Mango Weizen - Northwest Brewing Company

Floydster

California

3.38/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 4

Sampled at Bailey's Taproom, reviewed from notes, color is golden orange with some light tint, one inch creamy white head, decent retention, no lacing, aroma consists of mangoes, wheat, grass, tangerines, peahces, bread, and oranges, flavor begins with citrus-like fruits but I could not quite put my finger on what they were, lots of chewy wheat in the middle, finish has a little bit of spice mixed into things, again could not say exactly what it is, more fruits in the aftertaste, pretty light wheat beer with a lot of different fruit character, fruity, chewy, and slightly sweet mouthfeel, thin bodied, too much carbonation, could drink lots of this but that is just because of how light it is, alcohol is low and cannot taste it, crisp when cold but a little sweet once it warms, worth trying

Serving type: on-tap

07-04-2009 03:10:27 | More by Floydster

lifeboyq

Washington

4.45/5  rDev +31.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

My personal local favorite offering from one of my two favorite local breweries. Joe, the co-founder of Laughing Buddha is still experimenting and working out the kinks with this beer but kudos to him and Chris for founding a brewery and consistently operating outside of the BJCP style guidelines of styles and creating a nice offering.

The Mangoweizen is a very nice mango offering that doesnt have the bland amerian hefeweizen taste. My guess is bc of they use 200 lbs of mangos per 500 gallons and use an English ale yeast which is much better than the crappy American ale yeast that most local breweries use. Recently they have been fining it and offering it as a crystalweisse but i hope they quit that and go back to leaving the true cloud that we all love in a weizen.

I keep this on tap in a corny keg that they refill for me and drink it in any of a few German Weisse Bier glasses that i have. It's tasty, smooth and insanely drinkable. It's my favorite domestic hefe offering and the mango isnt such a novelty that you cant session it.

Once they refine the kinks with head retention and fining and get the batches consistent, this beer should rate high. It's not going to ever review as high as some of the higher abv complex offerings, but I'd put it against any American hefe any day.

Serving type: on-tap

12-29-2008 02:40:48 | More by lifeboyq

HatTrick

Washington

3.58/5  rDev +5.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

A: Pretty light orange, a little cloudy / hazy. A small amount of head that quickly disappears. Leaves very little lacing.

S: Wheaty, a little melon but not much. Smells a little fruity.

T: Tastes like a wheatbeer; a little bit of mango but not much, have to concentrate. Tastes banana, cloves, another fruit...maybe pears or cantalope. Flavors were a little too mild, felt like it was a little watered down.

M: Carbonated, girly. Went down pretty easy.

D: Could drink pretty easily but doesn't seem like an everyday type of beer. It is a fun beer. A fruity beer. Much easier than a few of the other beers LB produces. Overall, not too bad.

Serving type: on-tap

11-20-2008 04:11:34 | More by HatTrick

n2185

North Carolina

3.46/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 2.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: Pours a hazy yellow brown with a finger of white head that fades into a foamy ring with little lacing.

S: Sweet breads and tart fruit notes dominate with aromas of bubblegum and mango int he background.

T: Hearty bread flavors dominate with a touch of bitterness. Mixed in are spicy yeast flavors and subtle mango notes.

M: Mid-light body with highish carbonation, this beer is just a little too heavy to be crisp and refreshing, but still feels pleasant.

O: A decent beer overall. Nothing special, but tasty and refreshing.

Serving type: bottle

01-28-2013 03:51:00 | More by n2185

LiquidAmber

Washington

3.55/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Poured into a Celebrator pokal. Pours a hazy medium orange amber. Half finger white head dissipates rapidly to a tiny ring of bubbles around the glass. Aroma of wheat, bready malt and a bit of light fruit, not readily identifiable as mango, but pleasant. Flavor is light wheat and caramel malt with light, tart lemon citrus and fruit juice from the mango. Finish starts quite tart, then transforms into a light, surprisingly caramel aftertaste. A bit unbalanced as if it's not sure whether to be a tart Berlinerweisse or a weizen. Flavor is fairly subdued. Needs more balance and intense flavor, but holds together as a decent pale wheat with an interesting fruit component. Light bodied and the carbonation did not last throughout drinking the glass, lowering the mouthfeel rating.

