One of the oldest, most consumed alcoholic drinks you can find in the world right now is beer. After water and tea, beer is the third most famous drink. Beer is brewed using cereal grains, especially from malted barley, and probably oats, maize and rice. While the brewing process is ongoing, fermentation of the starch sugars in the wort produces ethanol and carbonation in the resulting beer. A lot of modern beers are brewed with hops, which gives the beer a bitter taste and other flavors and also serves as a natural preservative and stabilizing agent. Other flavoring agents like fruits, or herbs, may be added or used instead of hops.
During the home brewing of beer, your beer typically undergoes two fermentation stages: primary and secondary fermentation. Immediately the alcohol has been produced during primary fermentation; the beer is then transferred to a new vessel and allowed a period of secondary fermentation. Secondary fermentation is used when the beer requires a prolonged storage period before packaging or when the beer is needed to attain greater clarity. When the beer gets fermented, it is packaged into bottles, casks for cask ale or kegs, aluminum cans, and other sorts of beer.
For fermentation to be completed successfully, yeast is one vital microorganism responsible for fermentation in beer. Yeast metabolizes the sugar that is extracted from grains, which produces alcohol and carbon dioxide, and thereby turns wort into beer. Apart from fermenting your beer, yeast also influences the character and flavor of your beer. The popular types of yeasts used in making beer are the top-fermenting Saccharomyces cerevisiae and bottom-fermenting Saccharomyces pastorianus. Brettanomyces ferments lambics, and Torulaspora delbrueckii ferments Bavarian weißbier.
The nutritional content of beer varies. The ingredients used to make beer, including the yeast, provide a rich source of nutrients; therefore, beer may contain nutrients including magnesium, selenium, potassium, phosphorus, biotin, chromium, and B vitamins. So, beer is not just an alcoholic drink that doesn’t have any benefit it provides to your body.
Fruit beer is a particular type of beer made with fruit added as an adjunct or flavoring. Fruit beer is also a non-alcoholic beer manufactured through the fermentation of fruits, including strawberries, plums, raspberries, and cherries because these fruits possess a malt aroma.
Different brewers have different approaches to adding fruity flavors to their brews. While some brewers use fresh fruits or juice during fermentation, others blend the beer with juice or age the beer with fresh fruit. Tart citrus fruits are common; you will find a few sweet brews as well, and others l taste perceptions of beer without actually losing the hoppy flavor.
Mango is one great fruit you can add to your beer. Below are 7 reasons for adding mango to beer.
- Adding mango to your mash will make the wort boil quickly, and any yeasts or bacteria on the mango would be destroyed. It is a process that helps to decrease the risk of wild yeasts. Including the mango in your wort helps kill off any potential harmful bacteria that could negatively affect your brew.
- Adding mango to your beer helps in enhancing its taste. If you are tired of constantly consuming only one beer flavor, you can try adding mango to your next homebrew and see how tasty your beer would be.
- If you are very concerned about the aroma of your beer, then you should add mango to your next homebrewer; it will give it a sweet and fruity aroma. Adding to your beer helps to sharpen and brighten the flavors.
- Adding mango to a strong beer will help to lower the final alcohol content. So, if you want to brew your beer with low alcohol content, are mango to it.
- It is a very cheap way of brewing beer. You can get mangoes at an affordable price around you.
- It increases the nutritional benefits of the beer. Mangoes have a lot of health benefits, so adding them to your beer increases the nutritional benefits of your beer.
- It aids the secondary fermentation process. Adding mangoes to your secondary fermentation ensures that your beer comes out well.
If you have decided to brew a fruit beer, and you have chosen your most preferred base beer style and fruit combination. The next thing you should consider is to start sourcing the fruit.
Searching for your perfect fruit
Your beer can only come out well if you use the right raw ingredients; that’s why you must put in the effort to get high-quality fruits. You can visit your grocery store to get the fruits you want to use.
Before you visit the grocery store, check for local farms and nurseries or see your neighborhood farmers market. These particular places usually have premium fruits with minimal amounts of chemical growers and pesticides. Although this option may be more expensive than going to the grocery store, the quality is worth it if you want to enjoy the delicious fruit flavor in your beer.
