- Recipe Type
- Extract
- Yeast
- Brettanomyces Claussenii
- Batch Size (Gallons)
- 3
- Original Gravity
- 1.070
- Final Gravity
- 1.006
- Boiling Time (Minutes)
- 60
- IBU
- 22
- Color
- pale golden (6-8)
- Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
- 10days @ 68F
- Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
- 5-10days @ 68F
- Additional Fermentation
- 14-30days if bottling
- Tasting Notes
- apricot-dominant with citrus, pineapple, and other less distinct tropical fruit notes
First post, be gentle. I brewed for a few years back in the early 90s, returned to it a couple years ago now.
This is a favorite of mine, which Ive not yet converted to all-grain. (well, 7 lb Belgian Pilsner malt 152F 90min BIAB instead of the LME & DME, but Ive not brewed it yet - later this month)
The base style is a Belgian Blond ale, with two huge alterations: the addition of about 1lb/gallon of Apricot puree, and 100% Brettanomyces Claussenii fermentation. (the BrettC brings a noticeable but generally mild funkiness, and strong fruity notes, most notably a pineapple-y character) BJCP category would (I guess) be either Fruit or Brett.
Finishing and dry hopping with (a favorite) New Zealand Waiiti hops further accentuates the fruitiness of the apricot and the BrettC. Changing the Wai'iti would noticeably alter the outcome.
Resulting flavor is apricot-dominant with citrus, pineapple, and other less distinct tropical fruit notes, and a pervasive but not dominant funk. Slightly tart fruity aftertaste. One of my favorite summer evening drinks.
Recipe sized for a 2.5gallon keg I learned the first time that the combination of Apricot Puree and BrettC bottle-conditioned leads to amazingly large fluffy yeast floaties, and the BrettC easily leads to overcarbonation kegging eliminates both issues. (my first batch the bottles tended to foam over when opened, for the first 5-10 minutes, with huge fluffy yeast clumps)
Ive used canned pure apricot puree, and also scalded/peeled/pitted/pureed fresh apricots - both work great, but when I can get flavorful fresh apricots in-season I prefer them. (maybe something about seeing fruit instead of a can)
The krausen on this brew is fascinating thick and persistent, and vividly apricot-colored. Half the time it HAS NOT FALLEN, Ive needed to use a sanitized bottling wand to punch a hole through it for the dryhop addition! 1"-2″ thick floor-scrubber-textured layer just doesnt want to go away.
I also have to comment that when a couple cups are reduced to a syrupy consistency on the stove it makes a fantastic glaze for ham, together with cracked black peppercorns and a little sea salt.
1 lb carapils
1 lb pilsner DME
1/8 tsp. Fermcap-S
1/2 oz East Kent Goldings (5% AA) - FWH and 60min boil
3 1/4 lb Pilsner LME (10 min)
1/2 oz Wai'iti hops (3% AA) (10 min)
4 oz clear candi syrup (flameout)
1/2 tsp. yeast nutrient
3 lb apricot puree (primary)
2 pkg WLP645 Brettanomyces Claussenii
1/2 oz Wai'iti hops (dryhop last 5-7 days)
1/2 oz Mosaic (HBC369) hops (dryhop last 5-7 days)
Steep carapils/carafoam for 30 mins at about 155, start raising temps and pull grain in 170s.
Add 1 lb Pils dry malt extract and a few drops of Fermcap-S and stir well, then add EKG first-wort-hops and bring to a boil.
Boil 50 mins, then start stirring in 3.25 lbs Pils liquid malt extract, slowly enough to not stop boil. When LME is all mixed in, add Wai'iti finishing hops and boil another 5-10 mins.
Remove from heat, pull hops, stir in Candi Syrup and yeast nutrient and cool.
While cooling, add puree directly to sanitized carboy, along with 2 tubes of WLP645 Brettanomyces Claussenii followed by cooled wort, aerate well.
Ferment mid-60s to low-70s, give it at least two weeks. If bottling I suggest giving it at least a month in the carboy first. Don't even think about bottling until the gravity is below 1.008, it will likely make it down to 1.006. Effervescent and well-carbonated is ideal for this beer, but it's easy to misjudge bottling sugar additions with Brett, which literally eats other yeast, aromatic esters, wood, and just about everything else.
