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HomeBrewMasterRace

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Hi All,

I'm planning to do a Mango Ale and i was curious as to the best way to go for this. From what I've read, it seems like there's 5 different routes i could go as far as what mango to use as well as 2 different methods for adding it.

The 5 different routes i've read say to either use 1) Fresh fruit and freeze it (sanatize once you take out of freezer) - 2) Purchase frozen fruit and as it's pre-pasturized only need to sanatize bag/scissors - 3) buy fresh fruit, boil it and add it - 4) buy a concentrate can and add it - 5) buy an extract and add it

I was wondering which one would be most beneficial to the finished beer.

There's also 2 different methods i've read regarding adding the fruit to the beer. The first is to add it to the primary fermenter and be careful not to unsettle the yeast on the bottom and the second is to rack to a secondary and rack the beer onto that.

I was hoping for some guidance, recommendations and experience that you all may have.

Thanks in advance
 
Hi @HomeBrewMasterRace and welcome. I just did a recreation of Sam Adams Rebel Juiced IPA not too long ago. I went with adding Mango Juice that was preservative free (simply because Sam Adams says they use juice in their beer). I would do it completely different now. The way I would go after doing that is using fresh fruit that has been cut up or smashed and frozen. Freezing it will break apart the cells a bit more and give you more flavor from what I've read. Personally, I would do 1lb of mango per gallon of beer your making.

The additional step I would take is to buy some form of flavor extract, like what is shown below. In case the fruit doesn't give you the full flavor you're looking for, you could add the extract in addition to the fruit. This part is optional as the fruit should give you what you're looking for. I used this on mine and it gives a very natural mango flavor.

If I was doing it, I'd probably just stick with the frozen fresh fruit and leave it at that. I think that would give you the nice flavor you're looking for. You're second question about when to add it, I'd add it to a secondary fermenter and transfer the beer on top of that.

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Boiling any type of fruit is not advised as it drives off a lot of the delicate flavors and aromas we are seeking in the fruit. I also stay away from pure extracts, but it’s a personal thing. To me the fruit extracts taste fake. I’m spoiled to live in the valley of CA where we have access to plentiful fresh fruits and I can support our local farmers by buying a few flats of locally grown fruits. I’ll use apricots for an apricot blonde, but any fruit could be substituted. My opinion (opinion based on preference and taste so take from it what you will) is fresh fruit is so much more flavorful and pronounced than store bought frozen. I will purée the fruit and make a full day out of puréeing 20-30 pounds. That all gets jarred and pasteurized then tossed in the freezer so I can use them throughout the year. When I want to brew that fruit beer, I will make the blonde base beer and when the gravity hits 1.010 I thaw out the fruit and toss it directly into the fermenter. This boosts my gravity considerably with the added sugar of the fruit, and the US-05 strain I’ve used still has a lot of life in it so it usually results in more fermentation activity for a few days. This takes my blonde from a session 3.4% up to a 5.5% with an amazing apricot aroma and a subtle apricot flavor.

This is what I’ve found works best for me, but others swear by the extracts. I would still encourage you to use a locally grown fruit you have access to. It’s like night and day between using fresh fruit and extract that is god knows how old
 
Sounds like i'll be making 2 batches. 1 Batch with pure fresh fruit that i freeze to sanitize and the other a mixture of fresh fruit and extract to give it that extra oomph.

Regarding sanitizing the fruit, is freezing it enough or should i also pour sanitizer over it?
 
I brewed a mango pale ale a couple years ago. Went with 5 lbs of frozen mango from Sam's Club, sanitized my blender and pureed the thawed fruit, then added it to primary once initial fermentation settled down. Gave it a week to ferment out, cold crashed for another week, and kegged it. It came out pretty good with no shortage of mango flavor. I now do all of my fruit beers this way.
 
I like this idea. Does it float sink or mix in? What I've also read is if it floats on top it could turn out looking a bit gross and you have to rack only what's beneath it.
 
Question on this, I'm going to make this this weekend but I wanted to bounce my plan of you all. I plan to brew a base American ale, ferment that for 10 days then switch to a secondary with the 5lbs of blended mango on it. I plan to buy pre frozen (so it's sterlized) and then sterelize my 2nd. I figure that a plastic secondary should be fine as some of the sugars in the mango should ferment. Plan to leave it in there for 10 more days then bottle.

What do you guys think?
 
Question on this, I'm going to make this this weekend but I wanted to bounce my plan of you all. I plan to brew a base American ale, ferment that for 10 days then switch to a secondary with the 5lbs of blended mango on it. I plan to buy pre frozen (so it's sterlized) and then sterelize my 2nd. I figure that a plastic secondary should be fine as some of the sugars in the mango should ferment. Plan to leave it in there for 10 more days then bottle.

What do you guys think?

Yes, that will work, but why not just add the mango to your primary at around day 5 and save yourself a transfer?
 
/\ this. I have an apricot ale that is ready to bottle and a passion fruit wheat that should be ready in a few days. I’m getting excited.
Cheers
 
I had Bottled this about 2 weeks ago, i tried one at 1 week after bottling tastes pretty good. The only thing i noticed was, as i got towards the bottom of the beer it started to taste tart (i was drinking it out of a glass). I'm wondering if this is because the Yeast ate all the sugar in the mango so it's just left with the tartness.

I'm going to try to let this age out (trying another bottle Friday and once a week thereafter), but i was also hoping for some feedback as well.

Thanks,
 
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