# Pumpkin FrankenWine



## Yeasty Boy (Oct 5, 2018)

After a lot of reading recipe's and threads around the internet I decided to try making a 'fermented Pumpkin drink' and I did not know the appropriate name because it could be a Mead, Cider, Wine or anything between. Also, I really like to read threads that people have posted that show the timeline of their wine making so if you will have me I am going to document my experiment here. I by no means am an expert so if you want to shoot holes in my recipe or methods, please do and I will keep learning. Since it is October I thought it would be fitting to call my creation 'Pumpkin FrankenWine'.


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## Yeasty Boy (Oct 5, 2018)

Recipe so Far:
4 Pie Pumpkins
6 Gallons Cider
6 lbs Honey
6 lbs light brown sugar
1/2 cup lime juice
3/3 tsp yeast nutrient
1/1 tsp yeast energizer
1 tbsp Pectic enzyme
6 tsp Acid blend
1 tsp tannin
Old Reliable Lalvin EC-1118


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## Yeasty Boy (Oct 5, 2018)

Method:
Preheated the Oven at 350
I got 4 pumpkin pie pumpkins at the store (2 for $5 sale) Cut the top and bottoms off of them and cleaned them out. I sprinkled the inside with pumpkin pie spice (if anything it smelled good) I put them in glass baking dishes and let them cook for an hour.
While I was doing that i emptied the honey and sugar into the biggest pot I had and filled it up with cider to melt in. I added 1/2 cup of lime juice (did not have lemon) to make an invert sugar. Learned this making Skeeter Pee.
After the pumpkins were done and cooled I pulled them apart and scraped the meat out of them into a bowl and mixed them up a bit to incorporate the pumpkin pie spice.
Into the primary ferment-er bucket I poured in the cider/sugar/honey awesome pot I then added more cider until it got to the 6 gallon mark. I then added to that the pumpkin mash. Don't forget to shake out the pumpkin oils extracted in the baking dishes into the must!
I found when making fruit wines it is better to start with 6 gallons of liquid because by the time i rack off the gross lee's it is just about right to fit into my 5 gallon carboy without topping up.
To this amazingly smelling mess I added:
3 tsp yeast nutrient
1 tsp yeast energizer
1 tbsp Pectic
6 tsp Acid
5 crushed campden tablets
I gave this a good stir and sealed the lid SG 1.120
Little higher than I expected


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## Yeasty Boy (Oct 5, 2018)

I let this sit for 24 hours and then filled a pint jar half full of the must and the other half with distilled water and sprinkled some old reliable Lalvin EC-1118 gently on top and screwed on the lid with a little room for gas escape. Going to name my next dog Lalvin.
Anyhow this starter has worked for me before if I know the must might be difficult and the yeast needed a running start. I let the starter hydrate the yeast over night then in the morning shook it all together and let it party for a couple hours before I pitched it in this tasty beautiful mess in the bucket.
Since a lot of accounts say that their pumpkins get rotten and funky and this has a high SG I am going to also use the Skeeter Pee degassing daily method hoping to burn the must down under SG 1.000 as fast as possible and then strain out all the pumpkin and rack into a carboy. That is why I used the 3/3 nutrient 1/1 energizer in my recipe. So when it reaches SG 1.050 I will add those powders and hopefully keep this juice rolling. Also, I have read that the pumpkin does not add a lot of flavor anyhow, more body and mouth feel.
After racking into a carboy I am thinking about making a pumpkin spice tea bag and hanging it by a string into the carboy to add true pumpkin spice. I have not decided what spices and how much yet. But I think i have a week or two to think about it. Suggestions are welcome.
This must smells good and tastes good so I hope it works out. I hope to have this bottled by October 2019.
If not, failure teaches us lessons.


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## Yeasty Boy (Oct 7, 2018)

Every time I open my bucket it looks like pumpkin pie. Just want to put some whip cream on top. Been degassing it every day since 10/4/18 and the SG is now 1.055. maybe tomorrow I will add the nutrients and energizer. This has my airlock bubbling like nothing I have ever seen. It's like I put a little kid in the bucket and he is blowing bubbles in his chocolate milk. Except I put vodka in the airlock. Milk would be a bad choice and buckets have a warning about putting kids in them.


