresponsibly

Brewing Software Recipe Links:

• Buffy | Spiced Pumpkin Ale | Brewfather app Recipe link

Vital Stats:

Batch & Boil

• Batch Size: 23 Litres 
• Boil Time: 60 mins

Properties

• OG 1.063
• FG 1.012
• IBU 21
• ABV 6.7%
• Colour 25 EBC
• BU/GU 0.33

Malt:

Amt             Name                                          Colour                   % Grist

3.50 Kg            Joe White Traditional Ale Malt               (5 EBC)                          58%

1.00 Kg            Joe White Dark Munich Malt                (17 EBC)                          17%

0.50 Kg            Gladfield Aurora Malt                            (37 EBC)                           8%

0.50 Kg            Gladfield Brown Malt                            (166 EBC)                          8%

0.50 Kg            Gladfield Toffee Malt                              (19 EBC)                          8%

6.00 Kg            TOTAL                                                      (25 EBC)                      100%

Adjuncts: (nb: not included in Recipe Kit)

• 2.25 KG of Fresh Pumpkin of your choosing from your local green grocer (we recommend: longneck or crookneck pumpkins that have more of a butternut squash flavor.  Two medium sized crookneck pumpkins is about the right amount).
• 2.25 Kg of Light Brown Sugar from the supermarket or your pantry!

Brewing Spice Mix | Botanicals:

• 6 Allspice Berries | Pimento Dioica Use a pepper mill, spice grinder or coffee grinder to pulverize the berries into a powder. 
• 6 Whole Green Cardamom Pods  Simply squeeze the pods and remove the seeds. Place them in the mortar (bowl) and begin to grind the seeds with the pestle. Continue grinding until the seeds are ground down to a fine powder and then proceed with your recipe. 
• 3 x Cinnamon Sticks | Cinnamomum Cassia 2 tsp (coarse grind in pestel and mortar)
• 2/3 tsp of Whole Cloves | | Syzgium Aromaticum (Place the whole cloves in the mortar and use the pestle to crush and grind them in a circular motion. This method gives you more control over the texture, allowing you to achieve anything from a coarse grind to a fine powder.)
• 1 tsp Ginger Kibbled 5-7 mm | Zingiber Officinale 
• 2 tsp Nutmeg Whole | Myristica Fragrans (Freshly Grind in Pestel and Mortar)
• 6-8 g 2 X Whole Vanilla Beans, Grade B (2 Grade B PNG Vanilla Beans
  Split the Beans and scrap out the insides and mix throughly with rest of the ground spice mix.  Chop up the beans and mix into the spice mix.  Add the completed spice mixture 5 mins from end of Boil.)

Hops:

• 15 gm Magnum GR Hops Alpha: 13.6% – 60 minute boil addition – 21 IBUs

Yeast:

Liquid | Bluestone Yeast

• BSY-A010 San Diego Bluestone Yeast x 1 Liquid Pitch

Dry | LalBrew

• LalBrew Nottingham™ Ale Yeast (Dry) 2 x 11.5 g Sachets

Brewing Aids | Water Adjustments: (optional: Not included in Kit)

Target Water Profile: Amber/Strong Balanced

Based on default water profile add:

In the Mash:

• 6g Calcium Chloride 
• 2g Magnesium Sulphate (Epsom Salt)
• 4g Calcium Sulphate | Gysum

In the Sparge Water:

• 3g Calcium Chloride 
• 1g Magnesium Sulphate (Epsom Salt)
• 2g Calcium Sulphate | Gysum

Method:

