what hops to use with apricots

hi all,

I have some apricot puree I want to use and I am looking for suggestions on hops to compliment the flavor.

Thanks

Meridian has a big apricot/nectarine aroma that would really compliment them well.

Yep

In what kind of beer?

I’m thinking a Belgian wit

In that case I wouldn’t go strong on the hops. Let the yeast and apricots take the lead. A big hop character will probably muddy things up. A traditional hop for the style such as Goldings will be just fine.

+1

OTOH you may be able to use a complimentary hop like meridian without a heavy hand and come out with some interesting results. I used to use a small amount of Amarillo with my wit at WP with my spices and I liked the rersults.

I made an apricot saison with black pepper last year that had Amarillo as a finishing hop.  Flavors melded well together especially after a couple mos.  The Amarillo seemed to compliment the fruity apricot nose nicely.

There’s also Pacifica, which is a Hallertau derivative with strong orange notes.

Thanks for the ideas everyone.

Cheers

I have really enjoyed palisade hops lately. They are pretty mild but have a nice apricot/stonefruit character to them in my opinion.

How about a complimentary yeast?  For apricots, I am thinking S-23 lager.

I think the OP was planning on brewing a wit, so that yeast is out.

In general, when I think fruit I think 3711. An apricot saison, dry-hopped with Meridian, sounds amazing actually.

Edit: If you’re going that route then you might as well bottle-condition with some Orval dregs while you’re at it…