The Hop Chronicles | Mandarina Bavaria (2018) Pale Ale

Author: Paul Amico

Bred at The Hop Research Center in Hüll, Germany, and released in 2012, Mandarina Bavaria is an aroma variety said to impart a blend of noble and citrus characteristics to beer. Being the daughter of Cascade, the citrus component of Mandarina Bavaria isn’t necessarily surprising, though this newer hop is known for contributing unique notes of tangerine rather than just grapefruit.

Alpha: 7 – 10%
Beta: 5 – 6.5%
Cohumulone: 31 – 35% of alpha acids
Total Oil: 2.2 mL/100g
Myrcene: 71%
Humulene: 5 – 15%
Caryophyllene: 1 – 5%
Farnesene: < 1%
Linalool: 0.1 – 0.6%
ß-Pinene: unknown
Geraniol: unknown
Parentage: Cascade, Huell Melon, Hallertauer Blanc

I’ve always enjoyed citrus notes in my hoppy beers, though over the years have come to expect that to mean either grapefruit or possibly pithy orange. The idea of tangerine aroma and flavor in beer was very appealing to me, and having never used Mandarina Bavaria, I was curious to see how it would do when used on its own.

| MAKING THE BEER |

I went with the standard Hop Chronicles Pale Ale recipe for this batch in hopes of letting the hop character shine.

Mandarina Bavaria Pale Ale

I started off my brew day by collecting the full volume of water and adjusting it to my desired profile.

Next, I flipped the switch on my Clawhammer electric controller to get things heating up then proceeded with milling the grain.

When the water was properly heated, I stirred in the grains and check to make sure the mash was at my intended temperature.

During the mash rest, I weighed out the kettle hop additions.

When the 60 minute mash rest was finished, I removed the grains from the sweet wort and set the controller the heat it up.

Following a 60 minute boil, I used my CFC to chill the wort during transfer to a sanitized fermenter.

A refractometer reading showed the wort was right at my target OG.

Using some remnant wort, I made a vitality starter of Imperial Yeast G03 Dieter and let it sit for about 4 hours before pitching it into the wort.

The beer was left to ferment at 66°F/19°C for 9 days before I took a hydrometer measurement confirming FG was reached.

With fermentation complete, I transferred the beer to a CO2 purged keg.

The filled keg was placed in my keezer and burst carbonated overnight before I reduced the gas to serving pressure. After a week of conditioning, I began serving it to blind tasters.

| METHOD |

Participants were instructed to focus only on the aromatic qualities of the beer before evaluating the flavor. For each aroma and flavor descriptor, tasters were asked to write-in the perceived strength of that particular characteristic on a 0-9 scale where a rating of 0 meant they did not perceive the character at all and a 9 rating meant the character was extremely strong. Once the data was collected, the average rating of each aroma and flavor descriptor was compiled and analyzed.

| RESULTS |

A total of 36 people participated in the evaluation of this beer, all blind to the hop variety used until after they completed the survey. The average aroma and flavor ratings for each descriptor were plotted on a radar graph.

Average Ratings of Aroma and Flavor Perceptions

The 3 characteristics endorsed as being most prominent by participants:

The 3 characteristics endorsed as being least prominent by participants:

When asked to rate the pungency/strength of the hop, most tasters perceived it as being mildly to moderately pungent.

Tasters were then instructed to identify beer styles they thought the hop would work well in.

Finally, participants were asked to rate how much they enjoyed the hop character on a 1 to 10 scale.

My Impressions: I perceived mild melon and apple/pear notes in the aroma that I thought were nice enough, though I was expecting something different. Curiously, an enjoyable citrus character is what I detected most in the flavor, making the beer very crushable. I can see Mandarina Bavaria working great in Kölsch and Blonde Ale, as well as being a solid mid-boil addition for hoppier styles.

| CONCLUSION |

Mandarina Bavaria is a relatively new hop that seemed to receive quite a bit of positive attention when it hit the scene in 2012. Whereas some brewers reported it as adding a fruity twist to otherwise American-style hoppy ales, others talked of how it contributed unique aroma and flavor to pale lagers. Despite being unaware of the variety used, tasters of a Pale Ale hopped solely with Mandarina Bavaria seemed to agree, rating APA/IPA, pale lager, and Kölsch as the styles they felt it’d work best in.

While Citrus was the highest rated aroma and flavor characteristic in this Mandarina Bavaria Pale Ale, tasters tended to describe what they perceived in more general terms, with nobody explicitly identifying tangerine in post-survey conversations. I didn’t actually pick up much citrus at all in the aroma, though it did come through quite prominently in the flavor, and I felt it was very pleasant.

Personally, I’m not convinced Mandarina Bavaria is an ideal variety for hoppier styles like IPA, at least when used on their own, though I can see it working well in combination with other citrusy hops like Cascade and Centennial. However, for less assertively hoppy styles such as Kölsch, Blonde Ale, or pale lager, I think Mandarina Bavaria can add a touch of something new that’s very pleasing to the palate.

Mandarina Bavaria hops are available now at Yakima Valley Hops, get them while you can! If you have any thoughts on this variety, please feel free to share them in the comments section below.

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