Stonefruit Dark Ale

[rbtmc]

Hey gang,

Have a vague idea for the next brew and thought I'd crowd-source the finer details.
I want to brew a dark beer (haven't had much experience in this area) with stone-fruit hops (which hops give stone-fruit flavours?)

Maybe something like a Black IPA but tamer strength wise (1.045-1.050) and with more malt complexity.

Throw out some basic ingredient/recipe ideas and I will brew it and if you're lucky I'll sling a stubby your way.

Go! :lol:

 

[manticle]

Some seasons of amarillo, given a bit of age and some dark malts can give a bit of stonefruit to my palate.
I'd also suggest yeast strain will have something to do with it. 1469 gives some deeper fruitiness. I get deep candy floss and peach/plum from 1007 fermented low.

I would try amarillo, some toastier and roastier malts and 1469 but I offer no guarantees.

 

[Mardoo]

I agree with Manticle on the Wyeast 1469 yeast. It throws lovely dark stonefruit esters if you ferment at the bottom end of its range. I start it at 15.5, let it rise naturally over the first two days-ish to 17, then finish it off at 19 for a couple days. I ran across a guy online who recommended this with a light malt bill (he recommended UK lager malt), hops to 50 IBU and low temp ferment with 1469. I haven't tried it yet but just may very soon. You might be able to work that idea into what you're looking for.

Go with something like Magnum for bittering, and go all flameout hops for the rest of your hops, or flameout entirely with no bittering addition. Plenty of the major US craft IPA's do this these days, many using something like IsoHop for the bitterness (isomerised alpha acid extract).

Also, Google threw this up at the top of the page with a search for stonefruit hops. I'm sure you can do better with a bit of Google-fu, but I've never heard of the Bitter Gold hop mentioned and it sounds interesting.

 

[Reman]

As per Mardoo's link, I've used Summer in an APA and Barleywine and it gives an Apricot flavour. I used it at 10mins and dry hop alongside Vic Secret.

Summer is definitely an aroma hop at about 5% AA, I've used it at 30 mins previously and it was a little bit harsher than only using it at 10 and dry.

 

[TimT]

I've been thinking recently of using stonefruit in brews. Cherries, plums, or almonds especially. I've had the odd plum wine or Amaretto (almond liqeur) or cherry pip noyeaux here and there and the smell in all of them if absolutely unmistakable and beautiful; it comes, I believe, from steeping the seeds in alcohol for a few months and letting the flavours and essence leach out into the brew. I want to do this with a mead I'm brewing at the moment and some fresh almonds from our garden. The smell would go well with some beers too, especially the darker brews, although i t's possible some of the oils from the plants (almonds especially) may interfere with the beer in some way (ie, poor head).

It's true that stonefruit generally have small amounts of arsenic or cyanide in them but they have it at such low levels that it makes no difference. If you think about it, for instance, with the 'almond essence' recipes I've read - they all say you should steep something like 12 almonds (normal sort of almonds) in a pint of vodka for a few months. You're not going to die from eating 12 almonds, or even three times that amount (with the exceptions of those with a nut allergy).

Long story short I reckon you should chuck some almonds into your brew and age it!

 

[Mardoo]

There's plenty of mead makers I've read online who gently cook the skin and stones of stonefruit (particularly peach) with a bit of sugar to add to secondary.

Also, the Conan yeast (AKA Vermont IPA and Vermont Ale from Gigayeast and Yeast Bay respectively) is renown for the peach esters it throws between 16 and 17 degrees. I'll be using it for the first time soon.

Edit: These are both things I've read of, not done myself.

 

[Coodgee]

I have also found summer gives a distinct apricot aroma.

 

[Danwood]

Ella and Mosaic would be my picks for a peachy/nectarine flavour.

You'd probably want to balance those with something resiny/piney though, so it's not too one dimensional.

 

[Coodgee]

Ella and Mosaic would be my picks for a peachy/nectarine flavour.

You'd probably want to balance those with something resiny/piney though, so it's not too one dimensional.

my RyePA is equal parts chinook, mosaic & simcoe as 10 minute (6g/L) and dry hop (7.5g/L) additions and the aroma is unmistakably red papaw/papaya. It's amazing.

 

[rbtmc]

Cheers lads, looks like Summer/Simcoe with 1469 could be the go. Any suggestions for malt bill?

 

[Reman]

Options are porter, stout, dark lager or brown, any of those tickle your fancy? Or the darkish of an ESB, Irish red, Amber, etc.

If it was me, I reckon a red rye IPA would be very tasty with stone fruit flavours, something like a six strings or modus operandi.

 

[Mardoo]

That sounds great. I'm also partial to a hoppy American Amber with stonefruit flavours.