Apricot Stout?

[fezzman]

My mind has been wandering...once again. When I brewed my Russian Imp. Stout, I accidently got a shot's worth of apricot brandy into my primary. I was going to put it in the airlock and had an oopsie.

Needless to say, that brew turned out excellent. I doubt that the little bit of brandy made any difference in the brew but it did get me thinking.

Do you think an apricot flavor in a stout has potential? Perhaps some puree in the secondary? Something about this just sounds yummy to me.

Then again, coconut stout sounds tasty too.

 

[feedthebear]

I think it’s a cool idea. But I think balancing the flavor of a stout with apricot would be difficult. If its too bitter, the hop flavor with compete with it. If its too malty, the malt sweetness and the fruit sweetness might make it too sweet.

I’m thinking it might work better with a slight apricot flavor than a strong one.

I think the coconut might work really well with a sweet stout or a creamy stout.

 

[fezzman]

I think it’s a cool idea. But I think balancing the flavor of a stout with apricot would be difficult. If its too bitter, the hop flavor with compete with it. If its too malty, the malt sweetness and the fruit sweetness might make it too sweet.

I’m thinking it might work better with a slight apricot flavor than a strong one.

I think the coconut might work really well with a sweet stout or a creamy stout.

I just noticed you are planning a hazelnut stout. Sounds great as well.

 

[feedthebear]

Yep. I’ve narrowed it down to two recipes out of the Brewmaster’s Bible. Both are sweet cream stouts. They use lactose to give them their creaminess.

Its way down the road though. I’ve got to get my Peach Cream Ale in bottles first. Then I’ll get my Lambic experiment started. Hopefully I’ll be brewing the stout in late December / early January.

But I think I’ll ask my wife if she wants me to split it into half hazelnut and half coconut. She loves coconut too.

 

[fezzman]

Why does your house have to be so far away from mine? I wanna come play with your beer.

The peach cream ale sounds tempting as well. Which hops did you use? Also, did you just use an extract?

I am brewing two batches this weekend. I've just not yet decided what they are going to be yet.

 

[feedthebear]

The recipe was:
1 can (3.31 lb) of Cooper’s Hopped Light liquid malt extract
2 lb muntons dry malt extract
1 oz. Northern Brewer’s hops (6.5%AA)
Safale US-58 Dry

LME & DME and hops added at the beginning of the boil. Boil time 45 minutes. Boil volume approx. 3 gallons. Add water to make 5 gallons in the primary.

I’m racking to the secondary and adding 7 lbs of white peaches tonight. (I’m not a big cream ale fan, so I’m experimenting with it a bit.) I’m trying to get a strong peach flavor. I’m just hoping it won’t be too strong.

After the peach fermentation finishes in the secondary, I’ll rack to a tertiary for 2 or 3 weeks to help with clarity. I’m also expecting it to take 6-8 weeks of bottle conditioning for the flavors to come together the way I want them.

If I’m lucky, I’ll be drinking it around Christmas / New Years.

 

[fezzman]

Thanks for posting that up. I'm going to add this to my recipe list. Not sure yet if I will try this one this weekend or not though. It definitely has potential. If you can remember, post the final results when you finally get to taste some.