Serving type: bottle

07-13-2012 02:10:22 | More by LiquidAmber

flagmantho

Washington

3.58/5  rDev +5.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Poured from 22oz bomber into a weizen glass.

Appearance: slightly hazy orange hue with a great effervescence and three fingers of frothy ivory foam. Nice!

Smell: light wheaty aroma with a light, pleasing fruitiness which is not readily identifiable as mango. Not bad.

Taste: pretty solid malty flavor with a dash of wheat and a very light dose of that nondescript fruitiness. The flavor is actually quite earthy. Not bad, but not very mango-ey.

Mouthfeel: medium to medium-light body with a great level of carbonation and a good creaminess. I like it.

Overall: this beer isn't bad, but it doesn't really impress me, either. I would have liked a bit more fruitiness, based on the beer's name.

Serving type: bottle

03-24-2012 20:51:52 | More by flagmantho

Docer

Washington

2.65/5  rDev -21.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Appearance: (3.5)
- Lightly cloudy orange glowing brew. Fizzy finger of head that has left a thin fizzy blanket on top. Can't really tell what the yeast is trying to do here. Almost like one of those extract homebrews I have made where it just keeps fizzing.

Smell: (3.0)
- Little wheat, a slight funky touch. Some bready yeast notes, and a fruity mango character. Smells quite zesty and wheaty.. overall just average though. Can't get past the slight funkiness.

Taste: (2.5)
- This brew is slightly off. Huge tart aceto things going on. Zesty bitter lemon peel, grassy wheat, and a thin malt base. Very odd brew, and not all that tasty. Perhaps I will have to find a different bottle or tap pour sometime. I know this wasn't even distributed down here until recently, so I know the bottle can't be that old. Not the light-struck type of flavors either.

Mouth Feel: (2.5)
- Overall very carbonated, and almost too much so in an aceto kind of way. Thin, slightly dry, and puckering. Overall the weird flavors kind of throw off the feel.

Overall: (2.5)
- Guessing this bottle is just funky. I am not too impressed with this beer as it seems much like a so-so homebrew. I will have to give it another try maybe. We'll see. Otherwise, I would pass on it unless you see it freshly tapped somewhere.

Serving type: bottle

08-19-2011 01:48:44 | More by Docer

hreb

Washington

2.98/5  rDev -12.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

22oz Trade Route Brewing Co. "mango weizen" (beer fermented with mango). My first mango beer! I do love mangos. Will this be fruity enough to pass the girlfriend test?

The beer looks pretty orange and appropriately turbid. Sure looks like there might be some mango nectar in there. Aroma is faint but fruity. HIGHLY carbonated. That said, the carbonation does help to lift the margo juice flavor to the top of the palate. And sure, a cold refreshing, mid-range-ABV summer beer can stand a bit of carbonation. Unfortunately as a hefeweiss the only thing that the wheat has working for it in this beer is that there's not so much grain flavor to get in the way of the mango.

No, too carbonated to pass the girlfriend test. I do applaud them for not sweeting this beer and producing a cloying mess. But ultimately the fruit and weiss just come across muted and it doesn't pass the Hreb test either.

Serving type: bottle

08-01-2011 01:26:00 | More by hreb

CHickman

New York

3.75/5  rDev +10.6%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours cloudy light orange (mango) in color with a ton of chunky sediment floating around and a foamy white head that seemed to be sizzling like a freshly poured soda and faded after about a minute; weak lacing that slid down fast.

Smells of yeast, wheat, orange peel, lemon, grapefruit, mango(I guess???), grains, light malt and faint hops. It's grainy and sweet with an almost sour odor.

Tastes of yeast, wheat, orange peel, lemon, grapefruit, grains, light malt, faint citrus hops, sour apple, pineapple and coriander; really tart with a pucker at the end, but a very nice fruity taste overall. Not a typical hefeweizen and quite unique.

Mouthfeel was very light and crisp with a smooth feel on the tongue and very light carbonation, which was almost watery.

Highly drinkable and quenching, this was very different and enjoyable. I had this about a month ago, poolside on a nice warm evening and it went perfect with the summer weather.

