# Pumpkin Pie Mead



## masta (Nov 26, 2005)

*Recipe*



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<TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; HEIGHT: 15pt" height=20 ="xl22">15 lbs of cooked fresh pumpkin w/ spices</TD></TR>
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<TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; HEIGHT: 15pt" height=20 ="xl22">2 tsp Yeast Nutrient, 1 tsp Yeast Energizer</TD></TR>
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<TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; HEIGHT: 15pt" height=20 ="xl22">1 gram of K-Meta (50 ppm) 1 1/2 tsp Pectic Enzyme</TD></TR>
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<TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; HEIGHT: 15pt" height=20 ="xl23">_3 oz chopped raisins, 3 oz Orange flavored dried cranberries_</TD></TR>
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10 grams Lalvin D-47 yeast


Makes 3 gals


Starting SG 1.112 


Finished SG </TD></TR></T></T></T></T></TABLE>


Started my Pumpkin Pie Mead today after waiting a few weeks for my mom-*out*-law to let me take her pumpkins home. I have high hopes for this one and should be ready to drink by next Thanksgiving.


These are the two pumpkins I used and they wouldn't be smiling if they knew what was coming very soon!










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Since pumpkin pie is cooked I decided to cook my fresh pumpkin before adding to the fermenter since this will help with the flavor and turn some of the starches into sugar. I drizzled the cut up pumpkin with Tuaca then lightly sprinkled with spices (cinnamon, ginger, cloves) 


Tuaca is a lightly sweet, amber Italian liqueur based on fine, cask-aged brandy, possessing a rich fruit-like flavor of vanilla and citrus.



Cooked for 1 hour 20 mins @ 350 degrees until flesh was soft. After removing from oven I let it cool a bit and then peeled the skin off. 


I only used 1/2 of the second pumpkin since it was way too much for the 3 gals I was making. What I used filled 4 trays and I estimated at 15 lbs.











I put the must together tonight and will pitch the yeast first thing in the morning. The foam is from stirring !


Starting SG 1.112 @ 76 F





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</TD></TR></T></T></T></T></TABLE>*Edited by: masta *


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## MedPretzel (Nov 26, 2005)

masta said:


> after waiting a few weeks for my mom-in-law to let me take her pumpkins home.







Sorry, but I thought you visited your "_out-laws_?"





Or could I have *possibly* misread?!?!?!?!?!?!?


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## bilbo-in-maine (Nov 26, 2005)

Wow! There'll be nothing shy and retiring about this mead. You didn't say 
what quantity this will produce nor what the finish SG is likely to be. Will it 
be a sweet drink, or semi? 

Bill


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## masta (Nov 26, 2005)

Based on my experience with this yeast I am hoping for a off-dry mead with SG of ~1.005 so the ABV would be ~14%


Recipe is for 3 gals and I made corrections to the original post...Thanks


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## MedPretzel (Nov 26, 2005)

hehehe


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## PolishWineP (Nov 27, 2005)

I believe I'll be trying (making) this one next fall. Yum!


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## bilbo-in-maine (Nov 27, 2005)

Scott, what's the step-by-step procedure. Does the honey need to be 
heated? Is there water to be added so there is a stirable liquid? No sure how 
to proceed. Thanks.

Bill


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## masta (Nov 27, 2005)

I will add detailed instructions to the original recipe post. 


Sounds like I got you thinking about making some....cool!


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## bilbo-in-maine (Nov 27, 2005)

Yep - you did.

Not too sure on the Tuaca, is there a suitable alternative you want to 
recommend?

Thanks Scott!


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## masta (Dec 1, 2005)

I used the Tuaca only because I had some in the cupboard and I would think you could you Grand Mainer or even skip it altogether. The thought was to add a little extra flavor to the pumpkin besides the spices.


I will add progress with pics as I go along and will not write it as a tried and true recipe until it is complete and successful after the issue I ran into last night!


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## bilbo-in-maine (Dec 1, 2005)

Rather than Tuaca, maybe regular brandy. I like your idea of flavor.

