The kit consisted of the yeast, two types of hops (one for the boil, one for finishing), the malt extract, some spices and some crushed grains for steeping.
These are the grains being steeped, the first step in the process.
This smelled really, really good!
I can hear you asking "where does the pumpkin flavour come from?"
This is during the boil, after adding the hops.
Clearly I need a larger pot! I had to watch this like a hawk for the 1hr boil, as a boilover results in a sticky, difficult to clean mess.
With the boil over, I transferred the beginnings of the wort to the primary fermenter under the watchful eye of Brewmaster Whistler.
After about a week in the primary fermenter, two weeks in the secondary fermenter, and another week in the bottle this was the finished product.
The verdict?
This beer really benefited from time in the bottle. The first sampling after 1 week was quite dissapointing. After four weeks the beer was drinking fairly well. Still not as good as the Festa Brew kits, which should have been expected as the wort they sell is all grain and not heavily concentrated as in the extract kits. The beer always had that "extract twang". Certainly not bad, but also certainly not worth the extra work.
I've got a Belgian Witbier that's aging in bottles right now, made from an extract recipe in a similar style as the Pumpkin Ale, so we'll see how that turns out. I think I'll put on another Festa Brew to tide me over until I assemble the remainder of the kit I need to brew all grain.
