Harvest Moon Pumkin Spice Ale

"Pretty damn good!" - JulieHere's one from the vault. Years ago, Julie and I brewed a killer pumkin spice ale, modifying Thomas Jefferson's recipe to create the following exceptional fall beer.

we brewed this beer on the night of the full lunar eclipse of the "harvest moon" - the first full moon after the fall equinox.

Ingredients for 5 gallons:

• 10 lbs fresh pumpkin
• Amalyse Enzymes
• 3/4 lb honey
• 1/4 lb sucanat (unrefined sugar)
• 3 lb Pale Wheat Malt
• 4 oz Hollander or Willamette Hops
• 10 whole cloves
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 3 sm cinnamon sticks
• 1/2" sliced ginger
• Wyeast #1214 - Belgium Abbey
• Cheesecloth

Pre refrigerate 4 gallons of water. The water should ideally be close to freezing.

Cut the pumpkin into chunks and bake in shallow water at 325°F for 1:15 (1 hour and 15 minutes). Let cool. Peel and mash. Water mash to tapioca consistency.

Dissolve Amalyse Enzymes in 2 cups of hot water. Combine with pumpkin mash at 140°F. Maintain this temperature for 1-2 hours to convert pumpkin starches to sugars.

Drain through cheesecloth into large stock pot. Add enough water to make 1 gallon of wort. Add honey, sucanat, 2 oz of hops, and malt. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Keep covered. Boil 45 minutes.

At 45 minutes add cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger. Continue boil.

At 50 minutes (5 minutes later) add 1 more oz of hops. Continue boil.

At 55 minutes (5 minutes later) add last oz of hops. Boil for 5 more minutes.

Remove wort from heat and place stock pot in ice bath to cool. Pour 3 gallons of COLD water into primary fermenter. Drain wort through cheesecloth into primary. Add last gallon of COLD water through strained material into primary. Pitch yeast and seal.

Be patient. This beer should ferment for at least 14 days before bottling.

ENJOY!