Brewing a pumpkin ale at home with Indian pumpkin

Pumpkin brings body more than flavour

Pumpkin is mostly water, with some starch and sugar. In a mash, its starch converts like grain, adding a little fermentable sugar. On its own, pumpkin contributes very little flavour to beer. What drinkers call pumpkin is usually the spice mix used in pumpkin pie: cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and clove.

So the pumpkin's job is body, a hint of earthy sweetness and colour. The spice's job is the aroma. The base beer is usually an amber ale, around 1.055 to 1.065 and 5.5 to 6.5% ABV with 15 to 25 IBU.

Which Indian pumpkin to use

Red pumpkin, called kaddu or kashiphal in many places, is the right choice. It has orange flesh with good sugar when ripe. Choose a heavy pumpkin with firm, deep orange flesh.

Avoid ash gourd, the pale vegetable used for petha. It is a different plant with watery, bland flesh. Bottle gourd (lauki) does not work either. Canned pumpkin puree is available in some cities but expensive. Fresh pumpkin gives a better result.

Roast it first

Raw pumpkin gives a vegetal note. Roasting concentrates sugar and adds caramel character.

1. Peel, seed and cut the pumpkin into 3 to 4 cm cubes.
2. Spread on trays and roast at about 200 °C for 45 to 60 minutes, until soft with browned edges.
3. Let it cool and mash it roughly.

For 20 litres, use 1.5 to 2 kg of roasted pumpkin. That is roughly 2.5 to 3 kg of raw pumpkin before peeling and roasting.

A recipe and a mash that runs off

For 20 litres at about 1.060:

• 4.0 kg pale ale malt (78%)
• 0.5 kg Munich malt (10%)
• 0.4 kg medium crystal malt (8%)
• 0.2 kg biscuit malt (4%)
• 1.5 to 2 kg roasted pumpkin added to the mash
• 0.3 to 0.5 kg rice hulls
• Mash at 66 °C for 60 to 75 minutes

Pumpkin turns the mash into a thick paste. Without rice hulls, the run-off can stall completely. If you brew in a bag, the bag handles it better but expect a slower drain. Our amber ale guide covers the base flavour if you want to brew it unspiced first. Bitter to about 20 IBU with a single 60 minute addition.

Spice it last and lightly

Spices can easily overwhelm the beer. For 20 litres, a starting mix at flameout:

• 1 cinnamon stick (5 cm) or a quarter teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• A quarter of a whole nutmeg, freshly grated
• 5 g dried ginger
• 1 clove

Use whole spices where possible. Even better, make vodka tinctures of each and dose them at packaging after a bench trial. That method is set out in our chai porter guide. Underspice the boil. You can add more later through tinctures but never take spice out.

Ferment clean and drink it fresh

A clean American or English ale yeast at 18 to 19 °C keeps the base neutral. In Indian heat, a fermenter left in a warm room can run 8 to 10 °C above room temperature during active fermentation, which pushes esters up. Hold it with a water bath or fridge.

Leave plenty of room in the fermenter: pumpkin adds trub. Rack carefully off the thick sediment, carbonate to about 2.3 volumes and drink within two to three months. Spice aroma fades with age.

Reading the finished beer

Taste the beer flat, from the fermenter, once gravity is stable around 1.012 to 1.014. You are looking for three things. First, a malty amber base with enough body to carry spice. Second, spice that you can smell before you taste. Third, a finish that is dry enough to invite another sip. If the beer is thin, next time add more pumpkin or mash a degree warmer. If it tastes like a pie and nothing else, cut the spice in half.

Watch for faults that hide behind spice. Clove can mask a phenolic wild yeast note. Cinnamon can disguise mild oxidation. A beer that tastes good warm but harsh when cold may have too much ginger. Taste a sample next to an unspiced portion of the same base whenever you can. That comparison makes the spice level obvious.

Pumpkin ale also pairs well with Indian food. Try it with pumpkin sabzi, kaddu halwa or a mild korma.

Roast a small pumpkin first

Roast one small pumpkin this weekend and taste it next to a raw piece. Then decide how much roast colour and sweetness you want before you set a brew date.

Common questions

Does pumpkin add much flavour to beer?

Not much. Pumpkin mainly adds body, colour and a little earthy sweetness. Most of the familiar flavour comes from spices.

Can I use ash gourd or lauki?

No. Use orange-fleshed red pumpkin. Ash gourd and bottle gourd are bland and watery.

Why do I need rice hulls?

Pumpkin makes the mash thick and sticky. Rice hulls keep the grain bed open so the wort can drain.