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## Yeasty Boy (Oct 8, 2018)

Finished bottling some things and checked on the Pumpkin.... SG 1.030 Big jump for a day. So I fed it 3 tsp nutrient and 1 tsp energizer and degassed it again. Might make it under SG 1.000 in under a week. Must still smells pumpkin yeasty and not funky yet... Cross my fingers hope it works out. Cut my ankle on a cheap carboy the neighbor sold me, never use that brand again. My wife asked if I wanted to quit making wine after this. I told her that I am no quitter. Too much fun anyhow. Happy Columbus Day!


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## sour_grapes (Oct 8, 2018)

Yikes! Glad it wasn't worse than it was!


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## Yeasty Boy (Oct 11, 2018)

Exactly one week after I pitched the yeast starter it is now just under SG 1.000. It is still rolling and bubbling but no funky pumpkin smells. Tonight I will pour the must through a collander/cheesecloth or pantyhose or whatever i can rig up to get all the pumkin pulp out of the juice. I will then rack it into a 6 gallon carboy and affix an airlock. It has a beautiful rusty orange color that I will take a picture of as soon as i get it into glass. Still need to make up my spice bag to hang into the carboy. This went quicker than I thought it would. The sugar was consumed way faster than even the Skeeter Pee I made. I don't know what I did but like Dr. Frankenstein said,"It's Alive!" There is constant bubbling and motion in this stuff. I feel like i should stir it in a black cauldron or something. Just hope I don't spill any tonight. 
"Double Double Toil and Trouble."


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## Yeasty Boy (Oct 12, 2018)

Just under SG 1.000 and I racked it into a glass 6 gallon carboy. I tried to strain out most of the pumpkin with a colander and pouring through a fruit bag but it plugged up like cement. Should have used the fruit bag to start with but i don't know if that would have made a difference. Had to top it up a bit with more Apple Cider. I feel I should keep it fermenting and let the ABV increase as more alcohol content might preserve the leftover pumpkin that is settling at the bottom from rotting and getting funky. Also, it looks like there will be a lot of lee's at the bottom and if I am going to rack into a 5 gallon carboy next I may have to top up with more apple cider which will lower the ABV. But it also may equal out since the sugar in the cider will feed the yeast or it could add to the flavor or both. Either way I thought the cider filler would be better than water or wine. 
I do like the color and hope when it clears it keeps the orange. 
Since it is orange and has a lot of sediment i call this picture the 'General Lee's'
Bad joke I know.


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## Stressbaby (Oct 14, 2018)

Just my opinion, but I'd rack off of the gross lees you have there.


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## Yeasty Boy (Oct 14, 2018)

I thought I would wait a week for them to compact a bit. Unless you think I need to do it immediately?


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## Stressbaby (Oct 14, 2018)

My experience is that they don't compact that much, so I wouldn't leave them a week.


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## Yeasty Boy (Oct 14, 2018)

Stressbaby said:


> My experience is that they don't compact that much, so I wouldn't leave them a week.


Good to know... It is a snowy day here in Nebraska so now I have something to do... Thank you!


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## Yeasty Boy (Oct 15, 2018)

Thanks to Stressbaby's advice (love to know the story behind that name) I racked the Franken Wine from a 6 to a 5 gallon carboy. Did not need much topping up but I did put in some more Apple cider to get it to the top. SG 0.995 even after adding the extra juice to top up so not bad. Need to find a tea bag or somthing to hang my spices in next.
The sludge at the bottom was like joint compound you put on drywall. When I first racked into the 6 gal from the bucket it looked like the carboy was half full of lee's, but after a while it did settle down to about 2-3 inches at the bottom. I was a bit scared for a couple days but it came out alright. When i was siphoning it to the smaller carboy, as soon as it hit the sludge the siphon almost came to a complete stop.


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## Arne (Oct 17, 2018)

So where are you at in Nebr.?? I am in Kenesaw, middle of the state. Arne.


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## Yeasty Boy (Oct 17, 2018)

Arne said:


> So where are you at in Nebr.?? I am in Kenesaw, middle of the state. Arne.


I live in Holdrege. I just drove through Kenesaw on Sunday during the blizzard.


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## Arne (Oct 18, 2018)

We will have to get together one of these days and crack a bottle and tell some lies. Have to go to Arapahoe next week but it will be on a weekday and during the day. Arne.


