Mango Melomel?

Just when I thought I was done making mead for awhile, HWIA (He Who is Awesome) asks me to make several batches of mead for co-contributors of an RPG pencil and paper game (nerd alert!) they've recently completed to raise funds for a charity that provides games and toys to hospitalized children. Told you he's awesome!

Anyways, there will be a few batches of mead made, starting with a Mango Melomel. I have been looking at recipes, but most of them seem to come out sour or lack information of the end product. I am thinking I might try to adapt NerdyMarie's Mango Pulp Wine into a melomel. Any tips, tricks, suggestions, comments, jokes, etc?

Thanks as always guys!

All I have to say is this is awesome!

Nerd - yup, physics major here!

Charity - awesome! Love helping people!

Helping kids - what is better than that?

Mead - hey, I wouldn't be here if I didn't love mead!

Mangos - I LOVE mangos!

So in summery, I have nothing constructive to say except good luck!

If I do come up with something constructive I'll be sure to share it!

I made a dry mango chili mead that I (at least) enjoy. I did not notice any sour notes in the finished product. I used ripe mangos which I pureed and added to the primary--12 large mangos for 5 gallons. I used wildflower honey. Once fermentation was complete, I racked off of the fruit and added the chili.

The mango flavor is light but prominent in the aroma. Does this help any?

I would try out at Gotmead.com. There are several that have done a Mango mead. I plan on doing one with some orange blossom honey. I have the Mangos in the freezer now. Just need to thaw, puree, pectic enzyme and put in the secondary.

My recomendations is to put the Mango in the secondary for better flavor. I plan on using 18 pounds in a 6 gallon batch. I found a special at the tail end of summer where I got them 3 for a $1. Given that they were nice ones about 1 pound each..really good deal, otherwise the cost would be prohibitive for me. But anyway, I plan on using Orange Blossum honey, and Lavin D-47 as it will remain low temp in my brewing area til spring. Temp there varies from 56 to 66, so that keeps under the 70 degrees that is the max that D47 should go.

Beware, Mangos are called the Devil Fruit for a reason. I blanched mine to skin them. Much like a peach. You have a pot of boiling water and a pot of ice water. Put the mangos in the boiling water for about a minute, then strait into the freezing ice water for about 30 seconds or up to a minute. This process is call blanching. What it does: The heat makes the skins and fruit expand, the cold makes the fruit contract. So the skins are loose and you can take your hands or a paper towel and strip the skin off of it much easier. Beware the Mangos are slippery and then you just cut out the seed, A very large seed. The seed will cling to the flesh so slicing in strips is the best way I got it done. Then I put the strips into a container and froze them for storage. For use in the secondary fermentation. I plan on putting it into a large mesh bag in a brew bucket after puree. Then after a month or so, take out the bag and strain. I figure that 1/2 of the fruit will disolve but I am also expecting to have a lot of sediment later as that mass does go somewhere. Much like how I did my Strawberry Mead.

I may decide to put in a bit of lemon zest to sharpen up the flavor a bit and "Brighten" it.

Anyway, that is my suggestion.

Hope it goes well and let us know. Pics are great. Reminds me that I need to get a digital camera.

Matrix

Thanks for all the suggestions! We are thinking about doing a second mango melomel down the road with chilis, we will probably go with Thai bird peppers. Matrix4b, i got a little chuckle about your warning of slippery mangos... I spent some time in Guinea as a teenager, they serve a dish there to honored guests made out of whole peeled mangos, cooked in a tasty but oily red sauce. You have to eat with your hand, and only your right on top of that. I know aaaaallllll about slippery mangoes You are probably right though, about adding them during secondary. Still have to decide on the honey, leaning towards orange blossom but the only place I can find in Austin that carries it is the LBHS and they are sold out. It will be a couple weeks or so before I can get all the stuff together to do this, I'll dig this thread up again and post my progress and pictures. Cheers!

If you use enough mango, you don't need to brighten it with lemon zest. I've use as much as 10 pounds per final gallon of mead. Dry, it has a chardonnay-like character. Sweet, and the flavor of mango becomes more prominent.

If you have really ripe mangos, once you've skinned them, you can just hand squeeze the pulp off the seed. With mango, you get a massive amount of pulp sediment. Trying to press it is an exercise if frustration. I dream about converting my old washing machine into a centrifuge for this very purpose. I'd get the mead off the gross lees as soon as it is done fermenting otherwise you tend to pick up excessive astringency if you are trying to keep it dry.

Medsen

MedsenFey, thanks for the advice. I am wondering if maybe I should consider doing this in a bigger carboy due to the sediment? I had been planning on doing just a gallon like my other batches, but with all the fruit it seems like I'd be short a bottle with the finished batch. Still not sure if this will be sweet or dry, have to determine the preferences of the recipient first.

Some day I'll try it with mango from my mango tree at the back yard.

AsianMead said:

Some day I'll try it with mango from my mango tree at the back yard.

Click to expand...

SO Jealous! lol Mango trees don't grow in Canada...

Me too, once you've had fresh picked mangoes the ones from the grocery store just never taste very good again. Nothing is quite like a fresh sun ripened/warmed mango fresh from a tree. I think for my mead though, I will use the tiny yellow/orange mangoes if I can find them, they tend to be sweeter.

I would dry hop the melomel with citra hops... the tropical fruit aroma is unmistakable.

Oooohh, I haven't tried doing anything with hops yet by I like the idea. Dry hopping is when you don't boil them in the wort right? I've been very careful to avoid the beer brewing forums as I am just not ready for that level of madness. I've read the "signs of a brewing addict" and "things I wish I had known before starting brewing" type threads and am just not ready for that, yet.

Right, you would just infuse the aromatic properties of the hops into your melomel. I don't think all hop varieties would be appropriate, but Citra is a highly aromatic variety that tastes strongly of tropical fruits.

What quantity would you use per gallon?

Its pretty potent stuff... I would say not more than a quarter ounce, half ounce max

One last question, should I add the hops in secondary or primary? I suppose, I have the same question regarding the fruit as well.

Secondary for both

I like the mango in the primary, with a cool fermentation temp.

So jelous of a mango tree in the back yard. I wish I had any tasty fruit tree/bush in the back yard. I am not good at doing yard work and not much grows well in colorado. Well, peaches maybe, small ones. Ofcourse, I have read that raspberry bushes will grow but take a long time to cultivate to berry giving status. Ah well.

But seriously, Lots of mangos for free sounds great.

Matrix

I have 2 mango trees in my back yard, different kind and different taste but good taste both. Some kind of mango you can eat when it's still green some kind can not coz it too sour. You know what I'm so jelous who have an apple tree and a cherry tree in the back yard also. LOL!