I've usually hit about 1.065 OG before adding in the Apricot puree. In theory I think that's expected to add 1.006 per pound per gallon? So I calcualte from a predicted OG of about 1.070. With a final gravity of 1.006 every time I've brewed it, that comes to about 8.5%-8.85% ABV.
j
This is a favorite of mine, which Ive not yet converted to all-grain. (well, 7 lb Belgian Pilsner malt 152F 90min BIAB instead of the LME & DME, but Ive not brewed it yet - later this month)
The base style is a Belgian Blond ale, with two huge alterations: the addition of about 1lb/gallon of Apricot puree, and 100% Brettanomyces Claussenii fermentation. (the BrettC brings a noticeable but generally mild funkiness, and strong fruity notes, most notably a pineapple-y character) BJCP category would (I guess) be either Fruit or Brett.
Finishing and dry hopping with (a favorite) New Zealand Waiiti hops further accentuates the fruitiness of the apricot and the BrettC. Changing the Wai'iti would noticeably alter the outcome.
Resulting flavor is apricot-dominant with citrus, pineapple, and other less distinct tropical fruit notes, and a pervasive but not dominant funk. Slightly tart fruity aftertaste. One of my favorite summer evening drinks.
Recipe sized for a 2.5gallon keg I learned the first time that the combination of Apricot Puree and BrettC bottle-conditioned leads to amazingly large fluffy yeast floaties, and the BrettC easily leads to overcarbonation kegging eliminates both issues. (my first batch the bottles tended to foam over when opened, for the first 5-10 minutes, with huge fluffy yeast clumps)
Ive used canned pure apricot puree, and also scalded/peeled/pitted/pureed fresh apricots - both work great, but when I can get flavorful fresh apricots in-season I prefer them. (maybe something about seeing fruit instead of a can)
The krausen on this brew is fascinating thick and persistent, and vividly apricot-colored. Half the time it HAS NOT FALLEN, Ive needed to use a sanitized bottling wand to punch a hole through it for the dryhop addition! 1"-2″ thick floor-scrubber-textured layer just doesnt want to go away.
I also have to comment that when a couple cups are reduced to a syrupy consistency on the stove it makes a fantastic glaze for ham, together with cracked black peppercorns and a little sea salt.
1 lb carapils
1 lb pilsner DME
1/8 tsp. Fermcap-S
1/2 oz East Kent Goldings (5% AA) - FWH and 60min boil
3 1/4 lb Pilsner LME (10 min)
1/2 oz Wai'iti hops (3% AA) (10 min)
4 oz clear candi syrup (flameout)
1/2 tsp. yeast nutrient
3 lb apricot puree (primary)
2 pkg WLP645 Brettanomyces Claussenii
1/2 oz Wai'iti hops (dryhop last 5-7 days)
1/2 oz Mosaic (HBC369) hops (dryhop last 5-7 days)
Steep carapils/carafoam for 30 mins at about 155, start raising temps and pull grain in 170s.
Add 1 lb Pils dry malt extract and a few drops of Fermcap-S and stir well, then add EKG first-wort-hops and bring to a boil.
Boil 50 mins, then start stirring in 3.25 lbs Pils liquid malt extract, slowly enough to not stop boil. When LME is all mixed in, add Wai'iti finishing hops and boil another 5-10 mins.
Remove from heat, pull hops, stir in Candi Syrup and yeast nutrient and cool.
While cooling, add puree directly to sanitized carboy, along with 2 tubes of WLP645 Brettanomyces Claussenii followed by cooled wort, aerate well.
Ferment mid-60s to low-70s, give it at least two weeks. If bottling I suggest giving it at least a month in the carboy first. Don't even think about bottling until the gravity is below 1.008, it will likely make it down to 1.006. Effervescent and well-carbonated is ideal for this beer, but it's easy to misjudge bottling sugar additions with Brett, which literally eats other yeast, aromatic esters, wood, and just about everything else.
I've usually hit about 1.065 OG before adding in the Apricot puree. In theory I think that's expected to add 1.006 per pound per gallon? So I calcualte from a predicted OG of about 1.070. With a final gravity of 1.006 every time I've brewed it, that comes to about 8.5%-8.85% ABV.
j