The Bayblab Pumpkin Brewing Project

In anticipation of our 100000th page load (today!), to celebrate Hallowe'en and just because this is the kind of thing we do here in BayNation, we decided to concoct a special brew. And so began the Bayblab Pumpkin Brewing Project - (BP)^2**

In the fine tradition of marrow rum and in keeping with the season, a pumpkin was chosen as the fermentation vessel of choice. On Hallowe'en night, a small hole was bored into the top of the pumpkin and it was inoculated with a package of baker's yeast, some sugar and a healthy dose of spookiness. The pumpkin was then filled with water and left to ferment at room temperature.

One week later, on the notably less spooky 7th of November, the pumpkin brew was deemed, by arbitrary measure and impatience, ready for tasting.

Tapping the keg: AC makes the first cut

The usually clean Rob, splattered with a mix of pumpkin and baby vomit

Once the pumpkin was cracked open, the yeasty aroma of our brew and the foul stench of evil filled the air. What does evil smell like? As one bystander put it: "It smells like cheese beer." Spectators were simultaneously turned away in disgust and drawn to the spectacle.

Pumpkin ale, or portal to hell?


The resulting liquid

Filtering out the filth

The liquid inside the pumpkin was deemed too 'chunky' to swig fresh from the fruit, so it was put through a coffee filter before tasting. While AC and Rob argued over safety (and who would drink first), I took a sip of the filtered brew. It passed the first test: I didn't keel over. Despite the stink, it was drinkable. It was what I imagine watered down dough put through a blender would taste like. Slight pumpkin overtones. It didn't taste good enough to drink enough to get a buzz given the low alcohol content. This was more bread than beer.

Rob and an uncowardly Coward contemplate the pumpkin ale

Anonymous Coward reacts as Rob takes a healthy swig, while a bystander looks on in disgust

Rob was unsatisfied with the weakness of the drink, so he braved drinking the unfiltered swill. My recommendation for Pumpkin Project 2.0: skip the water, let the natural pumpkin liquids provide the base and let it ferment longer. Of course we still wanted to see what the inside of the pumpkin looked like, so we cracked it right open and let its full bouquet permeate the Bay.

The pumpkin innards and remaining brew

A handful of the resulting goo

Most of the pumpkin innards had pulled away from the shell of the fruit and partially liquefied. Have we stumbled upon a quick and easy way to clean a pumpkin for carving? the inner surface of the pumpkin had softened and was covered with yeasty growth. All drinkers survived the experience, but adjustments need to be made for a successful recipe.

**The Bayblab encourages attempting this experiment at home and posting the results here but takes no responsibility for any injury or illness - physical or mental - that may occur.

Bay recipes: Marrow Rum

As we await the results of the Bayblab Pumpkin Brewing Project [(BP)²], I thought I'd share a recent discovery I made at the annual Ottawa Wine and Food Show. By discovery, I don't mean something I actually found and tasted, but a drink that came out of discussions with another (inebriated?) show patron. That drink is marrow rum.

The method is simple: cut the stalk off a fresh marrow (a marrow is a squash, similar to a large zucchini) and scoop out the seeds leaving as much flesh behind as possible. Pack the resulting opening with sugar (most recipes use Demerara - or raw cane - sugar). Replace the top, puncture the bottom and suspend over a bowl or some other receptacle. Most recipes I've seen depend on natural yeasts entering the marrow and fermenting the fruit, but I suspect adding yeast may be required. Some call for the addition of chopped ginger or raisins to add flavour. Fermentation time seems to range from a week up to several months, depending on the recipe!

A sample recipe:

Large marrow
Demerara sugar
Ginger
Pair ladies' nylon stockings

Slice the top off the marrow and scoop out the seeds, but leave as much of the flesh as possible, and don't puncture the skin. The seeds are attached to the inside of the marrow with little strings: one way to detach obstinate seeds is to fill the marrow with water and shake well. Fit a stocking onto the marrow, and pack the marrow tightly with Demerara sugar. Stand upright in a large vase or similar and leave for a day. Osmosis will draw fluid from the marrow into the sugar, dissolving some and leaving a gap below the end of the marrow. Add a teaspoon of ginger (finely chopped fresh ginger root if available, otherwise dried ginger) and pack more sugar on top. Replace the marrow upright in the pot, and cover to ensure nothing can fall into the pot or the end of the marrow. Pulling the second stocking down over the top of the marrow and pot is a good way to do this. Leave in a cool dark place for at least two weeks, and if possible, four. Inspect at intervals.

The idea is that the sugar ferments, generating an alcoholic liquor which gradually eats its way through the bottom of the marrow and collects in the pot. It takes three or four weeks to reach full strength, during which time the marrow becomes very floppy. The stocking filters the liquor and also provides much-needed surgical support. I have tried this recipe three times, twice with marrows and once with a Turk's Head Turban gourd, also from Elder Stubbs. One week's fermentation gives a liquor which has a pleasant taste but is not very strong - after three weeks, it has a noticeable punch. The ginger adds pungency to counteract the blandness of the marrow, giving the rum a pleasant warmth.

Whether the ensuing brew is a tasty potable, or instead something worthy of its British cooking heritage is unclear but it seems like a good candidate for the next bayblab project. Perhaps other fruit would make good candidates for recipe adaptations.