Council Brewing Co. | Beatitude Mango Tart Saison
ABV: 4.5%
The Beatitude series of Saisons by Council Brewing Company is kind of a thing in San Diego. That is to say that the fruity Saisons pop up in various kegs and bottles throughout the city with a distinct notoriety and a high demand. This beer has existed, to be exact, in Mosaic dry-hopped, Citra dry-hopped, raspberry, apricot, passion fruit, cherry, three berry, pineapple, blueberry and, of course, mango versions, all of which are bottle-conditioned. We discovered the Beatitude Mango fresh on tap when we visited the brewery location.
Have you ever been to an Indian restaurant and tried the mango custard dessert? The freshness and juiciness of a mango is imparted in every whiff and subsequent bite. Well, the same goes for every sip of the Beatitude Mango. From the get-go, the aromas are overwhelmingly mango, as if you’ve planted one of these ripe, peeled fruits right underneath your nostrils and taken a huge whiff. One might even wonder if the fruit was randalized into the beer. But no — head brewer Liz Chism ages the beer over only fresh fruit, in this case, a fastidiously-chosen variety of mango, and lets the fruit go wild with the rest of the beer. And if you hadn’t already noticed, the color is an appropriately vibrant mango-orange with low clarity levels, sort of resembling a foamy mimosa. (Yum..)
Fruit aside, the aroma has the slightest bit of funk on the end, kind of like the smell of yogurt. This is Council’s own crafted blend, made up of Saccharomyces, two Brettanomyces strains (one fruity, one funkier) and one Lactobacillus strain.
“Our Beatitude slurry is a workhorse!” says Liz, who added that the beer typically attenuates in only four or so days. In the end, the strength of the strain isn’t imparted in either the aroma or flavor. The beer tastes sour, but cleanly so, leaving only a complex Lactobacillus presence that interplays so nicely with the sweetness of the mango, leaving you with a tart, citrus-like flavor at the end, reminiscent of the most sour Belgian beers.
This beer is one that should be quite palatable for beer drinkers of all shapes and sizes. Not only is it fruity and fun, but it has some great complexities coming from additions of flaked rye while its bitterness level comes in low at less than 5 IBUs. After trying many amazing beers in San Diego, this beer really stood out to us. The freshness of the fruit came through more intensely and cleanly than most fruited sours we have had. Liz took time to talk over the beers with us and created an all-around wonderful experience. Council is crafting unique and complex beers behind a great brewing and leadership team. Keep this brewery on your radar; we believe they have only just begun to flex their brewing muscles.
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