I have questions about making Mango beers

[Sleepy_D]

I’m going to make a mango wheat that I will add habanero to via tincture. I’ve heard that mango is a difficult flavor to preserve in a beer, especially if you add it in a way that allows it to ferment. I have a 3 lb can of purée that I was planning to use but I have some questions:

1: is 3 lbs of purée enough for 5 gallons or would it be better to use 1 lb/gallon or more to get the flavor to come across?
2: should I stabilize the beer before adding the purée so that it does not ferment to preserve the flavor and sweetness?
3: should I forget the purée and buy an extract?
4: add fruit in secondary and then use extract as needed?

My only other experience using purée was raspberry where I added a 3 lb can after fermentation ended and allowed it to deferment. I felt that the raspberry flavor was very dull and it added a lot of tartness from the berries but not the flavor I was going for. I’d like to avoid that situation again if possible

 

[RM-MN]

When I dry hop a pale ale with only Citra hops, my senses tell me it is mango I taste. That may be a way to enhance you mango puree.

 

[Sammy86]

Generally with fruit additions they say to add a pound/gallon.

My recommendation would be to add your purée into the keg and put the cold crashed beer onto it and you should get some decent flavor additions without having to worry about refermentation.

OTOH you can stabilize the beer and then add the fruit and package but as they say here there is more than one way to skin a cat.

Good luck!

 

[AlexKay]

++ on Citra. It’s a great combo with mango.

I would definitely let the extra sugars from the fruit ferment out, and then worry about adding lactose if you want it sweeter. Microbiological stability and all. Plus really sweet fruit beers are unappealing, though maybe that’s just me.

 

[KeizerBrewr]

Mango can be hard to judge, lots of trial and error. If you keg, add it to the keg and get after it. I have used mango to flavor my cider to good effect, three pounds to four gallons. Obviously cider is not the same as beer. I would try it out at the very end, a couple days before packaging.

 

[Sleepy_D]

Generally with fruit additions they say to add a pound/gallon.

My recommendation would be to add your purée into the keg and put the cold crashed beer onto it and you should get some decent flavor additions without having to worry about refermentation.

OTOH you can stabilize the beer and then add the fruit and package but as they say here there is more than one way to skin a cat.

Good luck!

Well I’m hoping to put this in a couple upcoming comps if it turns out so I definitely want to stabilize it. Is 1 lb/gallon the appropriate dose when you’re not allowing it to ferment or should I use less in that instance

 

[Sleepy_D]

++ on Citra. It’s a great combo with mango.

I would definitely let the extra sugars from the fruit ferment out, and then worry about adding lactose if you want it sweeter. Microbiological stability and all. Plus really sweet fruit beers are unappealing, though maybe that’s just me.

I was going to use HBC 586 since people say it’s a mango hop but I haven’t tried it. I don’t want to get a really sweet beer but I also don’t want to lose all the fruit character so I’m trying to find that balance

 

[Sleepy_D]

Mango can be hard to judge, lots of trial and error. If you keg, add it to the keg and get after it. I have used mango to flavor my cider to good effect, three pounds to four gallons. Obviously cider is not the same as beer. I would try it out at the very end, a couple days before packaging.

When you added it to cider did you back sweeten with it or did you allow it to ferment out?

 

[Chris112]

I made a mango jalapeño pale ale last year that took 2nd place at the state fair. I used mango extract at kegging, a whole small bottle for a 5 gallon batch I think. I used peppers at the end of the boil, and also added some to fermenter for 3 days after fermentation was finished.

At first, the mango flavor was crazy intense and there was a lot of green veggie pepper taste, but after a month or so, I bottled a bunch and let it sit again. In total it aged from March-August and the fair was in Sept. and by then the mango flavor really mellowed and was perfect, it did not ferment out and the beer was not stabilized, filtered or clarified with finings. The extra time also helped remove the “green pepper” flavor and left just the spicy pepper notes.

I’d do the extract again for sure.

 

[beren]

Which extract?

 

[BrewerofBeers]

I would not change it since you are not fermenting, and I would advocate 2 lbs/gallon.

 

[Chris112]

Which extract?

Brewers Best natural mango flavor 4oz

 

[waynetempro]

You should stick with real mangos for the fruit flavor. Extracts add an odd artificial flavor but they are useful for adding just a little more of the mango flavor that was lost during fermentation. Test it on a small sample first or you might end up with a cloying mango beer.

 

[Sleepy_D]

You should stick with real mangos for the fruit flavor. Extracts add an odd artificial flavor but they are useful for adding just a little more of the mango flavor that was lost during fermentation. Test it on a small sample first or you might end up with a cloying mango beer.

So would you recommend doing a combo of real fermented fruit and extract or add real fruit only but don’t let it ferment to preserve flavor

 

[waynetempro]

So would you recommend doing a combo of real fermented fruit and extract or add real fruit only but don’t let it ferment to preserve flavor

I would recommend that you do exactly what you just did above. And only add mango extract to brighten the mango flavor if the final beer isn’t mango-ey enough.

