So, you hated the Mango Beer Sorbet

[halleyscomet.livejournal.com]

I was quite surprised to see the Mango Beer not only make it to the "Better than ceviche" list but apparently get the second highest number of votes. I was initially perplexed. The beer from which it was made went over well and I've gotten a number of compliments on it. I'd started with a homebrew wheat beer kit and added some brewer's mango flavoring. The decision to make it into sorbet came from the Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Cookbook, where they mentioned that beer has just the right sugar and alcohol quantities to be dumped into an ice cream maker without further adulteration.

Fortunately for me, I encountered a man who was actively discussing the sorbet when I walked past. He used the phrase "Tasted Rotten" and then talked about the hops probably being at fault. He not only disliked it, but had a good idea as to WHY he hated it. I'd just decided I needed to pick his brain, when one of the people to whom he was speaking pointed at me and said "He made the sorbet." This was about as good an introduction as I could have hoped for.

What followed was an enlightening conversation about where I had gone wrong and where I might go in the future. Before I post some of the ideas that came from that conversation, I'd like to get some feedback from all y'all.

Why did you dislike the Mango Beer Sorbet?

What did you hear about the Mango Beer Sorbet?

What would you do differently?

As you can guess from this post, I intend to revisit the flavor, believing it has potential. No doubt, everyone who tastes the revised flavor next year will be glad of any feedback I get now. :)

Comments

[inahandbasket]

I was psyched to try it, but it was quite possibly the most bitter thing I've ever put in my mouth, with the exception of that time I licked an ant by accident. (Pure formic acid wins for bitterness.)

I'm guessing it was the hops as well, but there shouldn't be that much bitterness in your average wheat beer.
What were all the steps taken between buying the homebrew kit and freezing it? (Are you a homebrewer?) We might be able to identify something there.
Did you taste the mango extract? Maybe it was off...

(I'm a homebrewer and hoppy-beer lover, just for context.)

Re: Next Year's Name

[halleyscomet.livejournal.com]

I'm starting to suspect the bottle may have been off. The texture variations plus the intense bitterness people describe is getting hard to explain with the hops. I REALLY wish it hadn't been gone before I got to try it at the running of the flavors.

What I find odd is that it tasted fine when I tried it when I froze it. It sounds like it got worse when it froze harder.

I love the icon by the way. I keep meaning to take a camera to a fresh ferment to create a brewing icon.