Mandarina Bavaria Made Bad Beer

[Clint Yeastwood]

I made a wheat ale with Mandarina Bavaria hops. When the hops arrived, I was surprised. I had read they were citrusy, but they didn't smell like citrus. In fact, They smelled bad by my standards.

I tried them anyway, thinking that was probably normal. I haven't used every hop known to man, so for all I knew, these hops made great beer in spite of the way they smelled.

Now, sadly, the beer tastes a lot like the hops smelled.

Has anyone else had this experience with this hop? For that matter, has anyone here had hops that smelled bad before use? Apart from this batch, all the hops I've used have smelled good when they arrived.

 

[AlexKay]

I've used MB, and it never did taste like citrus to me, and certainly not mandarin oranges. I didn't like it. But bad hops generally have a cheesy smell to them. Is that what you got?

If you're looking for orange from your hops, try Lotus. Or Bergamot.

 

[Erik the Anglophile]

I have no other experience with Mandarina other than it tasted too "American" for my tastes and what I typically brew.
Maybe the hops were stale?

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

I just found a small amount I didn't use. There is some citrus, but mainly it's sort of like a rotten fruitcake. I just noticed a brown pellet.

Years ago, I was told to use Centennial for an orange taste, and as I recall, it worked fine. Back then I was told Cascade/grapefruit, Centennial/orange, Amarillo/lemon.

Thanks for the tips.

 

[Jag75]

You must have had some bad hops. I use them often . Imo they produce a good profile

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

This is interesting. I have some old Amarillo hops from January. I have not knocked myself out trying to keep them fresh. I just felt bad about throwing them out, so I stuck them back in the fridge.

I put them next to the Mandarina Bavaria hops on a dish. Photo attached.

Not only are the Mandarina Bavaria pellets a different color; they are smaller in diameter. About 0.020".

 

[Erik the Anglophile]

Keep your hops in the freezer instead, just a tip.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

I should do that, but I was planning to throw the Amarillos out. Just had a hard time overcoming stinginess.

The Mandarina Bavarias were not here long enough to go bad.

 

[Bassman2003]

They look pretty bad! Brown is not a good color in the hop world.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

I sent the HBS that photo. They are saying they will replace "the batch." Not sure if that means malt and hops or just hops. Finding out. If I ran the place, I would replace both, because the hops ruined the beer. I didn't buy the yeast there. I'll just eat that loss.

I am pretty much done buying hops anywhere but big outfits like Yakima Valley, but free is free. I can always ask for them and then throw them out if they stink.

They don't have Lotus or Bergamot. I found a big place online where I can get Bergamot, but if I don't like them, I'm stuck with a pound.

Seems like people's opinions on Mandarina Bavaria differ widely. Some say you get tons of tangerine and orange, and some say not. Bergamot hops are promoted pretty aggressively for their orange flavor.

 

[AlexKay]

They don't have Lotus or Bergamot. I found a big place online where I can get Bergamot, but if I don't like them, I'm stuck with a pound.

The link I posted above (Hang 'Em High) sells Bergamot by the ounce. But try Lotus first; you may decide you don't need another orange hop after that.

 

[rburrelli]

This is interesting. I have some old Amarillo hops from January. I have not knocked myself out trying to keep them fresh. I just felt bad about throwing them out, so I stuck them back in the fridge.

I put them next to the Mandarina Bavaria hops on a dish. Photo attached.

Not only are the Mandarina Bavaria pellets a different color; they are smaller in diameter. About 0.020".

View attachment 813820

Maybe T45 versus T90 pellets.

 

[day_trippr]

There's no real standard for pellet diameter, over the years I've gotten stuff ranging from say "1X" diameter to "3X" diameter and with a range of "hardness".
Anyway, the Mandarina hops sure do look oxidized. That sucks. Hopefully the seller will make things right though they can't account for the time and incidentals.

I've been buying from YVH and other bigs for years and actually never had "bad" hops, but this incident is somewhat instructive to stay on my toes and don't assume past trends will hold...

Cheers!

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

The link I posted above (Hang 'Em High) sells Bergamot by the ounce. But try Lotus first; you may decide you don't need another orange hop after that.

You've tried both?

The HBS says they'll replace the grain and hops, so that was nice of them. I think they probably got stung by their distributor.

If the new ones stink, I'll know better than to give them a chance.

 

[AlexKay]

You've tried both?

Yes. If I had to pick a favorite I’d go with Lotus. I like to use them both together, actually — it makes a great Black IPA.

 

[bwible]

I had the same idea for summer 2021. I thought Mandarina Bavaria description sounded like it would be great in a wheat beer. Like yours, my wheat beer did not have even a hint of any orange flavor and I didn’t even think it was as good as any of the ones I’d made in the past just with Hallertauer.

On another note, I recently stumbled across a local brewery here making what they are calling a German IPA. An IPA made with all German ingredients - grains and hops. They used Mandarina Bavaria in that. Presumably because its one of the higher alpha German hops and I don’t see how you’d make a 55 IBU beer with Hallertauer, Tettnang, Spalt or Saaz - all of which have been 3-4% in recent years.