Mango IPA concerns

Last night I put 3lbs of frozen mangoes in my corny keg of IPA. I boiled the fine nylon bag then put the frozen mangoes straight in that and the directly into the keg. I am going to pull them out in a week before serving. I called the Town Hall brewery in MN who apparently makes a good mango IPA and asked them if they do anything to sanitize the mangoes. They said the just throw them in frozen and don't do anything to sanitize the mangoes. I wanted to get other opinions on whether this will end up infecting my beer? Also, should I go ahead and set my keg at 12 psi for the week the mangoes are sitting so once I take them out I can put it back to pressure and have a carbonated beer ready to drink?

It's very unlikely to result in an infection. If you want the mangoes to ferment, keep the keg warm and uncarbonated. If you want to minimize their fermentation, keep it under pressure and cold.

Would you mind posting your recipe? I have been considering a mango/amarillo pale ale for some time but never got 'round to actually brewing one.

The recipe is just the dogfish 60 minute clone recipe from brew365.com and then I added mangoes after cold crashing and kegging. I don't know what the recipe is for the town hall IPA and am not sure if they would give it out. I didn't ask them because I decided to add mangoes after I brewed the IPA. However, I did call them to ask how many pounds per gallon they use. They use around 1.33 pounds per gallon and I only used about a half pound per gallon so I am going to get a much more subtle flavor I am sure.

Is this town hall IPA anything similar in flavor to Odells Extra Special Red?

I've actually never had either the Town Hall one or the beer COLObrewer mentioned. I only called the town hall brewery to find out an estimate of how much mango to put in because it was the only mango IPA I could find on google from a micro/brewpub that might give me info. I just thought a mango IPA would be good so brewed up an IPA and decided to throw some mangoes in there. I will post tasting results next week after its ready.

ArcaneXor said:

It's very unlikely to result in an infection. If you want the mangoes to ferment, keep the keg warm and uncarbonated. If you want to minimize their fermentation, keep it under pressure and cold.

Would you mind posting your recipe? I have been considering a mango/amarillo pale ale for some time but never got 'round to actually brewing one.

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I agree with the minimization of fermentation. Anytime you add something with sugar you risk reactivation. Cold temp around 35 or so should be good I think.
As far as sanitizing....I used frozen cranberries for a recipe and boiled them first. Keep in mind freezing does NOT kill bacteria. I am a lab scientist and can back it up. Pasteurization is best to do with any kind of fruit 15-30 boil. on top of the cranberries, I added the watery juice as well (since it was pasteurized).


Mangos sound goooooooood.

Please tell us how the flavor is and how it turns out. Wish you the best.

Ya initially I figured it would be smart to boil them. But once the brewery told me they just throw them in I decided they probably know more than me so it is probably alright. I guess I will see if that was a smart idea in the next couple weeks.

crlova2 said:

Ya initially I figured it would be smart to boil them. But once the brewery told me they just throw them in I decided they probably know more than me so it is probably alright. I guess I will see if that was a smart idea in the next couple weeks.

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You don't want to boil them. Boiling fruit sets the pectins. Basically, you'd make Mango Jelly.

I didn't boil them I just put them in the cold keg. Even though I didn't boil should I still add pectic enzyme?

Use the enzyme if you dislike the haze

Will it work even though the beer is already cold and carbonating?

I found that dryhopping with citra makes beer taste like theres mango and maybe other tropical fruit in the beer. My buds thought it was some sort of fruit IPA.

The bottle should give instructions on the addition of Pectic Enzyme. Mine said add 1 hour prior to fermentation. I took this as 1 hour before adding the fruit, since the fruit contains sugar and will ferment somewhat. Therefore, I added the enzyme to my fruit while it was cooling after the 15-30 minute boil. Then I added the mix to the secondary, racking the beer on top of it.

None of my fruit will be fermenting though since I added frozen fruit to 38F beer in a fine nylon bag. I am assuming I don't need the enzyme in this case?

crlova2 said:

None of my fruit will be fermenting though since I added frozen fruit to 38F beer in a fine nylon bag. I am assuming I don't need the enzyme in this case?

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Probably not.

crlova2 said:

None of my fruit will be fermenting though since I added frozen fruit to 38F beer in a fine nylon bag. I am assuming I don't need the enzyme in this case?

