Pumpkin Porter

This past weekend, I brewed what has become my favorite beer - pumpkin beer. This time I'm experiementing with a modified recipe from the book Extreme Brewing by Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head. Here's how my recipe went:

1 gallon of water
60 oz of pure Libby's pumpkin
Boiled it for 20 minutes
Let sit for 2 hours (not by choice, the kids were acting up)
Added 1 gallon of water
Brought to 156 degrees and added crushed grains in grain bag:
1 lb Briess Chocolate Malt - 6-row Lovibond 350
1.5 lb Briess 2-row Pale Malt Lovibond 1.5
Added 2 tsp of gypsum
Maintained the heat between 153 - 157 degrees for about 45 minutes
Removed the grain bag and strained some of the pumpkin out (as best I could)
Added 4 gallons more water and brought to a boil and added
1 oz Kent Goldings (product of UK) pellet hops A.A. 4.8%
Boiled for 40 minutes, then added
3 lbs Muntons Plain Amber Dry Malt Extract (color 20 EBC)
3.3 lbs Muntons Light Liquid Malt Extract (color 8-12 EBC)
.5 lbs of Lactose
1 oz Ken Goldings (product of USA) pellet hops A.A. 4.5%
2 tsp of Irish Moss
Boiled for 10 more minutes and added
.5 oz Cascade pellet hops A.A. 6.3%
.5 lb corn sugar
1 tsp Allspice
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Nutmeg
Boiled for 10 more minutes and removed from heat.
It cooled down slowly over 24 hours.
Original Gravity = 1.074
Shook the carboy vigorously and added Coopers Dry Ale Yeast - 7.5 grams

It started fermenting today, so I'll try and keep you updated on its progress. I'm still debating adding 15 oz. more of pumpkin and 1/4 teaspoon of each of the spices to the secondary. Your thoughts?

Update on Beers

I realize it's been awhile since I've posted, so I thought I'd give you an update on the last few beers. The Hefewiezen turned out not too bad. My experiement with the Schlafly Hefe yeast was a good one, as there was a very notable difference with the taste. The Schlafly Hefe yeast had a much smoother finish and mouthfeel than the other. The dry yeast was a little sharp. The Raspberry was OK... it was my first experiment at putting raspberry in the secondary and I don't think I'll do it again. It added a bit of tart to the taste. Whenever I've added raspberry at the end of the boil, it's turned out much better, both in terms of taste and aroma.

I also brewed the GAC IPA and the Initiation Day IPA. Both IPAs were pretty good. For the amount of alcohol, they are pretty smooth. Both had a bit of a hoppy taste, but it wasn't as pronounced as most IPAs I've had before. Perhaps next time I brew these I'll try a bit more hops, especially in the secondary.