1. Prepare your Pumpkin and Spice Mix! The day or night before might be a go or plan for a long brew day! Cut the pumpkins vertically into several sections then horizontally half those sections.  Keep the seeds and surrounding pulp for nutty nuances.  Place the pumpkin sections on a foil lined baking tray, liberally sprinkle with brown sugar and roast at at 180°C / 350°C  until tender, which usually takes around two hours, for the hefty pieces.  Trim the skin before cubing the pumpkin to expose more surface area.  Then put the pumpkin into a mesh bag if you have one handy (a BIAB will work or a giant hop sock).
2. Prepare your spice mix the night before or morning of brew day while the pumpkin is baking in the oven so its ready to go fresh and deliciously into your brew. If the night before the spices will blend and meld into harmony together.
3. On brew day, starting with reverse osmosis water (18 Litres), add salts toward an amber/strong balanced beer profile — sulfate:chloride ratio of about 1.0. Mash in at 68°C to achieve a more robust body, then wait 60 minutes. 
4. Fly Sparge slowly with 10-11 Litres of  water, collecting wort until the pre-boil kettle volume is around 25.0 L. to boil kettle.
5. Put the Pumpkin inside the mesh Bag into the Kettle.  If possible secure the mesh bag to a kettle handle with a string or zip tie so that the bag full of pumpkin is just below the wort line but well above the element to prevent any scorching.
6. Add your Hops at 60 mins at the start of boil to achieve 21 IBU.
7. Optional: add Deltafloc tablet or Irish Moss and Yeast Nutrient with 10 mins of boil remaining.
8. 5 minutes boil remaining:
1. Add 225g of Light Brown Sugar
2. Add the pre-prepared spice mix just long enough to sterilise and infuse the spice mix. Note: earlier instructions on milling and infusion.
9. Whirlpool for 10-15 minutes.
10. Chill and pitch yeast at 20 °C and gradually ramp up for the duration of active fermentation to 22 °C and fermentation is fully completed. After one week drop yeast cone (or rack to secondary) and taste the beer.  If you feel additional spices are requred add freely but make sure they are from a hot boiled tea or vodka tincture for sterility reasons and dose into fermenter. Let stand for at least one week. If temperature control cold condition for clarification.  Force carbonate to 2.3 vol (4.6g/L) of C02 or bottle and prime with sugar.
11. Bring up to beer cellar temperature 6-8°C pour slowly into your favourite goblet glass, don your cape and reach for a cross and sharp wooden pick, its time to go Vampire Hunting! Prost!
12. Food compliments – chestnut or peanut soup, noodles or pad thai sprinkled with roasted peanuts or hazelnuts, or tagliatelle or ravioli made with chestnut flour or cocoa and enriched by a smoked ingredient, such as speck or crunchy bacon.  Buffy can easily support a dessert or a mousse with chocolate, hazelnuts, amaretto or peanut butter.

BeerCo Recipe Kit Contents:

• Malt – 6.0 Kg
• Hops – 15g Magnum
• Yeast – 2 x LalBrew Dry Yeast Sachets or 1 x Bluestone Yeast Liquid Pitch
• Adjuncts – Spice Mix Ingredients: [note: prep requirements above in recipe]
  • 6 Allspice Berries | Pimento Dioica
  • 6 Whole Green Cardamom Pods
  • 3 x Cinnamon Sticks | Cinnamomum Cassia
  • 2/3 tsp of Whole Cloves | Syzgium Aromaticum
  • 1 tsp Ginger Kibbled 5-7 mm | Zingiber Officinale
  • 2 tsp Nutmeg Whole | Myristica Fragrans
  • 6-8 g 2 X Whole Vanilla Beans, Grade B PNG Vanilla Beans

Not Included in Recipe Kit:

• 2.25 Kg Pumpkin (pick up from your local fresh grocer)
• 225g Light Brown Sugar (pick up from your local supermarket)
• Kettle Finings
• Yeast Nutrients
• Aids for Water Adjustment

Further Reading and Knowledge Saurces of Pumpkin Brewspiration:

• Designing the Perfect Pumpkin Beer Recipe
• Return of the Great Pumpkin
• Brewing the Perfect Pumpkin Ale
• How to Homebrew Pumpkin Spice Ale, According to America’s Top Pumpkin Beer Brewers

Picture of Baked Cubed Pumpkin in Mesh Bag in Kettle:

Photo credit: Mark Pasquinelli in Zymurgy Magazine Vol. 46 No.5 Sep/Oct 2023