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I've never needed it at all. I've also never boiled fruit for a beer, so take that for what it's worth.

the only problem i see is that you chose to put mangos into your beer. putting fruit in beer is stupid. it usually doesn't do anything but muddle the great natural flavors.

no offense intended...

blackwaterbrewer said:

the only problem i see is that you chose to put mangos into your beer. putting fruit in beer is stupid. it usually doesn't do anything but muddle the great natural flavors.

no offense intended...

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You have much to learn, grasshopper.

You have much to learn, grasshopper

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thanks, but i was brewing beer when you were popping zits and riding your bmx bike to buy pokeman cards at 7-11. it was just an opinion, anyway.

blackwaterbrewer said:

thanks, but i was brewing beer when you were popping zits and riding your bmx bike to buy pokeman cards at 7-11. it was just an opinion, anyway.

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Fruit's a natural flavor, big guy. Just like hops, just like herbs, or orange peel, or caramel malt. You're just limiting yourself, and being fairly nasty about it besides.

Fruit's a natural flavor, big guy. Just like hops, just like herbs, or orange peel, or caramel malt. You're just limiting yourself, and being fairly nasty about it besides.

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youre right.

if you want to make stuff with fruit, try mead or cider or wine. i make a great blueberry mead every year i'll give you the recipe. the natural flavor in beer comes from hops, barley, water and the way the yeast reacts with your feremntation temp, mash process, and aging. didn't mean to be nasty about it, " GRASSHOPPER "

This tread has me all kinds of excited. I love a good IPA and I am originally from India, at my parents house in Kerala India, it would practically rain mangoes at the right time of year. I am hoping to see the results of this experiment and/or a tried and true recipe for a Mango IPA. It would bring 2 of my loves together.

Blackwater, some of the most appreciated and expensive beers in the world are fruit-based (think Cantillon). I agree with you to an extent in that I find most fruit beers unpalatable, but there are also some fantastic examples out there. How about you just let people do their thing and you do yours?

Blackwater- To each his own....

I agree that most beers shouldn't have fruit but that doesn't mean NO beers can taste good with some fruit. This beer is an IPA with about 2.5 ounces of dry hopping (5 gallon) and I wouldn't necessarily classify it as a fruit beer (despite the fruit addition). It will probably a very very subtle taste of mangoes with a little aroma. I am pulling no sugars for fermentation from the fruit. I'm just trying to impart a small amount of flavor for something different. I am in college and have a LOT of friends that like to make jokes about putting fruit in beers. Ironically these are the same friends that drink nothing other than budlight. Definitely not comparing them to you just think people like that are funny so I thought I would share.

ArcaneXor said:

Blackwater, some of the most appreciated and expensive beers in the world are fruit-based (think Cantillon). I agree with you to an extent in that I find most fruit beers unpalatable, but there are also some fantastic examples out there. How about you just let people do their thing and you do yours?

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I made a honey citrus wheat beer. After being happy with that I made a Cranberry Apple Belgian Wit. Both beers I used REAL fruit, not juice or syrups. The key to a FRUIT beer is backing down on the AA's and complementing the hops to the fruit flavor. So far each of my fruit beers have turned out amazing. On the flip side, people prefer to have the grains and hops bring out the flavor. Find me a hop or grain that will give me a lemon, orange, pineapple, strawberry, or cherry flavor. The only hops I know of that will give citrus are Cascade and some others. But that's going off on a tangent and away from the fact that FRUIT makes for a good beer if you broaden your horizons.

To each his own. Homebrewing is a hobby, not a job. It's meant to be enjoyed and to help relax. Not to mention, open to experimenting.

Last I checked this site allows each of us to chime in at free will to give tips and advice.

Play nice kids.

3PegBrew said:

Find me a hop or grain that will give me a lemon, orange, pineapple, strawberry, or cherry flavor.

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Just to throw some out there, these are all either things I've tried myself or tried in someone else's homebrew.

Lemon: Citra, Sorachi Ace hops, Nottingham fermented warm.
Orange: Wy#3724
Pineapple: Brett C as a primary fermenter
Cherry: Brett L as a primary fermenter
Mango/passionfruit: Summit dryhopping
Blackberry: Pacific Gem dryhopping
Peach: SA-05 fermented warm.

Sooo how did it turn out?

DaBills said:

Sooo how did it turn out?

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I too would like to hear how it turned out!