Progress pics will be great, but don't wait too long - I don't know how 
long my 15 pound pumpkin can hold on! I've had it about three weeks, 
bought straight from the farmer's stand - keeping it out in the cool.

Where did the "maiden" go, and into what did she transform??


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## masta (Dec 1, 2005)

Bill,


Brandy would work just fine! Last night was a rough night and it started when I found out the Viking Wench left me!







So after 4 days of fermenting I checked the SG of the PP mead and was shocked to see it was 1.010



. I knew something was wrongbut not sure what had happened for the SG to fall this quickly.


Shot of batch with straining bag pushed to bottom to see color:








Before any troubleshooting could begin I knew it was time to remove the pumpkin and rack to secondary. Venting some of my frustrations of the night I squeezed the straining bag before racking. At that point I realized what had happened, all the water from the pumpkin had diluted the batch and increase my batch by almost 1 gallon! 








So the plan now is to add more honey to bring the batch back in range for SG. Put in a rush order for more of the same honey I started with and hopefully it will arrive in a few days.


LikeI say at work when a well thought out plan hits a snag "that is why we call it research"


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## Waldo (Dec 1, 2005)

Was it the fermenting that extracted the moisture or was it just nature taking its course?


Hmmm is that an oxymoron


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## masta (Dec 1, 2005)

I would say it was the due to the pectic enzyme doing it's job and breaking down cellular structure allowing the moisture out. Not sure how to compensate in the beginning with added honey without knowing how much water will be extracted from the pumpkin.


I think it will all work out fine and I will end up with more volume in the end. Just need to add the correct amount of honey now so the final gravity ends up near my target.


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## bilbo-in-maine (Dec 2, 2005)

Masta - Sorry to hear about the aggravation, but hopefully some more 
knowledge came out of it. 

Lets see if I understand what the problem was. You had a starting OG of 
your liking, and a set amount of honey, pumpkin( and water?) You think 
that the water bound in the pumpkin meat was extracted and diluted the 
whole mix, thereby quickly lowering the OG which was read prior to the 
bound water being released during fermentation?

If so, it seems it will be challenging to try to guestimate the amount of 
bound water in any pumpkin due to growing conditions, age, etc. Maybe 
it can be approximated by looking at one of Jack Keller's recipes for 
pumpkin wine:

5 lbs grated pumpkin flesh
3-1/4 lbs finely granulated sugar
1/2 oz citric acid
1 tsp yeast nutrient
6-1/2 pts water
Montpellier or Eau de Vie wine yeast

Although he doesn't say, I think this is for one gallon. Therefore he starts 
with 1 1/2 pints of water shy of one gallon, and must reckon that the 5 
pounds of pumpkin will contribute that to produce the full gallon. Your 
15 pounds of pumpkin could have potentially contributed 4 1/2 pints or 
over 2 quarts (early in the morning - did I get that right?) If this is correct, 
do you think that much unanticipated water would lead to what you 
experienced?

Bill


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## masta (Dec 2, 2005)

Bill,


Just for the record...frustration level was high that night before testing mead...kids and homework!






I would estimate my batch is diluted with at least 3 quarts of water by looking at the total volume of increase I had in the primary. The total was close to 4 quarts but some of that is solids from the pumpkin that were small enough to get through the straining bag.


When I transferred to the secondary I tried to use my screened funnel but the pumpkin solids plugged it up real quick. I ended up using another straining bag placed in the funnel to catch all the big chunks of pumpkin and dried fruits.


One way of knowing how much water was released would be to weigh the pumpkin before adding and then weigh the solids left in the straining bag after removing and calculate the volume based on the weight of water (1quart =2.05 lbs). This volume could then be used to calculate how much more honey to add. My basic calculation is 3lbs of honey per gallon using D-47 yeast.


Another bit of info: After using honey from two different suppliers I have found there is some variation in the SG of the honey itself so when using a basic calculation of honey to water you need to always test with hydrometer if you have a specific target for your OG.


I didn't weigh the pumpkin before or after (15 lbs was estimate) so for this batch I am going to wing it and the main goal would be not to add too much more honey so the FG is too high and the mead is too sweet. I can always back sweeten with more honey after stabilizing if it isn't sweet enough.*Edited by: masta *


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## bilbo-in-maine (Dec 2, 2005)

I look forward to the final recipe!


