I’m wanting to try a mango style of fruit beer. I was convinced to try mango flavoring just prior to kegging or bottling and not use mango puree.(Never used either before, actually never brewed a fruit beer before) So, I guess this will be, prior to adding the mango flavoring, a pale ale, but not as bitter as a pale ale. I was wondering what water profile would be good for this beer? Thanks for any help in advance.
I think the primary thing you’d want to think about it is how much do you want the hops to “pop” over/with the mango. If you wanted something more “fruit” push - that would say more chloride than I would normally do for a pale ale
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I’d go pretty neutral with the salts since this probably is going to be mostly about the fruit flavors. Relatively modest with both chloride and sulfate, but do pay close attention to mashing pH and how the beer finishes. Keep the mash below 5.4 and do add lactic acid to the finished beer if the flavor is a little too muddy or dull. I have to do that with the apricot wheat ale that my wife likes.
If the finished beer is too full or cloying, don’t be afraid to add gypsum after fermentation to help dry the overall finish. As with the post-ferment acid addition, I recommend adding known amounts of the additions into a pint of beer until it tastes better and then scaling that up to add to the keg or bottling bucket.
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I make a Mango Habanero Kolsch which has been very popular at brew festivals. If using fruit or fruit puree, make sure you use pectin. Pectin will prevent chill haze in the final beer. Mango works well with light colored beer recipies and use the water profile for the style of beer you are using as the base.
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I’m not using a puree this time. The beer supply guy basically talked me into trying a mango flavoring before kegging. It sounds like you’ve used puree before. I was unclear when would be the best time to add the puree. In the boil or in the primary or secondary?
Any tips or info is appreciated.
Thanks
In the secondary is best. I made my own puree by peeling 8 lbs of mangos, pitting them, and then freezing the fruit for at least 3 days. Freezing helps break the cell walls and passurize the fruit freeing up the juice more. I then thawed it out, roughly blended it and put it in a large bag ( brew in a bag type with draw strings) for about 10 days. Removed bag and cold crashed.