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Hi all!

I'm thinking about trying my first pumpkin or sweet potato ale this fall and I'm not sure what I'm going to do for hops. I'm not sure if I want any hop bitterness at all... If I leave them out entirely will I have preservation issues? I figure it won't hold up as long, but a beer's expected lifetime around here is pretty short anyway. I'm also a little worried about my beer being sickeningly sweet? I Imagine the pumpkin as being a little bit bitter after you ferment it dry but I really don't know anything about its residual sugars.

Any thoughts?

If you post your recipe we can offer better advice. I go with 20ibus for my pumpkin ale.

You still want some bittering hops, just to keep it from being too sweet and for the preservative qualities. Just aim low.

Here is what I've got so far. I'm aiming for a slightly sweet chai taste.

Pumpkin Chai
STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.051
Final Gravity: 1.013
ABV (standard): 5.05%
IBU (tinseth): 8.79
SRM (morey): 10.54

FERMENTABLES:
3.3 lb - Liquid Malt Extract - Light (43.4%)
3.3 lb - Liquid Malt Extract - Light - (late addition) (43.4%)

STEEPING GRAINS:
1 lb - Caramel / Crystal 60L (13.2%)

HOPS:
0.5 oz - Willamette (AA 4.5) for 60 min, Type: Pellet, Use: Boil

OTHER INGREDIENTS:
4 lb - Roasted Pumpkin, Time: 60 min, Type: Flavor, Use: Boil
1 tsp - Ground Green Cardamom Pods, Time: 0 min, Type: Spice, Use: Secondary
0.5 tsp - Ground Cinnamon, Time: 0 min, Type: Spice, Use: Secondary
0.25 tsp - Ground Pepper, Time: 0 min, Type: Spice, Use: Secondary
0.25 tsp - Ground Ginger, Time: 0 min, Type: Spice, Use: Secondary