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## Erin Tipton (Oct 20, 2018)

Thanks for sharing! I will definitely try your recipe. Let us know about the spices. It looks great!!! ET


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## Yeasty Boy (Oct 22, 2018)

The fermenting has pretty much stopped itself. You can see the SG reading below so it must have gone through all the sugar. I found some cold brew coffee bags for the spices. They are pretty much like big tea bags with a draw string. The wife likes cold brew coffee so she was excited that I got them too. I found some spices at a supermarket in 1/2 ounce bags so I thought that was about the right amount to go with. I got cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and some ginger root. I peeled the ginger and cut it into big chunks. The dry spices gave a little love tap with my meat tenderizer hammer to break up just a bit to expose it to the wine. I placed them all in to 2 cold brew bags, ginger in one, dry spice in another. Then i tied a piece of twine to the two bags and tossed it into the carboy like a big tea bag in a sun tea jar and I tucked the twine along the bunghole and closed it up. I hope it works. The spices did not smell like pumpkin pie but I know that it the pumpkin pie spice blend. 
How am I doing so far? I feel like I am missing a spice or should be doing something else. 
The big question is how long to I let the spices steep?


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## Erin Tipton (Oct 22, 2018)

Ginger is one of those spices that can overtake a dish or drink, so if it was my wine I would taste every day and pull that ginger out early when it starts becoming prevalent in the flavors. I’m sure you’re going to want to leave the dry spices in longer. Keep us posted thanks for sharing.
I put together an Apple/Cranberry last night, thinking about some spices. Not sure yet.


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## Yeasty Boy (Oct 22, 2018)

Erin Tipton said:


> Ginger is one of those spices that can overtake a dish or drink, so if it was my wine I would taste every day and pull that ginger out early when it starts becoming prevalent in the flavors. I’m sure you’re going to want to leave the dry spices in longer. Keep us posted thanks for sharing.
> I put together an Apple/Cranberry last night, thinking about some spices. Not sure yet.


Thanks Erin, that is one reason I did separate the ginger but I am glad you reaffirmed my thought process. You are right ginger can be powerful or I thought it could start to rot if i left it too long. 
As for the Apple/Cranberry, my wife said I should try to make a cranberry wine for thanksgiving 2019. Most cranberry wines I have tried have been too sweet or too tart. Then I thought of balancing it out with some orange zest or apple juice. But I didn't even think about spice, so let me know what you are thinking. Ginger and clove come to mind here. I just started a Beet Root wine with those two and it smells amazing.
I appreciate your input.


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## Erin Tipton (Oct 22, 2018)

Your a smart cookie on that ginger! I love ginger ail but ginger can sure get spicy on its own! I know it sounds crazy but my best friend makes the most delicious candied beets I’ve ever had and her special spice to make it so wonderful is pepper corns! Just throwing that at you!! I just got that Apple cranberry mash going and I tossed in a pound of black grapes, the mash was super tart going to measure SG tonight and see what it needs before pitching the yeast. I made an Apple Raspberry from juices and it turned out nice.


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## Yeasty Boy (Oct 22, 2018)

Erin Tipton said:


> Your a smart cookie on that ginger! I love ginger ail but ginger can sure get spicy on its own! I know it sounds crazy but my best friend makes the most delicious candied beets I’ve ever had and her special spice to make it so wonderful is pepper corns! Just throwing that at you!! I just got that Apple cranberry mash going and I tossed in a pound of black grapes, the mash was super tart going to measure SG tonight and see what it needs before pitching the yeast. I made an Apple Raspberry from juices and it turned out nice.


Peppercorns sound interesting. I just read an article on substituting 'Chinese Five Spice' for Pumpkin Pie spice in Pie. I was wondering what effect that would have on a fruit wine, cider, or even if i try this pumpkin spice wine again. The beets sound good but I may try a spicy apple wine to test it. I may have to plant more beets this spring.
Do you use fresh or frozen Cranberry's?
Good Ideas Erin


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## Erin Tipton (Oct 22, 2018)

