First time using fruit

[Apt23Brewery]

Hey everyone,
I'm getting ready to make a beer for the wife and I wanted to get some ideas.

I'm going to be doing an American Hefe, and she really wants me to make it taste like mangos. So I'm going to track down some frozen mango chunks.

2 Questions.

1) What type of yeast would you all use to keep it from having a heavy banana or clove taste? I don't want it clashing with the mangos.

2) I plan on doing everything normal in the primary, then when I rack that off to the secondary and on top of the mangos, I'm going to use my 6 gal. Better Bottle so I've got a bit more head room. Do you think this will be enough space for the fermenting that will take place in the secondary due to the mangos?

If you have any suggestions, I'm all ears. very excited to try this one!

 

[leotrace]

1.) A friend and I just brewed a blackberry ale, and had a number of the same questions. Safale S-04 yeast complements most fruit quite nicely, as they've been reported to release slightly sweeter flavors than other yeast.

2.) I would actually recommend brewing in a 7 gallon or higher, though this is entirely up to how much fruit you want to add. I would say getting a blowoff tube is a good idea, because we used a traditional bubbler and the yeast grew so fast from the extra sugar from the fruit that it blew our top clean off. We added three pounds of blackberry puree.

3.) You may know this already, but the time in which you add the fruit is critical in determining how much fruit flavor you want in the beer. If you want just an aftertaste, add in the boil. If you want a fair amount of fruit flavor, add when you rack to the primary. If you want it to be the strongest, add to the secondary. We added to the primary, but if you add to the secondary, you probably won't have to worry about the blowoff problem.

 

[leotrace]

I forgot to mention, we brewed in a 6.5 gallon carboy.

Best of luck with your brew.