Brewed: Mango Saison

By scot in Home Brewing on Monday, September 24th, 2012

First runnings with an ounce of Fuggle

The brew day for Mango Saison has been a long time coming. A little over a month ago, I shared some correspondence I had with Mike Tonsmeire on the topic of a Mango Saison. Since then I have been collecting and freezing Mangos while letting Texas Wedge (rye saison aged on Brett B and C for three months) finish as I wanted to use the Brett from that batch in the upcoming batch.

I made a starter 1.5L starter on Thursday with my original aim of brewing Saturday. That wasn’t to be (hopefully another entry soon). I ended up starting with Bears kickoff on Sunday, brewing and watching the anemic Bears’ offense. Glad I had something to keep me occupied. Saturday afternoon, when I bottled the aforementioned Texas Wedge, I added the Brett to the starter. I really don’t know if that was a good idea. I didn’t have a sanitized container for the yeast and I figured the sugars would liven up the Brett. It seemed right, why not.

The brew day was lengthened by a 75 minute mash and 90 minute boil. The longer mash is to help convert since Saison’s are usually at the lower end of mash temps (150 is usually about tops) while the longer boil is to help with DMS (think I have that right). More directly: it is what I learned.

General Information
Recipe Type: All Grain
Yeast: Wyeast 3711 B. bruxellensis and B. claussenii w/ primary
Yeast Starter: 1.5L
Batch Size (Gallons): 5.50 (5.00 actual)
Original Gravity: 1.051 (1.053 actual)
Final Gravity:
IBU: 24.1
Color: 7.5 SRM
Boiling Time (Minutes): 90
Alcohol by Volume: 5.7%
Primary Fermentation: 30 days @70*F to 78*F
Secondary Fermentation: 2 months @70*F with Brett strains and Mango

Grain Bill:
10.00# Pilsner (German)
0.50# Oats
0.25# Special B

Mash:
Saccharification Rest @ 150*F for 75 minutes.

Hop Bill:
1.00 oz Fuggles (4.5%) @ 60 min
1.00 oz Fuggles (4.5%) first wort hop
1.00 oz Amarillo/Citra dry hop

The plan is to let this beer ferment out, drop on top of five pounds of mangos, and let the Brett go to work for a while. I will be tasting as I go so I really don’t know how long I will let sit. Better yet, I really don’t know if it will turn out all that great. Possibly Citra and/Amarillo will dry hop the beverage (or at least some) before bottling. Enjoy!

Updates:
2012-10-28: Racked on top of five pounds of mangos
2012-11-18: Dry hopped with an ounce of Mouteka

Useless Fact:A skunk can spray its stinky scent more than 10 feet.