I used fresh cranberries. 
I did 10 pounds native green apples they looked like small Granny Smiths
2 pounds cranberries
1 pound black seedless grapes
I decored the apples and sliced and froze them and the cranberries. Thawed and ground in food processor. Looked like applesauce. Put all in a mesh bag with about 6 cups wand and 4 cups sugar and all the other must haves! Peptic enzyme, acid blend, yeast energy and one campden tab. I’m going to use champagne yeast so it should have a good mild flavor with a little sweetness. I didn’t want the yeast to suck the life out of the fruit. 
All spice is sometimes call for in pies. I wonder if it’s the same as the Chinese five spice. I’ll have to research that. I’m hoping the mash let loose of some flavors today so I can get a feel of what to expect before I pitch the yeast.
The pepper corns in her candied beets makes it have the savory but addictive flavor I don’t know how to explain it. It a little spicy on the backside without the heat! It’s sooo good. You have me wanting to make beet wine!!! If I could get it to taste like her beet juice I would in a heart beat!! Lol


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## Hokapsig (Oct 23, 2018)

would like a recipe using canned pumpkin pie filling that I can pick up on sale after Thanksgiving. This thread's recipe is way too labor intensive for me. Looking for a 6 gallon recipe that we could scale up in the future.


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## Erin Tipton (Oct 23, 2018)

Hokapsig said:


> would like a recipe using canned pumpkin pie filling that I can pick up on sale after Thanksgiving. This thread's recipe is way too labor intensive for me. Looking for a 6 gallon recipe that we could scale up in the future.


Here's the recipe:

I found this in another thread!! 

Canned Pumpkin Wine
• 18 lb canned (unspiced) pumpkin
• 30 drops pectic enzyme
• 3 Tbsp Acid blend
• 13 lb white granulated sugar
• 1 lb dark raisins
• 3 oz cinnamon
• 1 ½ oz ginger
• ¾ oz cloves
• 10 Lipton black tea bags
• 6 campden tablets (crushed)

Boiled sugar into two gallons water, poured over rest of ingredients. Mixed well. Topped up with boiled water. Sit 24 hours, pitched Red Star Champagne yeast.

Racked the mush after about a month. It's been another month, and it's sort of separated into two layers -- one a mushy, almost colloidal goop, and the top is a very clear, winey liquid.

It has fermented dry (to a taste test -- we never got a hydrometer reading because it was so thick). We threw in SuperKleer today to hopefully speed along the clearing process.

So my questions are this:

If SuperKleer doesn't speed things along, do we just wait and wait for it to separate?

And if so, will leaving all that sediment in there give it off flavors?

PS. The spices in this recipe were adapted from my girlfriend's pumpkin pie recipe.


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## Yeasty Boy (Oct 24, 2018)

I bet using canned would be just as good as me cooking pumpkins and digging the meat out. Less work. I did see one recipe where they simmered the canned pumpkin with sugar and spice to sort of caramelize it and get the flavors cooked in with the spices. 
I am always scared of sediment because i have read what it can do to the flavor. But, I am very green at this thing. I know my pumpkin sediment settled and compacted after a week. You could then backfill/sweeten with some clear apple juice or concentrate depending on if you yeast is still active. If it is you can go for pumpkin sparkling! That may be kind of weird not that I think of it.


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## Yeasty Boy (Oct 24, 2018)

I tasted the FrankenWine last night and it was very dry and acidic. Then i added a bit of sugar to my sample and WOW it tasted good. Amazing what that does. Getting hints of the spice but nothing huge so far. Will keep steeping the spice bags.


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## Farmside (Oct 25, 2018)

Erin Tipton said:


> Your a smart cookie on that ginger! I love ginger ail but ginger can sure get spicy on its own! I know it sounds crazy but my best friend makes the most delicious candied beets I’ve ever had and her special spice to make it so wonderful is pepper corns! Just throwing that at you!! I just got that Apple cranberry mash going and I tossed in a pound of black grapes, the mash was super tart going to measure SG tonight and see what it needs before pitching the yeast. I made an Apple Raspberry from juices and it turned out nice.


This is why I love this forum! So many great ideas to try, I love beets from our garden, going to have to make a note on that tip for next years crop. With your cranberry, I just finished with a gallon test and the tartness was almost all lost after fermenting. Wife came home with a 32oz jar of tart cherry and we back blended that with the cranberry. That turned out really good.


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## Erin Tipton (Oct 25, 2018)

I still have the fruit in mine. I’ve been punching down the cap twice a day. Added a 1/2 cup sugar last night and it is delicious! I’m going to pull off the fruit and remeasure the GS and transfer to another carboy. A black cherry k-pac would be delicious. I’m thinking about trying my hand at a sparkling with this batch it’s just so yummy right now with all that carbonation during the ferment! How’s the spices going with pumpkin I really want to try a pumpkin spice wine! I LOVE PUMPKIN!!!