Serving type: bottle

09-26-2010 03:03:52 | More by CHickman

yesyouam

New York

1.78/5  rDev -47.5%
look: 2 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1 | overall: 1

Trade Route Mango Weizen is a golden ale with some tiny particles in it. It has a thin white head that vanishes in a few seconds. It has a fruity wheat and mango aroma with a note of peach. It's light bodied and watery. The mouth feels chalky and scratchy the instant this beer enters it. It tastes very sour. Is this on purpose or did something happen to this bottle? Is this supposed to be a Berliner Weisse? What the hell? I can taste the mango but the sourness is overwhelming. Yuck. Down the drain it goes.

Serving type: bottle

06-27-2010 19:08:33 | More by yesyouam

chickencoop

California

3.4/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Picked this up a long time ago, and I actually think it helped, this turned into a sour, ok not really. I liked the pour, light and chunky. Smell and smell was a a tangy citrus. Mouthfeel was sour, but not bad, we'll see tommorrow, but I didn't mind this beer. I have had many of these guys beers, probaly the clever packaging, and this would work for me in a pinch.

Serving type: bottle

02-27-2010 05:10:25 | More by chickencoop

Billolick

New York

1.9/5  rDev -44%
look: 2 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 1

$3.49 for a bomber, pours cloudy orangy amber, had some major yeast chunks floating in the bottle, the head leaves super fast and is quite noisy. Ends up with no head, no lace, no nothing. Smells fruity, tasty fruity, minor hop drying late. Barely tastes like beer, more of a nasty sweet fruity soda..pass this stuff bye, by all means necassary....Life is too short to consume much of swill like this...can you say drain pour...B-, c'mon fellow BA, how is this B-?

Serving type: bottle

02-13-2010 00:24:36 | More by Billolick

donkeyrunner

Massachusetts

1.65/5  rDev -51.3%
look: 2 | smell: 3 | taste: 1 | feel: 3 | overall: 1

"Your hands are full of mangoes, you're going to be a genius someday." - Phish

My girlfriend picked this up despite the owner of the beer store saying it's one of the worst beers he ever had. Why oh why didn't she listen?

Opaque, cloudy orange yellow color--looks like pulp-in orange juice. Thin white head that got scared of this beer's crappy flavor and ran away as soon as it got the chance. Chunk sized yeast floaties.

Smells like mango. That's good.

Tastes like mango drowned in the sourest, nastiest, wheat beer you can imagine. Eew, eew, eew.

We were warned.

Serving type: bottle

01-24-2010 04:56:25 | More by donkeyrunner

aerozeppl

New York

3.03/5  rDev -10.6%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A: Hazy golden color with quite a bit of mango chunks floating in suspension. No head to speak of. Visible carbonation however.

S: Fairly clear mango aroma. You really do not get any heff yeast characteristics. Kind of a tight nose on this one. Nothing really swings me either way.

T: Interesting taste. That sharp tartness up front makes this beer interesting for me. Kind of a crappy heff but an interesting Berlinerweisse. The mango works surprisingly well with the tartness. Nothing even remotely resembling a heffeweisse here.

M: Light bodied. Crisp mouthfeel.

D: Interesting beer just not to style at all. Wish it was 80 degrees out instead of 38. Not bad took a chance on a bottle from Half Time.

Serving type: bottle

12-26-2009 23:11:39 | More by aerozeppl

WesWes

New York

3.15/5  rDev -7.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

The beer pours a dark golden color with a thick frothy white head that quickly fades to nothing. There is no head retention at all. The aroma is decent. It has a pretty good pale and wheat malt scent along with the traditional weizen yeast aroma. The mango aroma is mild, but compliments the banana/clove character nicely. The taste is average. It has a sour/acidic flavor that seems all too much like a Berliner Weisse. The mango flavor is quite good, but I'm not sure this is supposed to be a sour beer. The mouthfeel is decent. It is a medium bodied beer with adequate carbonation. This would be a good Berliner Weisse, but as a regular fruit infused hefe, I'm not impressed.

