25lbs Apricots... Any Ideas?

I has just given 2 boxed ~25lbs of Apricots. I am thinking a sweet fruit wine. I also have some peaches and necterines should i mix them. how do i prepare the apricots. are the skins ok to keep. should i cook them or just go to 150F

jdwest32 said:

I has just given 2 boxed ~25lbs of Apricots. I am thinking a sweet fruit wine. I also have some peaches and necterines should i mix them. how do i prepare the apricots. are the skins ok to keep. should i cook them or just go to 150F

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I've never made apricot wine. But if I were to make it, I'd probably do something like this http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/reques26.asp, using apricots instead of peaches.

I certainly would NOT heat up the fruit! That would give you a "cooked fruit" flavor, as well as a pectin haze that just won't clear.

I'd freeze the fruit (it makes it easier to smash up) and use campden tablets in making the must. (One per gallon of wine is sufficient).

I would use the fruit in a lambic.

Apricot pale ales are amazing, but you might have to put a bit of effort into figuring out how to get it the way you want. Shouldn't be too hard to figure out.

I second 1234. Make a lambic.

Aprihop-ish brew

i dont know anything about a lambic. can you explain

I second the Apricot Ale idea, Magic Hat #9 is one of my favorites

Apricot Mead (Melomel)... Whatever you do, if you are making wine or mead, don't heat the fruit, just use campden if you are worried about wild yeast/infection. Freezing the fruit first will help break down the cell walls.

5, 1gal bags of fruit are now frozen and about 12lbs of green unpitted are in a bowl. I will definitely make a Apricot ale. I am thinking an Apricot Wit.

I wont heat it up. i bought pectin and acid blend yesterday. I found a recipe that asks for 1lb of wheat dry malt (sounds interesting) in 5gal but called for dry fruit. I need to modify that for fresh/frozen fruit. I want this wine to be sweet. so I am wondering if i should sweeten the secondary and let the yeast die off from that or if i should kill them or just wait them out.

Yeast are almost impossible to kill, unless you boil or freeze them.

You can let them ferment out, then stabilize the wine with campden and sorbate, then sweeten. The campden and sorbate stop yeast from reproducing, so it works pretty well after fermentation has stopped and the wine has been racked off of the yeast.

what if i sweetened in the secondary beyond the yeasts tolerance. i have D47

jdwest32 said:

what if i sweetened in the secondary beyond the yeasts tolerance. i have D47

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Sometimes that yeast (if it's happy) can be pushed beyond the alcohol tolerance on the yeast specs sheet. That might mean an 18% sweet rocket fuel that will take three years to be drinkable.

Some people do that, and it can work. It's not my preference since the alcohol tolerance isn't always a reliable number.

Sounds like a Magic Hat #9 clone ready to brew
2-row
60L
Apricot at Secondary!!

I posted a Belgian apricot pale ale recipe in the extract forum that i just did. 3 lbs of apricots per 5 gallon batch. I made purée by heating it up to 170 degrees F for 10 minutes. No pectins released.

I personally am not much of a fruity beer kinda dude.
However, like previously suggested, an Apricot mead (melomel) would be crazy berzerker and I recommend that.

I am very interested in that Belgian recipe. what is the link please