AG Fall Apricot Ale

[Kephren]

From The Homebrewers Companion...
7lbs 2 row
.5 lbs munich
1 lb wheat
.25 lbs 40L
1/2 c. honey
Hallertauer for boiling/flavor
Tettnanger for aroma
Corriander

Mashed at 122 for 1/2 hr, then 146 for 1 hr. My second step was a little lower than I wanted. I was shooting for 150-153. Boiled it up on Sunday and racked to my secondary today. I put 7lbs of fresh skinned cut up apricots in the secondary along with more corriander. Should be interesting. Without the apricots, it tasted great today when i racked. If you want the whole recipe, let me know. I'll post a review after I get it kegged and conditioned in about a month. I am expecting a mild infection from the wild yeasts introduced by the fresh apricots. I'm not at all worried about that.

 

[SwAMi75]

Did you mash up the apricots at all? I'm kinda wondering if you'll get much apricot flavor, if they're only cut up.

I used 3lbs of puree in my IPA, and couldn't really taste any when I racked to tertiary. Maybe it'll become more apparent once it mellows some.

Regardless, it looks like a nice beer!

 

[user 574]

Yum, that sounds pretty good. I had an extract wheat apricot that everyone likes a lot. Haven't done an AG one yet. Think I'll give this a go. Can't brew for 3 weeks though as am traveling. Interested in your results as well. I always thought I'd go and do the syrup thing again for the apricot flavor but I'll use fresh eventually.

 

[Kephren]

Mostly, they were cut into chunks small enough to fit into the carboy. I boiled them for a minute to get the skins off, so I got a lot of sweet apricot mush, too. It's 7 lbs of apricots... I hope that's enough for a subtle flavor If not, I'll try puree next time. I'll let you know in a couple of weeks.

 

[Kephren]

Racked from secondary into the keg today. It's a little early - only a week and a half in the secondary - but one of my kegs went dry today and I'm out of town next weekend.
The flavor is great! The apricot is pretty subtle, but you can definitely tell it's in there. I was a little wary of using so much fruit, but I'm glad I did. It's a pretty complicated recipe, but assuming it gets even better with a little age, this one is worth it!

 

[Kephren]

This batch is carbonated and mostly clear now. It's the best batch I have ever made. Very, very refreshing. Almost TOO easy to drink If anyone tries this, try racking to tertiary or filtering. There is a lot of fruit sediment in the secondary. It doesn't really seem to be too much of a problem in the keg, though (except for the first couple of pints).