HomebrewandBeer.com forum

G'day, first time on. Just need a bit of help. Trying to get a dark fruits flavour in an English bitter or Stout. Only using a K&K. Trying to get my last couple of brews done before it gets too hot. Any ideas would be appreciated.

This won't be a great help but perhaps better than nothing.

The only beers I've tried that I can honestly say have had a pronounced dark fruit flavour, (fig, prune etc.) have been Belgian style dark ales. Some of the flavour I'm sure was due to the yeast strains used but I believe some could also be attributed to the use of Special B, a Belgian style dark crystal malt (dark English crystal is not an acceptable substitute) and dark candi syrup.

If you have a half way decent home brew shop nearby then the Special B shouldn't be too much of a problem. The candi syrup might be a bit harder to get your hands on. You can purchase it here : http://www.craftbrewer.com.au/shop/default.asp?CID=11 Alternatively if you want to have a go at making it there are some directions here: http://www.themadfermentationist.com/20 ... syrup.html This guy has done the trial and error for you, so if you have the equipment it might be worth giving it a go. I made an amber syrup a couple of years ago just for a bit of fun and it's actually easier than it looks.

As for recipes fro a stout or English bitter using those ingredients I'm not sure. Perhaps search the recipe section or even sub them for ingredients in a proven recipe.

Good luck.

Dark crystal malts provide a raisin flavour that you sometimes find in english ales so you could steep 250g of that in your next bitter.

Too much of that character could be due to oxidation which I have tasted in imported english beers that are past it or have been mishandled.

Thanks guys. Will probably use both suggestions. That syrup in a Belgian ale seems the go. I'll use the grain in the bitter. Thank again.