Pumpkin Ale Brew Day

I recently brewed my second batch since moving to my little apartment.  It's a 3 gallon all-grain amber ale with pumpkin and spices added.  The brew day went off without a hitch, and it should be ready to drink once Autumn gets into full-swing (late October here in CA).  The recipe is based on Thunderstruck Pumpkin Ale by Yuri_Rage on Homebrewtalk.com and is as follows:

Brew #11: Mostly Organic Pumpkin Ale
Brewed 9/25/11
4.25 gal pre-boil, 3 gallon post, 60 min
Mash: Single infusion @ 153, batch sparge
O.G. 1.063. Pre-boil gravity: 1.052.
Fermentation temp: ~68ºF

Grain Bill 5.6 lbs orgainc 2-row 1 lb orgranic Crystal 60 1 lb organic Victory .35 lbs organic Flaked wheat 1/4 lb Rice hulls Yeast WLP 002 English Ale

Hops .25 oz Warrior 15% AA (60 min) Others 45 oz canned organic pumpkin (in mash) 1 tsp cinnamon (10 min) .5 tsp ground ginger (10 min) .5 tsp nutmeg (10 min) .5 tsp allspice (10 min)

It should be noted that my gravity numbers were higher than expected because I undershot the mash volume by failing to factor in absorption loss to the rice hulls and pumpkin, and boiled down more volume than expected over the hour..  Also, the mash temperature should have been 158ºF but I chose to let it ride at the under-shot temperature of 153.

Pumpkin was baked for 45 minutes at 350ºF

Beutiful amber wort with an orange hue.  Amazing aroma.

Added pumpkin to strike water to dissolve and simplify strike temp 

Boiled outside on propane burner in 5 gallon kettle

Warm CA ground water required an ice bath to go along with immersion chiller.  This worked well and is one of the benefits of small-batch brewing!