thanks for posting your process. my local HB store gave me a handout which is essentially the same as this, and has been the only type of beer i've brewed. i've always used boiling water for the sparge, so i'm curious now about using 160 degree water. i use a muslin bag for the grains, and after use, i rinse it out and can use it over and over for about 4 batches. i have a separate bag for the berries; i live in vermont, and have an excellent Magic Hat #9 clone, but i have substituted my own black raspberries in place of the apricot essence. here's the recipe i've used for 4 batches (i've changed up some things along the way, such as using liquid yeast instead of dry, changing the amount of berries, etc.)
Grain bill:
Cara-red 1 lb
Torrified wheat 8 oz
extracts:
light malt extract 6.6 lbs
hopping schedule:
liberty 1 oz 60 mins
liberty 1 oz 20 mins
adjuncts:
apricot essence 4 oz (i've substituted between 2-3 lbs of frozen black raspberries, added in the muslin bag for the last 10 mins of boil. no need to worry about sanitizing, the boil takes care of that)
mash schedule: place crushed grains in muslin bag, and steep in 2 qts of 160 degree water for 30-60 mins. sparge with 1-2 qts of water. remove grain bag, add malt, mix well so it's not stuck to the bottom of pot. add enough water to total about 3 gallons. bring to rolling boil. follow hopping schedule, adding the berries at the end of the boil.
use wyeast #1187 ringwood liquid yeast - "for a truly magic ale". when moving into fermentation pale, top off with cold water, and pitch yeast when temp is ~60-70
the apricot essence is added with the priming sugar.
primary for one week, move to secondary for 1-2 weeks. boil 2 cups of water, add 3/4 cup corn sugar, and bottle
OG 1.056 (i usually get 1.052, but my current batch was only 1.038 :-/ )
FG 1.013
if anyone tries this with the apricot essence, i'd be curious how it compares to MG #9. i love this ale, it's very popular around here (about 10 miles from Magic Hat brewery)