Serving type: bottle

12-16-2009 19:33:18 | More by WesWes

Ig0r

Virginia

4/5  rDev +18%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

The pour gives a thick head of large bubbles that dissipates completely over time. The color is a light straw that is extremely cloudy. Smell is definitely of mango with some floral sweetness. The feel is well carbonated with a taste that is a biting citris sour with a lot less sweetness than the smell. Mango is nearly lost in the taste. There is absolutely no hop finish but the citris lingers a bit after.

Serving type: bottle

08-04-2009 05:08:16 | More by Ig0r

RJLarse

Washington

2.28/5  rDev -32.7%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

I bought a bomber of Trade Route Mango Weizen at a grocery store, poured in to a pint glass. The label says "Refreshing wheat beer with a subtle mango aroma and finish." Nothing subtle about it.

Pours a bright yellow/orange color and is hazy. A small white head disappears in a flash, and it looks like a glass of fruit juice.

Smell is strong and fruity. Sweet tropical fruit aromas dominate, pineapple, mango etc.

The taste is also over-fruited. Tangy and zippy, well carbonated, but it hardly tastes like a beer. I think it's more like one of those fruity alcho-pop beverages.

Mouthfeel is zesty and first and then a bit cloying after the swallow.

Drinkable I guess if you after not really looking for a beer, but rather a tropical fruit drink. Even then the fruit flavors are artificial tasting, and over done. I'll avoid this one.

Serving type: bottle

08-03-2009 01:02:08 | More by RJLarse

COBeerBuff

Kansas

3.73/5  rDev +10%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4.5

Received via trade from mcduck. Thanks a bundle for sending this! Enjoyed with my fiancée who was looking forward to this all week...

Appearance: Pours an uber-hazy yellowish orange with a solid finger of white head, and a nice fizzy noise emanating from it indication the carbonation definitely made it through the trip. A little bit of yeast settled in the bottom of the bottle, but a quick swirl added it to the glass. The head quickly dissipates leaving a white ring around the edge of the glass and a look that is semi-reminiscent of orange juice.

Smell: Mango, orange, lemon, yeast, and some farmhouse funk as well. Definitely expecting some sour notes based on the nose.

Taste: Definitely got the tang that I was expecting. Mango, grapefruit, and orange highlight the front end. Some yeast and a tinge of malt round out this yummy summer beer.

Mouthfeel: Exceedingly carbonated. Crisp, yet a little sticky as well. I can't help drawing a small comparison to a carbonated orange juice.

Drinkability: For a summertime libation, this beer definitely fits the mold. My fiancée wasn't crazy about the sourness, but I kind of dig it. At 5% ABV, a few glasses of these would make for a nice afternoon in the shade. Glad I could get this for us to sample. Highly worth it!

Serving type: bottle

08-02-2009 19:01:29 | More by COBeerBuff

mikesgroove

South Carolina

4/5  rDev +18%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Another new gem that I received as part of the birthday BIF. I was looking forward to trying this one for a while now, as I stared at it in my fridge. Served cold and poured into a pint glass, this one was consumed on 07/16/2009.
 
Appearance - Nice, very cloudy here, almost looked like the juice in the bottom of a can of cut pineapple. Lots of haze and sediment in a very bright light orange color. Small head comes up over the top and faded very quickly.
 
Smell - light, not at all what I was expecting. I was thinking there would be more of a punch from the fruit but it was just lightly laced in there. Really not big enough for me. Light grain notes as well as a small citrus presence.
 
Taste - Much more pronounced on the taste. Really nice blend here of light banana and clove flavors, hints of light grains and grass and a smooth, very nice and bright mango flavor. It was blended superbly I have to say. Really well done here.
 
Feel - Light, big thicker then I would have thought and a touch grainy from the unfiltered mango I am assuming. Well carbonated though and that gave it a bit of a bounce that was very welcomed.
 
Drinkability - Solid all around here. Really could have went at this one all night long. It was just nice and smooth, low ABV and highly flavorful.
 
Overall - A very solid offering here and something I would like to see more of. When these nice citrus fruits are mixed with light summer offerings, done the right way it can come off fantastic, and this one really did.

