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Alternate Facts

210 calories 18.1 g 26 oz
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Beer Stats
Method: BIAB
Style: American Amber Ale
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 6 gallons (fermentor volume)
Pre Boil Size: 8.25 gallons
Post Boil Size: 6.5 gallons
Pre Boil Gravity: 1.049 (recipe based estimate)
Post Boil Gravity: 1.064 (recipe based estimate)
Efficiency: 72% (brew house)
Calories: 210 calories (Per 26oz)
Carbs: 18.1 g (Per 26oz)
Created: Saturday September 27th 2025
1.064
1.011
6.9%
38.9
15.6
5.5
n/a
 
Fermentables
Amount Fermentable Cost PPG °L Bill %
7 lb Red X7 lb Red X 36 12 35.6%
4 lb Rahr - Standard 2-Row4 lb Standard 2-Row 36.8 1.8 20.3%
2.20 lb Pumpkin (fresh)2.2 lb Pumpkin (fresh) 1 0 11.2%
2 lb Honey2 lb Honey - (late fermenter addition) 35 2 10.2%
2.50 lb Rye2.5 lb Rye 38 3.5 12.7%
8 oz Briess - Cherry Wood Smoked Malt8 oz Cherry Wood Smoked Malt 37 5 2.5%
4 oz German - CaraRye4 oz CaraRye 34 67 1.3%
4 oz German - Chocolate Rye4 oz Chocolate Rye - (late mash tun addition) 31 240 1.3%
8 oz rice hulls - US - rice hulls - Aromatic Malt8 oz US - rice hulls - Aromatic Malt 1 1 2.5%
7.70 oz US - pumpkin seeds; roasted7.7 oz US - pumpkin seeds; roasted 0 0 2.4%
19.68 lbs / $ 0.00
 
Hops
Amount Variety Cost Type AA Use Time IBU Bill %
1 oz Cascade1 oz Cascade Hops Pellet 7.3 Boil 60 min 23.26 25%
1 oz cascade1 oz cascade Hops Pellet 7.3 Boil 15 min 11.54 25%
2 oz Cascade2 oz Cascade Hops Leaf/Whole 3 Boil 6 min 4.08 50%
4 oz / $ 0.00
 
Other Ingredients
Amount Name Cost Type Use Time
6.60 g Calcium Chloride (dihydrate) Water Agt Mash 1 hr.
5 g Gypsum Water Agt Mash 1 hr.
6 g Baking Soda Water Agt Mash 1 hr.
 
Yeast
White Labs - California Ale Yeast WLP001
Amount:
1.80 Liters
Cost:
Attenuation (custom):
82%
Flocculation:
Medium
Optimum Temp:
68 - 73 °F
Starter:
Yes
Fermentation Temp:
-
Pitch Rate:
0.35 (M cells / ml / ° P) 125 B cells required
$ 0.00 Yeast Pitch Rate and Starter Calculator
Priming
Method: co2       CO2 Level: 2.35 Volumes
 
Target Water Profile
Düsseldorf (Altbier)
Ca+2 Mg+2 Na+ Cl- SO4-2 HCO3-
80.5 0 82.3 92.9 67.1 214.1


Mash Chemistry and Brewing Water Calculator
Quick Water Requirements
Water Gallons  Quarts
Strike water volume (equipment estimates 9.57 g | 38.3 qt) 10.17 40.7  
Mash volume with grains (equipment estimates 10.81 g | 43.2 qt) 11.41 45.6  
Grain absorption losses -1.94 -7.7  
Mash Lauter Tun losses -0.25 -1  
Volume increase from sugar/extract (early additions) 0.26 1  
Pre boil volume (equipment estimates 7.65 g | 30.6 qt) 8.25 33  
Boil off losses -1.5 -6  
Hops absorption losses (first wort, boil, aroma) -0.15 -0.6  
Post boil Volume (equipment estimates 6 g | 24 qt) 6.5 26  
WARNING: Exceeded batch size - reduce boil size    
Volume into fermentor (equipment estimates 6.5 g | 26 qt) 6 24  
Total: 10.17 40.7
Equipment Profile Used: System Default
 
Notes

Alternate Facts is a single hop imperial pumpkin ale using much of the same mash bill as my Altbier, subbing in Peasant 2 row for pilsner, pulling some darker malts for rye and Redx.

Plan is to bake 2.2# of fresh pumpkin for the mash. This plus the rye means lots of rice hulls. Also mashing in 7.7 ounces of toasted pumpkin seeds. They impart nut, earthy like flavor that should go well with a moderate rye addition.

Latest hop addition is home grown cascade.

Some home grown hops will also go in the 15 minute addition.



10/12: Thawed, baked and mashed the pumpkin, water is nice and orange, but otherwise unchanged. Mashed at 108 for 30m and 152 for 75m
It is VERY slow draining, so this water will sit overnight and will mash in malts tomorrow.

Using dry WLP001, good through 9/2025, did an 8oz DME starter culture for about 16 hours.

10/13/2025:
mash in about 0845. Took ph about 15 mins in.. 5.6. added 2.25 tsp acid blend.

Ran a beta-glucan rest at 110 for 30m
ran mash at 152 for about 90m

mashed until 11:20, got 2x readings of 1.056
raised the grain basket and vourlauf.
15m: 1.057-ish
30m: 1.064
getting hops ready, confirmed same refractometer reading. began sparge.

Sparge complete at 14:00, set temp to boil, power to 100, gravity 1.050. topped off at 208F, gravity unchanged. 8.5 gallons at 1.050
boil started 14:26, added first wort hop.
45m in, added flavor hops
55m in, added homegrown hops. 6 minutes for these hops (extended the boil 1m), plus a few seconds.

Stirred a mini-whirlpool and then did a recirculate whirlpool starting at 190F on down.

Refractometer shows 1.066.
Tilt says 1.062.

Added 2.25 # Honey, hit 1.071. Pitched yeast, dropped to
1.065 at 71F.

Got fermentation overnight.
10/14 at 1500 - 1.049, high activity.
10/15 at 1900 - 1.024, low activity but still going.
...
10/17 at 1600 - 1.014 - 1.015. A bubble or 2 every once in a while, but not much activity.
10/19 got to 1.012
Tried to cold crash but temperature was too high
Got 1.011 on 10/20. Also had mini split installed
Got cold crash to 36f
updated yeast attenuation to 82% to match the FG 10/23/2025



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  • Last Updated: 2025-10-24 00:04 UTC
  • Snapshot Created: 2025-09-27 16:43 UTC