Brewing with apricots

So im doing my first brew with fruit (Bavarian wheat) and plan on adding apricots after primary fermentation calms down, i don't have a secondary but was figuring i can get away with tossing the fruit in after a couple of days. do i need a secondary?

also what methods for preparation should i use? ive read freezing and boiling and all sorts of ideas but havent found a definitive answer to how it should be done...

im thinkin 3lbs of apricots will be ok tho this is a shot in the dark.

 

No you dont need a secondary. Wheat beers are generally cloudy so there is no reason to clear it out. Go ahead and throw the fruit into your primary.

There are a lot of varying views on fruit additions. Some are very cautious and boil the fruit to pasturize it before adding to their beer. Others freeze it. From what I have read, the majority of people just throw the fruit in the fermentor. The alcohol in the beer is strong enough to protect it from contamination.

Edit: I'm not positive but I think 3LBS is kind of the norm when adding fruit.

 

The amount of fruit you use depends on the type of fruit and how much fruit flavor you want, so it's hard to say. You may only like a subtle fruit flavor in your beer, so you'd use less fruit than someone who likes the fruit flavor to dominate the brew. However, you'd use more strawberries than raspberries, for instance, to get the same amount of flavor since strawberries have a weaker flavor than raspberries.

I've never done a brew with apricots, only raspberries, but 3 lbs. is as good a starting point as any. See how you like it and adjust from there. You want to start low, and 3 lbs. is probably a good minimum for any fruit. You can always add a little more if you want more flavor, but it is quite a bit harder to remove fruit flavor that is already there

EDIT: As far as sanitation goes, you can always use the Oregon fruit puree instead of whole fruit. It is already sanitized, so you just need to dump it in. Some people prefer the taste of the real fruit, though, over the puree. Fruit beers can be a tough thing to master

 

thanks for the advice, i think im gonna try the real fruit this time and see how that goes!

 

What did you end up using and how did it turn out?

 

I brewed a Magic Hat #9 clone that has apricot in it.

I used extract and used 3 oz of it instead of the 4 oz that was called for in the recipe...it is PERFECT for my tastes...

The recipe did call for a 3.3 lb can of Oregon Apricot puree so your 3 lbs may be enough but it will be a bit more subtle since the weight of the stones in the apricots will throw off your 'fruit' weight but you should be fine.