Dark fruity British ale

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I've been trying to produce a dark fruity British ale for some time now, in the manner of one of my favourite local brew Uley Old Spot
http://www.uleybrewery.com/ales.htm

I've just done one for the 4th attempt and each one has been better, but I'm not getting the fruitiness. I've tried a variety of yeasts inc MJ Empire Ale yeast, mashing at a higher temperature and larger quantities of crystal malt (17% in the last one) but I'm still not getting what I want.

Was wondering if an addition of aromatic malt would work? Any other suggestions?
 
Brewed with Empire ale yeast twice and allowed it to ferment at 22/23c for the first few days, found it came out with big hits of fruit similar to Poachers choice, my taste pallete is pretty good, but I am no pro.
for that style empire ale yeast will be my first choice every time.
for the recipe I followed the Esb recipe.
 
Your description reminds me of Ringwood 49er although I've never tried the beer you describe. This is the Wyeast strain you need:
STRAIN: 1187 RINGWOOD ALE™

Species: Saccharomyces cerevisiae

A top cropping yeast strain with unique fermentation and flavor characteristics. Expect distinct fruit esters with a malty, complex profile. Flocculation is high, and the beer will clear well without filtration. A thorough diacetyl rest is recommended after fermentation is complete. This strain can be a slow starter and fermenter.
 
My advice would be to try a liquid yeast too, I like Wyeast 1469 West Yorkshire. I doubt aromatic malt is going to give you fruity notes, might also be their choice of hops, what you using?
 
My advice would be to try a liquid yeast too, I like Wyeast 1469 West Yorkshire. I doubt aromatic malt is going to give you fruity notes, might also be their choice of hops, what you using?
Just used 1469 for the first time. What a load of yeast it makes. Can't get rid of it! 10 days in primary and it's only just showing the slightest signs of coming to an end. I normally make a six gallon batch in a 7 gallon fermenter. I'm going to go back to 5 gallons with this yeast. Haven't had the opportunity to sample the benefits yet.
 
Just used 1469 for the first time. What a load of yeast it makes. Can't get rid of it! 10 days in primary and it's only just showing the slightest signs of coming to an end. I normally make a six gallon batch in a 7 gallon fermenter. I'm going to go back to 5 gallons with this yeast. Haven't had the opportunity to sample the benefits yet.
I've heard folks say that it makes a huge krausen which then takes ages to drop but I've not had any issues. Most of my batches are 15L in a 25L (now 31L) FV so I have plenty headspace and it's dropped by day 10 on my 1.040 bitter.
 
You could also try open fermentation for about 3 days and then put on a lid and airlock as that's supposed to increase esters.
 
You could also try open fermentation for about 3 days and then put on a lid and airlock as that's supposed to increase esters.
I think you're right. Open fermentation is the way forward. You don't need to be Jesus to walk across that lot!
And, Zephyr, I see Symonds bitter is planned. If it's too windy for the gas rings tomorrow, that's exactly what's going to be knocked up in the kitchen. I'll be using Simpsons Imperial instead of light Amber.
 
What kind of fruits are you after? I'm going start doing something similar soon and I've got Special X and Special B that I'm going to be doing comparisons of. Like crystal 160 it says they add dark fruit flavours like plums, raisins and figs.
 
I think you're right. Open fermentation is the way forward. You don't need to be Jesus to walk across that lot!
And, Zephyr, I see Symonds bitter is planned. If it's too windy for the gas rings tomorrow, that's exactly what's going to be knocked up in the kitchen. I'll be using Simpsons Imperial instead of light Amber.
Nice, let me know how you get on if you brew the Simond's bitter, I'm going to use Weyermann Abbey malt in mine, maybe along with the remaining 200g of amber malt I have kicking about, the abbey malt is along the same lines as the Imperial. it's either that or a maibock next, but both will probably be fermented with kveik.
 
What kind of fruits are you after? I'm going start doing something similar soon and I've got Special X and Special B that I'm going to be doing comparisons of. Like crystal 160 it says they add dark fruit flavours like plums, raisins and figs.

To be honest, I don't know: I know a lot of brewers say certain beers taste of plums, figs etc. but my taste buds are never that precise. I want it to be "fruity" rather than taste of a particular fruit, I've got some Special B ready for a Belgian Dubbel I'm going to brew so maybe a small amount of that in a British ale would liven it up?
 
Malty and biscuity isn't the same as fruity. I think you can only get that from the ester profile created by the yeast. The Belgian abbey or Trappist yeast produce the most so called "fruity" flavours, but these tend to the phenolic or cloves and banana flavours. I really thing you should be looking at the description of some of the traditional English ale yeasts.
Something like Safale SO-4 is pretty neutral, you need something more exciting.
 
Nice, let me know how you get on if you brew the Simond's bitter, I'm going to use Weyermann Abbey malt in mine, maybe along with the remaining 200g of amber malt I have kicking about, the abbey malt is along the same lines as the Imperial. it's either that or a maibock next, but both will probably be fermented with kveik.
Yep. It's the Simonds. Not at all sure about the grain bill. I would expect a MUCH higher OG than 1062 from such a mountain of malt. I've figured out they're aiming at around 50 IBUs. Yeast isn't specified so, as I've got a couple of flasks of West Yorkshire (not that far from Reading) ready, that's going in, too. So away we jolly well go.
 
What kind of fruits are you after? I'm going start doing something similar soon and I've got Special X and Special B that I'm going to be doing comparisons of. Like crystal 160 it says they add dark fruit flavours like plums, raisins and figs.
I've used special x from the homebrew company a few times especially in a hobgoblin style of ale and it does give a fruit cake taste to the beers ala raisins etc. I found it to my taste as it does not give any bitter/astringency with it too which some of the darker grains do. I think it would help with the tastes you are after
 
I've got some Special B ready for a Belgian Dubbel I'm going to brew so maybe a small amount of that in a British ale would liven it up?
Definitely. I had a pint of something recently where the badge on the pump all but shouted special B and I mentioned it's supposed to be like dark fruit and raisins to my mate and he was all over the raisins thing.
 

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