But if you can’t get fruits at the local farms, visit the grocery store. First, spend some time searching thoroughly for the fruit bins for the ripest specimens you can find. Mass producers of fruits often harvest before the point of optimal ripeness to prolong shipping and shelf life. And most times, the trade-off is a less-flavorful fruit. Grocery store fruits are also often grown and treated with chemicals, so take care to provide your fruits with a thorough washing before adding them to a beer.
You can also use frozen fruits and purees if you are not able to get fresh fruits. Frozen fruit and purees are also a great way to purchase quality fruit ingredients at a lower price, especially if your recipe requires significant additions. You also don’t need much time to prepare them when adding them to your beer. Be concerned about your ingredients and avoid using products that have large amounts of preservatives in them.
Apart from fresh fruits, frozen fruits, and purees, juices are another great option. Go for juices with fewer preservatives too. Use juices that are made from natural fruits.
Fruit amounts
After getting the suitable fruits, the next thing you need to do is know how many fruits you are supposed to purchase. Since fruit beers are made from many different base styles, you need to balance the strength and qualities of the beer with that of the fruit. For instance, two pounds of raspberries may be perfect for your five gallons of strong stout, but the same amount in a session wheat beer could be overwhelmed with raspberry character. You should also consider the acidic quality of the fruit because it will require more consideration in creating a balance between the fruit and base beer.
Take note of the amounts you use as regards your batch size and recipe so that when you next want to brew, you can make more informed decisions based on your experiences and your preferred taste.
For raspberry (fresh or frozen), add raspberries to your beer at less than 1 lb per gallon of wort to reduce haze. Most times, 3 – 5 pounds is enough for a 5-gallon homebrew batch.
For blackberry (fresh or frozen), add blackberries to your beer at less than 1 lb per gallon of wort to minimize haze. 3 – 5 pounds is perfect for 5 gallons of homebrew.
For cherry (fresh or frozen), use about 2 lbs of cherries per gallon of wort.
For blueberry (fresh or frozen): Use 2 lbs of blueberries per gallon of wort to enjoy a fantastic blueberry flavor. Make use of fewer blueberries to achieve subtle flavors.
For strawberries (fresh or frozen), use 1.5 to 2 lbs of strawberries per gallon of wort.
For peach (fresh or frozen), use 1.5-2 lbs of peaches per gallon of homebrew. Cut into small pieces before using.
Apricot (fresh or frozen), use 1.5-2 lbs of Apricots per gallon of homebrew. Cut them into small pieces before adding them to the fermenter.
For mango (fresh or canned), use 1.5 lbs of mango per gallon of homebrew recipe. Ensure you chop before using.
Passion Fruit (fresh or canned), use less than 1 lb per gallon of homebrew. Make sure to slice before using.
Pumpkin (fresh or canned), use 5-10 lbs of pumpkin per 5-gallon homebrew recipe.
Should you use fresh or frozen fruit in your beer recipe?
You should use fresh fruits, but in a situation where the fresh fruits are not readily available, you can use frozen fruits. Fresh fruit is a little more challenging to use than frozen fruit because there is much preparation that needs to be done before adding it to your homebrew.
How to pasteurize fruit for beer
Pasteurization heating fruits to kill harmful organisms such as bacteria or yeast. To pasteurize your fruits, you need first to mash them using a potato masher or a food processor. Then, the fruit will need to be pasteurized to kill off any unwanted yeasts or bacteria. You can do this in several ways.
One way to pasteurize your fruit is to add it to your brew kettle as your wort cools. As soon as the wort is cooler than 180°F, add the mashed-up fruit. If you do this too soon (i.e., when the wort is too hot), the fruit will release pectin that will make your beer hazy and your kettle messy. But this particular way of pasteurizing fruit tends to lead to a less robust fruit flavor in the resulting beer. So, you should use the second method, which is pasteurizing the fruit and adding it during secondary fermentation. To do this, put your mashed-up fruit into a medium-sized saucepan and add a little water. Slowly heat this mixture to 170°F while stirring. Hold it at this temperature for 5-10 minutes.
Conclusion
Adding mango to your beer is an excellent way of improving its taste and aroma. It would be best if you tried adding some when next you are homebrewing.