Banana Wine

The only golden raisins I could find say they have been preserved with sulfur dioxide if I put these in will I kill the yeast or just slow it down a little?

Wow not sure what the heck happened but im racking one of the two batches I made and it has geletinized all the yeast pitched is settled right on top in rafts of jelly? Lol haven't checked the second batch. This ever happen to anyone before?

whats the advantage to keeping the peel on the fruit? it seems to me that there is probably a lot of harshness that could be extracted from them and not alot of sugar.

wkaidy said:

whats the advantage to keeping the peel on the fruit? it seems to me that there is probably a lot of harshness that could be extracted from them and not alot of sugar.

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You can definitely make it your own way. My recipe is great, and works for me. It has great banana flavor, and that is the point.

wkaidy said:

whats the advantage to keeping the peel on the fruit? it seems to me that there is probably a lot of harshness that could be extracted from them and not alot of sugar.

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I guess you wouldn't have to use the peel , but I don't think there's reason not to. As far as harshness is concerned, I didn't notice any in the batch I made earlier this year. Of course, it's not ready to drink yet, but in all the samples taken when racking there was never any harshness or bitterness that I detected. In fact, the peels probably contribute to the banana character of the wine.

Yooper said:

You can definitely make it your own way. My recipe is great, and works for me. It has great banana flavor, and that is the point.

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I was watching a TV show the other night (the one that can't be talked about) and they were peeling the bananas for something other than wine, and I thought there doing it wrong, Yopper doesn't peel her bananas!

Just bottled my first 1 gallon batch last night. Had to use beer bottles as I could not manage to borrow a corker and really wanted to get that jug off my credenza.

It's not bad. Not really any banana flavor or aroma that I can detect. Not like when I sampled the last racking. Not sweet, not too dry either. Still has a bit of alcohol bite, but much less than before.

I doubt a wine drinking person would call it a great tasting wine. But, at least it's lacking a noticeable tartness and that's good for me.

Homer, how did bottling that turn out? I'm in the same boat as you.....35 empty wine bottles and no corker yet. My banana wine currently is at 14 months (center in pic) and I need the jug for other alcoholic inventions.

First time making this wine

wolverinebrewer said:

Homer, how did bottling that turn out? I'm in the same boat as you.....35 empty wine bottles and no corker yet. My banana wine currently is at 14 months (center in pic) and I need the jug for other alcoholic inventions.

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It was very easy. I used a funnel to pour (carefully as I could) into each bottle and capped with beer caps. I had two clear bottles a few regulars, and one kind of rounded (Orval??) bottle that looks pretty cool.

I'll pass some around on New Years Eve party when we all get together and get happy. The ladies can tell me what they think. My wife already mentioned that it has lost a lot of the heat it had this spring.

I was just bummed at the lack of banana flavor. I really expected some subtle flavor after I tasted at the last racking. Not sure what is wrong.

dougen said:

First time making this wine

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Yup. That looks about right! =8D

Homercidal said:

It was very easy. I used a funnel to pour (carefully as I could) into each bottle and capped with beer caps. I had two clear bottles a few regulars, and one kind of rounded (Orval??) bottle that looks pretty cool.

I'll pass some around on New Years Eve party when we all get together and get happy. The ladies can tell me what they think. My wife already mentioned that it has lost a lot of the heat it had this spring.

I was just bummed at the lack of banana flavor. I really expected some subtle flavor after I tasted at the last racking. Not sure what is wrong.

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How come you didn't rack to the bottle, just like with beer? Wine does oxidize pretty easily, so it may not last long enough for the flavor to mellow and the "banananess" to come back.

My last two batches were definitely full of banana aroma and flavor, so I'm not sure what is different, unless it just needs some age.

Just the waiting game now..and I split the sugar went with a 1lb of light brown and a 1lb of white sugar and I put a cinn. stick in primary and gonna put one in the sec.

