Bottle/Tap: Bottle
Just when I thought that I had every kind of fruit beer – blueberry, apricot, watermelon, strawberry, raspberry, snozberry – I find a mango flavored ale. The part that really caught my attention was the fact that this was a pale ale and not some kind of lighter beer. Most fruit beers focus on the fruit flavor and the beer is comparable to a hefewiezen or some other light bodied brew. When you turn a pale ale into a fruit beer, you get my attention and then I have to drink, and drink I did.
First and foremost, this beer had a very strong mango aroma as soon as I cracked the cap. I kept it cold, poured it in a normal pint glass and noticed the golden color; all the normal characteristics of a fruit beer. I took a swig and there it was: the bitter. There was the deception of mango sweetness for a few seconds then the pale ale takes over and you have that solid bitter you forgot about. This beer was a true ‘bait and switch’ and I liked it. You could really taste the mango all over this beer and the bitter aspect flared up at the right time to make it exciting.
Normal fruit beers can be a little boring since they are often a tamer brew; however, if you add the fruit to a pale ale, or even an IPA, you have a more exciting brew. This was a random find and I was skeptical at how the mango would play out but I was impressed. The only reservation I have with most fruit ales, or maybe bottled beers, is the high amounts of carbonation. I find myself swirling my glass a lot to cut the carbonation down and really enjoy the flavors. Be careful if you have too many of these — you’ll be wearing a grass skirt in no time.
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