Mongozo Coconut An Exotic Belgian Beer

Mongozo Coconut is an exotic beer from the Belgian brewer Huyghe located in Melle, Belgium. It is not one I chose myself, but came as part of a mixed box, so is it any good?

Mongozo Coconut is not unpleasant as a drink, but it is not a beer, there is nothing about the smell or taste that says beer. It pours a light hazy gold with a one finger head. On the nose it screams coconut, and a hint of pineapple. The taste is identical to the smell, it’s like a coconut and pineapple juice. It gets a score of 1.5 out of 5.0.

Mongozo Coconut is a beer that taste like a fruit juice, and it’s not for me.

Table Of Contents

Mongozo Coconut Beer Review

It’s a pretty crazy concept brewing a coconut beer in my opinion, but the Mongozo range of beers doesn’t stop at coconut.

In the range there is a Buckwheat White, a Premium Pilsner, a Mango, a banana and of course the coconut. The first two I say yes, but the other three, no thank you.

Back to the Mongozo Coconut, it stands in a small 330ml brown bottle with a bright blue label with palm leaves and coconut on the front.

This beer comes in at a low 3.6% ABV, so well within in the session bracket, possibly a summer beer.

So lets get it in a glass and see what it is like.

Drinking Mongozo Coconut

After taking the bottle from the fridge, it sat on the bar for about twenty minutes. However, when I crack it open it is pretty lively and explodes out of the top of the bottle.

Slightly messy, but into the glass it goes and settles to a hazy light off white colour with a one finger foamy top. The head fades quickly to a thin cover, and the drink in the glass looks more like a pineapple juice than a beer.

You don’t really have to bring the glass to the nose because you can smell the coconut a mile off. However a closer sniff reveals nothing but coconut and weirdly a little pineapple too. Other than that, there is nothing else at all. It reminds you of the smell of suntan lotion.

The taste is identical to the smell, a strong coconut flavour with a hint of pineapple, and again nothing else. It is not an unpleasant drink in itself, but resembles nothing to do with beer.

For me it smells like coconut and pineapple, it tastes like coconut and pineapple. It’s not a beer, more like an alcopop. Mongozo Coconut gets 1.5 out of 5.0, which is generous, and that is because as a drink it is pleasant, but as a beer, it sucks.

M’Lady is of similar mind, saying “It’s not an unpleasant drink, it just doesn’t taste like a beer at all.” Lou scores it a slightly higher 2.0 out of 5.0.

Sorry Huyghe, but this beer is not for us.

Huyghe Brewery

Huyghe brewery has been around for a while, in fact the brewery has been brewing since 1654. However Leon Huyghe acquired the brewery in 1906 and the name Huyghe wasn’t used until the 1930’s.

Along its journey the brewery has seen several expansions, as well as several take overs of smaller breweries. So the beers they brew are quite vast, which include their own beers as well as those from the other breweries acquired.

The brewery is probably best known for its strong Belgian Blonde beer Delirium Tremens, which is a nice beer that packs a punch at 8.5% ABV.

Huyghe is said to be one of the largest breweries in Belgium producing 11000 barrels and 680000 bottles weekly. The brewery is now in its fourth generation from the start with Leon Huyghe.

Huyghe Beer Range

There are plenty of beers to choose from when you look at what Huyghe offer. Although saying that, there does seem to be a good amount of them that are just a little bonkers, like Mongozo Coconut.

There seems to be no less than fourteen different ranges of beer with varying amounts of beers in each range. However the brewery is probably best known for its Delirium range.

Here a few other beers available from Huyghe.

Bière De Corsaire

Bière De Corsaire, or pirate beer is a Belgian Blonde beer, light gold in colour with a big foamy head. It is said to be slightly spiced, which you would expect with a pirate on the bottle.

A little sweet up front with a dry bitter finish, which sounds delightful, and not a coconut in sight. However this beer is not for the faint hearted, it packs a mean punch at a whopping 9.4% ABV.

Definitely not a session beer, but sounds good all the same.

La Guillotine

La Guillotine which sits on the label of the bottle is a golden blonde beer, and it is exactly that in colour with a generous foamy top.

It is brewed with Saaz, Amarillo and Brewers Gold hops which lend to its citrus and hoppy aromas. A little sweetness up front, but finishing with a nice bitterness it could be a refreshing little beer.

However there is nothing little about its strength, weighing in at a hefty 8.5% ABV.

Artevelde

Artevelde is a Belgian Dark Beer which translates in the glass as brown with a dark reddish tinge. An thick off white foamy head sits on top, making the appearance pretty beautiful.

Being a dark beer you get a nice roasted malt and caramel aroma with just a hint of fruit thrown in. Sweet caramel and a little fruit start the show with a good kick of bitterness to balance for a nice finish.

Again this beer is not a session beer and comes in at 7.3% ABV.

Final Thoughts

Huyghe Brewery are a strong brewery with plenty of history and also plenty of beers on offer. I may not be keen on some of their beers like Mongozo Coconut or Delirium Red, bit there are plenty more to try. I will just try and avoid the fruit beers, although I shouldn’t. Maybe I will just give them a break for a while.

So I’m not keen on Mongozo Coconut, however if you have tried it, then do share your thoughts below and let me know what you think of it.