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## jobe05 (Dec 2, 2005)

masta said:


> for this batch I am going to wing it and the main goal would be not to add too much more honey so the FG is too high and the mead is too sweet. I can always back sweeten with more honey after stabilizing if it isn't sweet enough.




Masta, what's the thought how how much honey to add? Will you add what you feel is appropriate right now, and then a little at a time later as you get closer to the final SG that you are looking for? Or is there just a simple method of calculating what you would need and add it all now? Was that confusing????? *Edited by: jobe05 *


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## masta (Dec 2, 2005)

I am pretty sure I am going to add 2.5 lbs of honey to the batch when it I get it in a few days and then letit complete. I could just buy some honey at the store but I wanted to get some more of the alfalfa to use. Plus I bought 12.5 lbs so I will have plenty left over to sweeten this batch and use for anything else that might come up.


Some of the heavy solids are starting to settle in the carboy so I will take another measurement of the volume of liquid before I make my final decision.


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## bilbo-in-maine (Dec 2, 2005)

Sound like a plan, man...


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## bilbo-in-maine (Dec 4, 2005)

An update, Masta...
Yesterday I found signs of my pumpkin starting to go bad, so I processed it 
by cutting it up and sprinkling with the spices and baking, then bagged it 
and froze it. Whenever you publish your final recipe, I am ready, but now 
that the pumpkin is safely stabilized, you don't need to feel rushed.

Bill


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## masta (Dec 12, 2005)

Finally receivemore Alfalfa Honey today and added 3 lbs to the carboy along with 1/2 tsp of nutrient. I thought quite a bitaboutif I should rack the batch off the lees before adding the honey but decided to add the honey and stir the entire batch. I did this since I didn't have anymore yeast and wanted to make sure the yeast in the batch was agitated and knew it was time to get back to work.







Before adding honey and stirring








After adding honey and stirring


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## masta (Dec 12, 2005)

Just checked on the mead and it is bubbling away...plenty of active yeast left just waiting for some more sugar to consume!


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## PolishWineP (Dec 12, 2005)

A well-fed yeastie is a happy yeastie!


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## bilbo-in-maine (Dec 13, 2005)

1.006 is your target, right? This will be interesting. Keep the research 
results coming!


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## masta (Dec 13, 2005)

Yes that is the target and we will see how it works out.


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## Waldo (Dec 13, 2005)

Looking good Masta


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## bilbo-in-maine (Dec 29, 2005)

Can you provide an update on this Scott?


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## masta (Dec 29, 2005)

Racked on 12/23/05 and ended up with 3 gals plus 1.5L. I think it might need some more spice to bring out the pumpkin pie that I wanted to achieve. Hard to tell what it will taste like in the end since mead tastes like **** until it has time to age out.


SG was 1.000 and with a total of 15 lbs of honey added the ABV is pretty high.


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## bilbo-in-maine (Dec 29, 2005)

OK, that's about when I racked mine also. They look similar colorwise 
although mine is beginning to clear a little from the top. Fermentation 
seems all but nonexistent. What is a good racking schedule?


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## masta (Dec 29, 2005)

On my previous meads I have transferred once from primary and then a racking off the gross lees (where we are at now) and let them sit until clear enough to rack again for filtering or right to bottling. 


I don't rack often like some others do only because you have to top off each time and time is at a premium with all the batches that seem to keep getting made here at Valley Brew.


I hope the weather cooperates over the next few days since I have beer and my first Braggot to make!


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## bilbo-in-maine (Dec 30, 2005)

> I hope the weather cooperates over the next few days since I have
> beer and my first Braggot to make!



Crazy New England weather... Cookin' in the rain at New Year's time!





Thanks for the info on racking Scott. I'll work on the mead and a Pinot Noir 
this weekend.


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## masta (Dec 30, 2005)

Oktoberfest is boiling away right now in the brew-pot and if my bitter orange peel shows up today I will be making Golden Bough Braggot in the morning before the weather turns to snow for New Year's Eve!


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