Maple Pumpkin Ale

Directions:

1. Spread the pumpkin into a shallow pan and bake at 350°F for 60 minutes.
   
   
2. Tie the crystal 20L and chocolate malt in a small mesh hop bag. Place the bag in 5.5 gallons of water in a 7.5 gallon pot and immerse the grain.
   
   
3. Begin to heat, making sure mesh bag isn’t sitting directly on the bottom of the pot. Remove the grain bag when the temperature reaches 170°F.
   
   
4. Bring wort to a vigorous boil. As water is heating, slowly add 4.8 pounds of light dry malt extract and the baked pumpkin, stirring constantly until completely dissolved. When the boil begins, add 1/2 ounce Northern Brewer hops in a mesh bag.
   
   
5. After a total of 55 minutes has passed, add the maple syrup and the pumpkin pie spice.
   
   
6. After total of 60 minutes of boil, remove from heat. Warning: After wort cools below 180°F everything that touches it should be sanitary, and exposure to open air should be limited as much as possible.
   
   
7. Cool wort by placing pot in ice bath or by using a wort chiller until it is at 65°F. Transfer to sanitized fermentor (either a carboy or a fermentation bucket).
   
   
8. Use a sanitized auto-siphon racking cane to remove enough wort to take a gravity reading with your hydrometer. Make a note of this number, since you will be using it to calculate the actual alcohol content when it's done fermenting. The reading should be around 1.057. Cover fermentor with a sanitized stopper and airlock.
   
   
9. Agitate vigorously for at least 5 minutes or aerate using pure oxygen for 1 minute. Add 1 package of Safale US-05
   
   
10. Ferment for at least 14 days at 64-68°F
    
    
11. Bottle after conditioning is complete, using enough priming sugar for a medium level of carbonation.