Which yeasts give off banana flavors?

I made a belgian blonde. It is at 11 days in primary right now. Fermented like crazy between 65 and 70 degrees. It was my first blow ferment needing a blow of tube. It was an extract beer around 1.074 fermented with two smack packs of Wyeast Belgian Abby Ale II. It looks like it finished around 1.014. I was expecting some banana flavor and it doesn't really have any. I figure the final flavors are a few weeks away from mellowing.

Would you have thought I would have wound up with banana flavors? I thought this yeast strain would have done that.

What yeast strains are known for banana flavors?

German Hefe yeasts. WLP300 or Wyeast 3068, especially at higher temps.

1762 does not really give those flavors. 1214 and 3787 are better choices. Start them low (mid60's) and then let the temp slowly rise. That will give you the flavors without the fusels that can happen by getting the temp up too fast.

Any of the Bavarian wheat yeasts, and some of the Trappist yeasts. Trappist yeasts also tend to throw other flavors, so unless you're looking for banana among other flavors, those might not be the best way to go.

I purposely wanted the most Amyl Acetate (bananna) possible for the two Hefe's I made. Did some research on here and on Wyeast's website. I chose the 3068. Under pitched at around 500million cell counts per batch and ended up fermenting in the mid 70's. TOOOONS of banana aroma came from the airlocks. I'll be kegging them this weekend. Hope its as good as it's smelled!

Well crap...I pulled this yeast off of a Leffe type belgian blonde recipe. Leffe has that bananas and cloves taste. I was hoping for that. For the future I'll use a different yeast. Oh well, I still made beer.

AR-Josh said:

I made a belgian blonde. It is at 11 days in primary right now. Fermented like crazy between 65 and 70 degrees. It was my first blow ferment needing a blow of tube. It was an extract beer around 1.074 fermented with two smack packs of Wyeast Belgian Abby Ale II. It looks like it finished around 1.014. I was expecting some banana flavor and it doesn't really have any. I figure the final flavors are a few weeks away from mellowing.

Would you have thought I would have wound up with banana flavors? I thought this yeast strain would have done that.

What yeast strains are known for banana flavors?

Click to expand...

Wyeast recommends 3068 if you're looking for the banana ester flavor.
http://www.wyeastlab.com/search.cfm?searchterm=banana&search-submit=GO

Take note of what they say about the pitch rate to achieve increased ester production... 3 - 6 million/ml. Mr. Malty would have a cow!

I do one vial of wlp300 at a steady 74 for 2 weeks for
Banana flavor and aroma in my banana bread(there's a thread that isn't mine on here) and everyone loves it.

It's crazy under pitching and pissing those yeast off but man it's awesome.

Good timing on this post. I just pitched a blonde ale this weekend. Used WLP005 and it is definitely is giving off major banana smell. First time for me using this strain so i am definitely concerned about the final product. I pitched at 68 F but it climbed to 72 and stayed there once the yeast kicked in. I assume this is the reason. Airlock has been going crazy for over 48 hrs now. Have had to refill it twice now. Can smell the banana as soon as you approach the fermenter.

I know you are all talking liquid yeasts, but I got a lot of banana from Fermentis safbrew WB-06.

edit: cited wrong yeast, fixed now. Thanks Chess.

W68 (Wyeast 3068 or White Labs 300) gives the most of any yeast I have used. Isoamyl acetate increases with increased glucose in the wort. There are some German Wheat beer mashing techniques meant to increase glucose but if you aren't into purity laws, you can just add d-glucose (dextrose, aka priming sugar) directly to the wort.

I concur with the WLP300. I pitch 3/4 a vial and ferment at about 70. Tons of banana.

I wonder if the OP is thinking of the Belgian ester flavor and aroma in Chimay. It tends to come across more banana-y than some of the other strains but I can't recall a Belgian beer that had the singular banana focus like a hefe strain.

D0ug said:

I know you are all talking liquid yeasts, but I got a lot of banana from Fermentis safbrew s-33.

Click to expand...

Really? All I got was really clear beer... not exactly what I wanted in a wheat. The yeast didn't seem to add any flavors, what temp did you ferment at?

ReverseApacheMaster said:

I wonder if the OP is thinking of the Belgian ester flavor and aroma in Chimay. It tends to come across more banana-y than some of the other strains but I can't recall a Belgian beer that had the singular banana focus like a hefe strain.

Click to expand...

Well I was hoping for a Leffe type flavor. Banana and clove is the best I can describe it. I should have done more research on the yeast. I just blindly followed a recipe I found.

ChessRockwell said:

Really? All I got was really clear beer... not exactly what I wanted in a wheat. The yeast didn't seem to add any flavors, what temp did you ferment at?

Click to expand...

My bad, checking my notes to see what the temp was I found it was actually the Fermentis safbrew WB-06 (DOH! where is the facepalm smiley when you need it?)

I fermented it at 66*F, it was like banana bread, I remember giving it an extra long secondary,which I usually don't, because it was so intense.

I'll go fix my last post, sorry guys I must have been to drunk to post.

WY 1762 WILL give you bananna and clove. I use it all the time for my Belgian Blonde. It is highly dependent on the pitching temperature and fermentation temperature. If you go high enough in temperature, you will be blown away with bananna. Try fermenting a few degrees higher. I usually ptich 2-3 degrees below fermentation temperature and let it free rise holding at the desired fermentation temperature. As soon as you see a decrease in activity, let it free rise up to room temperature. Oxygen and pitching rate area also a factor but not as much in my experience. I usually pitch at the recommended MrMalty rate and use pure 02 for 60 seconds. Make sure you condition plenty long enough at room temperature and cold condition for about 6 weeks before even trying it.

3787

Pitch in the high 60's and let it ride or pitch in the 60's and ferment in the mid to upper 70's

Banana with other delicious flavors

SmokeNbrew said:

I purposely wanted the most Amyl Acetate (bananna) possible for the two Hefe's I made. Did some research on here and on Wyeast's website. I chose the 3068. Under pitched at around 500million cell counts per batch and ended up fermenting in the mid 70's. TOOOONS of banana aroma came from the airlocks. I'll be kegging them this weekend. Hope its as good as it's smelled!

Click to expand...

How did this turn out? I'm finding co2 is diminnishing my ester flavors.

I'm drinking my WY 1762 based attempt at a Leffe Blonde-ish Belgian right now, and while entirely pleasant, it didn't yield the Leffe banana/ester(I think) taste that I was after.

Temp was high enough at 72-73f(right?). Curious which WYeast strain is most "ester-y". I see enthusiasm for 3787. Also wondering to what degree gravity has on esters?? If any.......