Serving type: bottle

07-17-2009 18:12:29 | More by mikesgroove

LilBeerDoctor

New York

3.23/5  rDev -4.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Bottle (labeled "Trade Route"). Pours a super cloudy orange with a small white head. Kind of looks like grapefruit juice or something. Aroma is very juice-like (citrus fruits) but indescript. Flavor is sweet and still juice-like sort of like watered down OJ, maybe some prunes, tangerine, and mango too. Certainly very fruity with hardly any noticeable malt flavors. Consistency is actually similar to a glass of pulpy OJ with the yeast. This wasn't as bad as I was expecting...but still not a very good beer.

Serving type: bottle

07-11-2009 14:22:55 | More by LilBeerDoctor

joepais

Maine

3.65/5  rDev +7.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I received this one from Scott in the 666 BIF Thanks.
I forgot to pour this into my laughing Buddha glass dam; instead I poured this into one of my Hefe glasses. The bottle produced a finger worth of white head that went away rather quickly and left nothing behind. The color of the brew was the color of Mango juice it was hazy as well with a lot of tiny little bubbles coming from the bottom of the glass.

The aroma of some funky ass shit going on here the old sock comments were right on. There is some fruitiness to it as well but light. I will say the flavor more than makes up for the nose it is really a great fruit brew. The mango is up front in a big way. There is a nice bitter sweet thing going on here and it makes it quit drinkable. It is light and crisp, quite refreshing in the mouth.

I grab another one of these for the summer if it was available local I think it is a great fruit brew. I like to try more from the brewery

Serving type: bottle

06-20-2009 00:19:19 | More by joepais

ClockworkOrange

Pennsylvania

3.93/5  rDev +15.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Ordered from Liquid Solutions, so yes, they ship to PA. Poured from a brown 22 ounce bomber bottle into my nonic pint glass. Still has the old Laughing Buddha label on it. This weizen greets the eyes with a rather cloudy honeyed apricot color and about two fingers of creamy eggshell white foam. A pleasure to look at. The foam ebbs to a thin layer within a few minutes, leaving behind very little lace in it's path. Smell reminds me of oregano and pungent cheese rind, lemony, and grassy, different but not unpleasant. Flavor is of sour lemons, no doubt there is mango in here, nice dose of wheat, and a tad bit tart. Quite crisp and a bit oily in the finish. Nice body and somewhere between medium and moderate carbonation, which works well here. A unique weizen that incorporates one of my favorite tropical fruits, and does so rather well.

Serving type: bottle

05-15-2009 04:34:45 | More by ClockworkOrange

SurlyDuff

Oregon

4.28/5  rDev +26.3%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours a cloudy pumpkin color with not much head.

Aroma is a bit of funky cheese and some ethyl hexanoate fruit esters. Bit of stinky sock, but not bad. Whatever mango in this is pretty good.

It's got some juicy fruit flavors going too. The yeast is a bit powerdy, but otherwise great. They pulled off the mango infusion wonderfully in my opinion, it's got a nice flavorful mango profile, it's not invasive or distracting. Basing this against other fruit beers, it's top notch. This isn't really one of my favorite styles though.

It's a really good beer folks! Even if you haven't got a preference for fruit beers, try this with an open mind and appreciate it for the style...don't try ranking this against iipas or impy stouts.

Serving type: bottle

05-12-2009 00:23:42 | More by SurlyDuff

cswhitehorse

Oregon

3.38/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

The Mango Weizen from Laughing Buddha brewing poured a cool orange color with not much in the way of foam head or retention. No lacing as well. The mango definitely came out once it got warmer. You could also smell some citrus as well. The taste was wheaty with a bitter mango finish. It left a mark on the top of the mouth and was low carbonated. Overall not a bad brew.

Serving type: bottle

03-28-2009 01:06:04 | More by cswhitehorse

canucklehead

British Columbia (Canada)

4/5  rDev +18%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

My fiance loved this beer and I can see why; a fruity wheat beer that finishes with a real mango flavour. The colour is a cloudy ginger colour and the nose is kinda fruity ( not really the trad banana notes though). I liked the fresh feel to the beer and the mango finishing notes added to the beer. I kinda wish there was more banana and bubblegum flavours but I think they have got a well targeted product here.

Serving type: bottle

03-20-2009 22:09:48 | More by canucklehead