Slugbait Apricot Cobbler Ale

Classification: fruit ale, apricot ale, all-grain

Source: Jerome Seipp (JanetF1054@aol.com), r.c.b., 12/1/94

I tried the Apricot Ale and decided it tasted too "pitty". So being the "I-can-brew-anything-they-can" home brewer I am, I decided to brew my own. My first thought was to call the brewery and ask about bitterness units and how they handle the fruit. I spoke to a brewer there and he said they go for 15 IBU and use an apricot exctract. I decided to use fresh 'cots and go for a slightly higher IBU (my complete utilization is probably(!) less than the breweries'). I also wanted something a little nuttier and spicier. It ended up quite different from the Pyramid beer, but hey, it's mine.

The wort tasted like a wheat muffin before yeast was pitched. When the beer was racked to 2ndary, it was _very_ tart with a wonderful fresh fruit flavor. At bottling the beer was _very_ tart, still with a nice fresh fruit flavor but (gasp) SOAPY. A 2nd opinion told me not to worry, let it sit. So after 10 weeks in the bottle, we had some a Thanksgiving. The beer is full bodied, well conditioned, tart, fruity and warming. The soapy flavor has dropped out. It is very rich and goes very well with the heavier holiday foods (so far).

Ingredients:

5 lbs. British 2-row
3 lbs. German Wheat malt
4 oz. chocolate malt
4 oz. munich malt
1 lb. honey
8" cinnamon stick
1 gallon fresh apricot puree - ~ 7 lbs. (previously frozen 'cots run through a juicer)
3/4 oz. Hallertau (5.3 alpha for ~17 IBU) @ 60 mins.
Wyeast 3068

Procedure:

Mashed all grains with single infusion at 154F. Collected 6.5 gals. sweet wort, boiled down to 5 gals. Honey and cinnamon went into the pot @ 10 mins. Chilled and pitched 1.5 qt. Wyeast 3068 (Weihenstephan). Fermented in primary 24 hours and racked onto pasteurized 'cot puree in clean, sanitized carboy. Left on the fruit for 5 days. Racked to 2ndary. Batch primed with corn sugar and bottled 10 days later.