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Pumpkin Ale vs. Christmas Ale - Major Differences?

philm63

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Besides the obvious addition of pumpkin; what are the differences between a pumpkin ale and a Christmas ale?

From what I've seen thus far; the spice bill is very similar if not identical. Some of the Christmas ales I've tasted seemed to be a bit more hop-forward in comparison (possibly a BU/GU of .5 or even .6) and with a touch of piney hop on the nose - reminded me of a Christmas tree - but are there also some differences in the grains and/or yeast used that would readily distinguish it as a Christmas ale and not a pumpkin ale?
 
I've only made a pumpkin myself, but at competitions, many Christmas beers are more often based on a mild/brown ale, whereas most pumpkins are based on an amber style. 

Christmas beers usually seem sweeter, and mimic cookies, and pumpkin ales often mimic their namesake pie. 

You are right about the spice bill often being very similar. 
 
Have you ever used a specific grain to target a particular flavor in your pumpkin ale, such as biscuit to mimic the pie crust, or...?
 
Hi,
I am planning to brew a Christmas beer this weekend/next week.
I am a bit confused when and how long I should boil the spices (or at which moment I should add them) and when to take them out (or should I leave them). I have even read recipes indicating to boil the spices separately and add the spice extract to the primary/secondary fermentation.
Any suggestions?
Regards,
Slurk
 
I have done spiced beers with the adjuncts in the boil pot and with the adjuncts done seperately as a "spice tea" added to the secondary fermenter.  I personally prefer adding low starch adjuncts like cinnamon, orange peel, cloves, etc seperately in the secondary.  If they are adjuncts with sugars like molasses, honey, or whatever I put them in the boil.

When I do make a spice tea I just use about a quart of water and soak/boil whatever I want in there, pass it through a strainer, and then right into secondary.  I have not had a problem with contamination or off flavor yet.
 
Thanks a lott Humble Brewer!
I will follow your spice tea suggestion and add it to the secondary fermenter. My spice tea will contain grapefruit-, orange- and lemon zest, nutmeg, cinamon, ginger root, cloves, cardamom and staranis. My batch size will be 5 gallons.
Q.: as an indication, which spices are you using and in what amount? What is your batch size?
Regards,
Slurk
 
I brew 5 gallon batches.  I went back and checked my notes on my last Christmas Beer and here is what I have.

1/2oz ginger
9 inches of cinnamon stick
1 oz sweet orange peel
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves


My notes are that I didn't get as much cinnamon flavor as I wanted.  I boiled the ingredients for 3 minutes.  My notes were to add the cinnamon a couple of minutes earlier so it got 5 minutes of boil but keep the rest at 3.  I haven't tried just adding more cinnamon stick.
 
Hi Humble Brewer,
Thank you very much! Really looking forward brewing my Christmas beer this weekend.
Regards,
Slurk
 
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