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## Farmside (Oct 25, 2018)

Erin, have you seen the trick using a soda bottle to gauge carbonation? I used a 12oz Dr Pepper bottle, filled it with cider and screwed the cap on. When the bottle is firm it’s time to cold crash the cider in bottles. I saw that hint on another thread and I am trying it with a 12 pack of cider. Kind of makes more sense then opening a bottle to test .......


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## Erin Tipton (Oct 25, 2018)

That’s a fantastic idea!!! I will use that! I love sparkling wine. I love that crisp tartness with the carbonation. And I think this Apple cranberry will be a great candidate for my experiment! Have you ever RE-used the crew cap bottles that sparkling wine comes in? I have a few but am hesitant to use them.


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## Farmside (Oct 25, 2018)

I have seen too many warnings trying to reuse screw cap bottles. I have friends saving beer bottles and I bought a inexpensive hand operated capper, works great and cheaper than those Grolsch type flip cap bottles. Capper cost $16 and a bag of 100 caps is $6 something.


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## Erin Tipton (Oct 25, 2018)

I have several large beer bottles left from bottling a gallon of beer. I’m thinking I’ll go geto and just use them! Lol


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## Yeasty Boy (Nov 2, 2018)

Tried the wine again and it had just a hint of spice. So I will let it steep some more. When I sample I taste it first and then add some sugar and taste again, then let it set 10 minutes and taste again. I get something different each time, but the flavor is not where I want it yet.


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## Farmside (Nov 2, 2018)

Erin Tipton said:


> I have several large beer bottles left from bottling a gallon of beer. I’m thinking I’ll go geto and just use them! Lol


Well? Work? I just bottled up a test batch of Ocean Spray Cran-Raspberry. Using the “almost extinguished” meathod of carbonizing. Tastes pretty darn good for a wine cooler type cocktail.


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## Yeasty Boy (Nov 16, 2018)

In pulled the spice bag last night. I did pull the ginger 2 weeks ago, and forgot to report that. I sampled the wine after letting it breath for an hour and it tasted amazing. Maybe I let the bag sit in there too long or maybe the flavor will fade over time. It tasted pretty good after I put a pinch of sugar in it so now i will cap it again and let it set and clear.
It like a flavor time capsule.


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## Yeasty Boy (Nov 25, 2019)

It has been a year and a month. This wine making teaches patience, right. I waited until this spring to put the campden tablets in it. I let every last molecule of sugar get eaten by the yeast. I tasted the FrankenWine at the beginning of October and thought it was like licking the spice rack with a splash of alcohol. Really bitter and a bit strong. So I added a cup of sugar and waited a week or so and tasted again. I did this four times, so 4 cups of sugar to backsweeten. I thought about 5 but I didn't want to get too sweet and gooey. I thought it was good and the taste I was looking for. So, I bottled one bottle and gave it to one of my wife's friends to try with her girlfriends. She came back and said,"It was great, I usually don't drink wine but I loved it. We finished the whole bottle and got drunk." Which lead me to believe that I had a good product and I should probably bottle in smaller bottles. Still cannot decide if I like it cold or room temp. Room temp brings out more flavors.
Luckily I have a friend that bought a vineyard and winery to convert to a Hop yard. Old Sye had a lot of unused bottles to get rid of so I had 5 boxes of dark colored 350ml. I had not planned this but it seemed to fit, dessert like wine in a small bottle. It is all corked and ready to go. While bottling I had my wife taste it. She said, "Not Bad." This is the best thing she has ever said about my wine making. As we have spent a bunch of money, taken me to get stitches, and taken up her craft room with carboys, she is hard to impress. But she did drink it.
Taste was amazing. I think I have the right amount of sugar without being too sticky. Strong pumpkin spice but not overly bitter and it smells amazing. With the cider as a medium it does not have a strong apple flavor just a hint. You can tell the pumpkin added body and mouth feel. Very comfortable amount of mouth feel. It is very hard to stop drinking this. After i bottled 4 cases of 350ml I sucked the bottom layer with some sediment into a cup and even that tasted good! Reading through my notes I was reminded that I did use Honey and it did not have a bitter Honey Mead aftertaste.
Just in time for thanksgiving! Hope my mom likes it.


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