Oktoberfest With Pumpkin

Joshua Peterson · Sep 7, 2018

Going to smear out some canned pumpkin onto a baking sheet to caramelize it.... and then add it to the boil!

Seems I've had a beer like this in the past, looking back on Untappd…. I can't find it?

Probably just add about half the can, I just want a slight hint of pumpkin flavor in there.

Nosybear · Sep 7, 2018

Joshua Peterson said:
Going to smear out some canned pumpkin onto a baking sheet to caramelize it.... and then add it to the boil!

Seems I've had a beer like this in the past, looking back on Untappd…. I can't find it?

Probably just add about half the can, I just want a slight hint of pumpkin flavor in there.

Pumpkin needs to be mashed - it's a very starchy vegetable. Caramelizing it is an interesting approach - when I've used fresh pumpkin in beer I've roasted it. I don't do pumpkin beers anymore because pumpkin is nearly flavorless and doesn't add much in terms of fermentables. And I don't like the spices, the source of pumpkin spice beer flavor, at least not in beer.

J A · Sep 7, 2018

As I understand Pumpkin ales, an addition of starchy pumpkin goo in the boil is fairly common, but at least part of the pumpkin should be mashed. The veg in the boil adds haze and body like flour in a NEIPA. And the roasting/caramelizing approach is pretty common, too.
As Nosy says, most of the "pumkin" flavor comes from the pie spices and not much from the pumpkin.
What you're suggesting will work fine, but I suggest a thorough investigation of the style to put a little finer point on it.