apricot puree or extract?

[bmaze7891]

I found this recipe for a Magic Hat #9 clone and I had a few questions on the apricot portion of it. I am reading that people are putting the puree in the bottom of the secondary at 3lbs (and not 3.3) and they are getting an extremely tart beer which does not seem to die down significantly over conditioning, while others are saying that it was just a subtle hint of the apricot in the aroma, but not in flavor and they wanted to add more.
I purchased 5oz of apricot extract and was considering doing a 2.5lb of puree and 1 oz of apricot extract together to balance the flavor and aroma between the two and was curious on other peoples run-in's with using apricot. Reviews on Midwest apricot puree are saying that it had an artificial/syrup flavor, so that is why I assumed 1oz would be the ideal route to go.

1 lb. 13 oz. (0.82 kg) two-row pale malt
3 oz. (85 g) crystal malt (60 °L)
1.75 lbs. (0.79 kg) light dried malt extract
3.3 lbs. (1.5 kg) Coopers Light liquid malt extract (late addition)
3 AAU Warrior hops (60 mins) ( 0.19 oz./5 g at 16% alpha acid)
2.5 AAU Tettnang hops (30 mins) ( 0.63 oz./18 g at 4% alpha acid)
0.25 oz. (7.1 kg) Cascade hops (0 mins)
1 tsp Irish moss
Wyeast 1335 (British Ale II) or White Labs WLP002 (English Ale) yeast (1.5 qt./approx. 1.5 L yeast starter)
3.3 lbs. (1.5 kg) Oregon Fruit Products apricot puree [or 3 oz. (85 g) apricot flavoring (liquid extract)]
0.75 cup corn sugar (for priming)



Step by Step:
- Place crushed grains in a nylon steeping bag in 3.0 qts (2.8 L) of water at 152°F (67°C) for 30 minutes. Rinse grains with 1.5 qts (approx. 1.5 L) of water at 170°F (77°C). Add water to make 3.0 gallons (11 L), stir in dried malt extract and bring to boil.
- Add Warrior hops and boil 60 minutes. Add Tettnang hops for the final 30 minutes. Add the liquid malt extract and Irish moss with 15 minutes left in the boil. At the end of the boil, add Cascade hops and remove from heat. Cool wort to about 72°F (22°C) and transfer to fermenting vessel. Aerate and pitch yeast.
- Ferment at 75°F (24°C) for 3 to 5 days, then transfer to a secondary vessel with 3.3 lbs (one can) of apricot puree or 3 ounces of liquid apricot flavoring for approximately 5 days. You can adjust the amount of apricot to taste in subsequent batches. (Many homebrew shops carry fruit flavorings and Oregon Fruit Products aseptic purees.) Prime with corn sugar, then bottle or keg.

 

[BigRedHopHead]

I have made NB's/Dry Dock apricot blonde ale several times and here is what I believe works best (you can look up the recipe on their website). Add 3lbs apricot puree 3-4 days after primary fermentation has started and use a blow-off tube. Then add 2oz apricot extract at bottling/kegging.

When I used the full 4oz of apricot extract it definitely left a strong syrup aftertaste. I like it better with 2oz. If you want a less tart beer try mashing at a higher temp like 154 degrees. But I have done this multiple times at 152-153 and using WY 1056 which should attenuate better than an English ale yeast and never had it come out too tart. I think if you use WLP 002 you should be fine.

 

[bmaze7891]

I am racking to the secondary today and I was going to use a muslin bag to hold all the puree. Should I just throw it in the carboy without the bag or do you usually put it in a bag as well?
I was going to go with your suggestion and do a 3lb apricot puree and then let it sit in the carboy for aprox 2 weeks (any preferred length of time for best results?) and then after secondary is done add the 2oz of extract and bottle for another 2 weeks of conditioning.
Sound about right?

 

[Johnnyhitch1]

Make your own puree, if you still have time

I bought 8cans of apricots in light syrup. Drained syrup and washed the apricots. Threw them in a pot with a little bit of water and honey. Used an immersion blender to puree the fruit together. comes out kinda stringy but u just want most the chunks to be blended. Then i heated it to 180 thruout (yes had ton of pectin, clarity was not an issue becuase it was a wheat beer)
Then i added to secondary and racked on top, after 2 weeks of minimal fermentaion and trub(fruit) drop i racked to a keg and added a vial (4oz?) of extract.

I got TONS of flavor from the fruit (tart, fruity, sweet) but didnt get much in aroma. Once the extract was added it ended up being EXACTLY how i wanted it to smell and taste. My best batch to this date IMO.

EDIT: I see your bottling, make sure after you add the extract you swirl and taste to see if your at the right level. 2oz will not do much IMO you need the whole vial. (although i used my homemade puree and there might be extracts in the canned puree you bought)

 

[bmaze7891]

quick question: I ended up doing a half puree of the apricot and adding it to the secondary, but when I went to bottle it (from a full carboy) I only got aprox 26 bottles out of it, based off the puree was just to gunky at the bottom and couldn't bottle it without small chunks going into the beer. I was thinking of taking the purr and putting it in a muslin bag during the secondary and then adding the extract at bottling time. Do you have a better suggestion for the apricot to yield a higher volume of bottles? I also fear that after using 3lbs of puree then adding 2.5oz of apricot extract that the beer will be way to tart since it was only good for 26 bottles vs. aprox 48. I am going to open them around Nov 10th.