Mandarina Bavaria hops for tangerine in a modern lager

A German hop with American parentage

Mandarina Bavaria was released by the Hüll hop research centre in Bavaria in 2012, one of a group of fruit forward varieties bred to give German growers an answer to the American aroma hops that craft brewers were buying. Its mother is Cascade, the American hop that defined early US pale ales.

Alpha acid usually falls between 7 and 10%. The aroma is what it says on the label: tangerine and mandarin peel first, with some sweet citrus and a little green fruit behind. It is less piney than Cascade and less tropical than many Southern Hemisphere hops. That restraint is why it suits a lager. The fruit sits on top of a clean beer rather than taking it over.

Why a lager shows it off so well

A lager fermented cold with a clean yeast leaves very little fruit of its own. Ale yeasts throw esters that blur into hop aroma. A lager yeast at 9 to 12 °C mostly does not. That gives Mandarina a quiet stage. The tangerine comes through more clearly than it would in a pale ale at the same dose.

The malt matters too. A pale, crisp base of Pilsner malt keeps the colour around 4 to 6 EBC and the flavour bready but light. A lager built on rich, caramel heavy malt pushes the citrus aside. Our guide to Weyermann Barke Pilsner malt covers one base that suits this beer well.

A 20 litre recipe

This is a simple modern lager at about 5% ABV and 25 IBU:

• Malt: 4.2 kg Pilsner malt (100%) for an original gravity near 1.048 at 75% brewhouse efficiency.
• Mash: 65 °C for 60 minutes for a dry, crisp body.
• Bittering: Mandarina at 60 minutes for 15 IBU. At 8.5% alpha and 28% utilisation, that is 15 x 20 / (0.085 x 0.28 x 1,000), about 13 g.
• Whirlpool: 50 g at around 80 °C for 20 minutes. This also adds a few IBU.
• Dry hop: 60 g, about 3 g per litre.
• Yeast: a clean lager strain, pitched cold and fermented at 10 to 12 °C.

If your efficiency is lower than 75%, add malt rather than accept a thin beer. Measure your gravity after the boil and note it so you can correct the grist next time.

When to dry hop a lager

Timing the dry hop is the main decision. Two common approaches:

• Late in active fermentation, when the gravity is a few points above final. The yeast is still working, so it scavenges some of the oxygen that comes in with the hops. Fermentation also moves some aroma compounds around in useful ways.
• After the diacetyl rest, once the beer has finished. This keeps the aroma more intact but carries a higher oxidation risk if you open the fermenter.

Dry hopping also triggers hop creep: enzymes in the hops break down some unfermentable sugars, the yeast ferments them and gravity drops a point or two, with a little extra diacetyl. If you dry hop late, hold the beer warm for a couple of days afterwards and taste for butterscotch before you cold crash.

Keeping the tangerine bright

Citrus hop aroma fades faster than bitterness. The usual causes are oxygen and warmth. Purge the fermenter or keg with CO2 if you can, keep the transfer closed and store the finished beer cold. A tangerine lager left in a warm room for a month will smell flatter and sweeter, closer to marmalade than fresh peel.

In India the warm room is the default, so plan for it. Brew a batch size you will finish within a few weeks and keep it in the fridge once it is carbonated. Buy hops in small foils, keep them frozen and do not open the dry hop bag until you are ready to add it.

Swaps and partners

If Mandarina is out of stock, Cascade gives a similar citrus with more pine and grapefruit. For a lager that leans more classic, pair a smaller dose of Mandarina with a traditional hop such as Saaz: the spicy base underneath keeps the beer from tasting like a fruit cordial. Getting that balance right from one batch to the next depends on knowing how each hop behaves in the whirlpool and the dry hop, not only what it smells like in the bag.

Your first step

Brew the recipe above, but split the dry hop: put 30 g in at the end of fermentation and hold the other 30 g for three days later. Taste the beer before and after the second addition. That tells you how much of the tangerine comes from the whirlpool, how much from the dry hop and where your own palate wants the balance.

Common questions

What does Mandarina Bavaria taste like?

It is dominated by tangerine and mandarin peel with some sweet citrus behind. It is less piney than its parent Cascade.

Can I use Mandarina Bavaria in a lager?

Yes. A clean, cold lager fermentation shows its citrus very clearly. Use it mainly in the whirlpool and dry hop.

How much Mandarina should I dry hop with?

Around 3 g per litre is a sensible start for a modern lager, so 60 g in a 20 litre batch.

What can I use instead of Mandarina Bavaria?

Cascade is the closest substitute, with a little more pine and grapefruit. Adjust the bittering addition for its alpha.