 

[Sleepy_D]

I would recommend that you do exactly what you just did above. And only add mango extract to brighten the mango flavor if the final beer isn’t mango-ey enough.

I haven’t done anything yet! Still trying to figure out how to do it. I’m thinking add after fermentation is mostly or entirely done and let it ferment out then extract as needed at the end like you said

 

[shetc]

Generally with fruit additions they say to add a pound/gallon.

My recommendation would be to add your purée into the keg and put the cold crashed beer onto it and you should get some decent flavor additions without having to worry about refermentation.

OTOH you can stabilize the beer and then add the fruit and package but as they say here there is more than one way to skin a cat.

Good luck!

This

 

[Sleepy_D]

This

So is the consensus that adding the fruit at a rate of approximately 1 lb/gallon and not allowing it to ferment will not result in a beer that is too sweet?

 

[shetc]

So is the consensus that adding the fruit at a rate of approximately 1 lb/gallon and not allowing it to ferment will not result in a beer that is too sweet?

One of favorite breweries, Lauderale (in Ft. Lauderale no less) makes a delicious mango habanero cream ale. They keg the beer, and then add the mango. The fruit is not fermented so you can taste it, and not too sweet. Of course, they can't can it.

 

[BongoYodeler]

So would you recommend doing a combo of real fermented fruit and extract or add real fruit only but don’t let it ferment to preserve flavor

I've used 3/4 tsp of Apex/Silvercloud apricot flavoring in a 5 gallon batch. It gives a nice apricot flavor to my American Wheat beer. That is until I tasted a friend's version made with apricot puree. While mine was good his tasted of fresher fruit. I'm using that next time. I'll add one 49oz can after fermentation slows down, as a test. I'm looking more for a hint of apricot, not a blast of it.

 

[Sleepy_D]

I've used 3/4 tsp of Apex/Silvercloud apricot flavoring in a 5 gallon batch. It gives a nice apricot flavor to my American Wheat beer. That is until I tasted a friend's version made with apricot puree. While mine was good his tasted of fresher fruit. I'm using that next time. I'll add one 49oz can after fermentation slows down, as a test. I'm looking more for a hint of apricot, not a blast of it.

do you know if he let it ferment after adding it?

 

[BongoYodeler]

do you know if he let it ferment after adding it?

I don't. But I'll see if I can find out.

 

[Chris112]

You should stick with real mangos for the fruit flavor. Extracts add an odd artificial flavor but they are useful for adding just a little more of the mango flavor that was lost during fermentation. Test it on a small sample first or you might end up with a cloying mango beer.

I agree. My mango extract-only beer was very potent until it aged quite a bit. That worked out for me since the jalapeño spice needed to smooth out as well but for other styles the real fruit would be ideal.

 

[Bobby_M]

1LB of puree per gallon in primary. Let it ferment out. There's a very large risk of unfermented fructose blowing up any bottles. You can TRY to stabilize but it's not always perfectly successful. Back off on the hops BIG TIME. Hop bitterness and flavor don't play well with peppers. I think my Mango/Hab beer had 9 IBUs.

 

[Sleepy_D]

1LB of puree per gallon in primary. Let it ferment out. There's a very large risk of unfermented fructose blowing up any bottles. You can TRY to stabilize but it's not always perfectly successful. Back off on the hops BIG TIME. Hop bitterness and flavor don't play well with peppers. I think my Mango/Hab beer had 9 IBUs.

Thanks for the info! 1 lb/gallon fermented out gave you the mango flavor you were looking for?

 

[BongoYodeler]

do you know if he let it ferment after adding it?

I don't. But I'll see if I can find out.

Just heard back from my friend. He said he used a combination fresh and canned purée. He said he added these to the fermenter after fermentation had finished. Left the mango in for 2-3 days then cold crashed and kegged.

 

[Stonecold_OM]

So if using Mango puree, either in the fermenter after fermentation completed, or adding to the keg/adding beer/cold crashing, did anyone have issues with the fruit clogging the dip tube? Or is the puree smooth enough that it's not noticed?

 

[Sleepy_D]

So if using Mango puree, either in the fermenter after fermentation completed, or adding to the keg/adding beer/cold crashing, did anyone have issues with the fruit clogging the dip tube? Or is the puree smooth enough that it's not noticed?

So I can update this thread with my experience. I ended up using pure in secondary and letting it ferment out. When I went to put in my keg there was a surprising amount of chunks in it, I regretted not putting the puree in a mesh bag and then tying it off to trap the chunks. The beer ended up fine, the mango is subtle but there. I entered the beer in two comps and both said they wanted more mango. Next time I try this I’m going to do puree on secondary and then add extract to the keg as needed to get the flavor I want.