I just bottled 2.5 gallons of this incredible stuff. I had forgotten about this for nearly a year, sitting on the raisins. And it is still awesome. I did this for my Banana Breads, but it is a nice drinking wine as it is. Had anyone found anything to do with the wine soaked raisins? I'm thinking about making a cake or bread with them....I just bagged them and stuck them in the freezer.

Revvy said:

I just bottled 2.5 gallons of this incredible stuff. I had forgotten about this for nearly a year, sitting on the raisins. And it is still awesome. I did this for my Banana Breads, but it is a nice drinking wine as it is. Had anyone found anything to do with the wine soaked raisins? I'm thinking about making a cake or bread with them....I just bagged them and stuck them in the freezer.

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Sounds like an interesting idea for the raisins. I'll probably try to find some use for mine since I'll have 4 lbs of them in the next month or so when I transfer off of them.

WesleyS said:

Sounds like an interesting idea for the raisins. I'll probably try to find some use for mine since I'll have 4 lbs of them in the next month or so when transfer off of them.

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I actually found these recipes that talk about soaking raisins or other fruits. I figure I'll through something together based on the info in here. Or 'll go completely the opposite route and use them to stuff some form of protein with them, like a fish, or some meat that I can roll up, tie and roast....or both.

Revvy said:

Or 'll go completely the opposite route and use them to stuff some form of protein with them, like a fish, or some meat that I can roll up, tie and roast....or both.

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That sounds like a good idea. That or use them in a golden raisin and couscous stuffing for poultry or lamb. Mmmmmmm.....Now I can't wait to rack my wine!

I'm on day six and I have these flakes floating around, and settling above my foam line. They don't look to me like a bac or mold.... But?

To me they look like.... Crunched pieces of flat pasta crunched into tiny flakes, cooked al dente...

It's only a half gallon batch so it's no biggie ( of course it's a big deal) if its bad. But I needs the knowledge.

WesleyS said:

That sounds like a good idea. That or use them in a golden raisin and couscous stuffing for poultry or lamb. Mmmmmmm.....Now I can't wait to rack my wine!

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That's a great idea. Only trouble is they're pretty mushy at this point One might want to mix in some fresh ones with them or some slivered almonds for a texture.

Hmmm...I do a "peaches and cream pork loin" that is stuffed with peaches and feta cheese, rolled and roasted. I wonder if I could do something like a Moroccan crusted and stuffed pork loin with it....Maybe not, maybe something carribean because of the banana?

Revvy said:

That's a great idea. Only trouble is they're pretty mushy at this point One might want to mix in some fresh ones with them or some slivered almonds for a texture.

Hmmm...I do a "peaches and cream pork loin" that is stuffed with peaches and feta cheese, rolled and roasted. I wonder if I could do something like a Moroccan crusted and stuffed pork loin with it....Maybe not, maybe something carribean because of the banana?

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That's true. I'll have to assess the consistency of the raisins and how much wine flavor is in them to see what they'll be best suited for.
That peaches and cream pork loin sounds awesome!

I'm sorry if this has been addressed, but this is a giant thread and I didn't go through it all. Is this recipe along the lines of a traditional African banana wine? I went to a friend's house to hang out while he was brewing and the short story is he killed and butchered a couple goats while I was there and one of the guys who came by started talking about banana wine. He didn't know too much about how his dad makes it, but this sounds close and like a fun beverage for parties and such. Banana wine wassail?

Homercidal said:

It was very easy. I used a funnel to pour (carefully as I could) into each bottle and capped with beer caps. I had two clear bottles a few regulars, and one kind of rounded (Orval??) bottle that looks pretty cool.

I'll pass some around on New Years Eve party when we all get together and get happy. The ladies can tell me what they think. My wife already mentioned that it has lost a lot of the heat it had this spring.

I was just bummed at the lack of banana flavor. I really expected some subtle flavor after I tasted at the last racking. Not sure what is wrong.

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It seems odd you lost some flavor. I bottled up 1 gal. batches of banana and rhubarb today as both were 13 and 14 months. The banana was still a little hot but not bad (decent flavor). I'll let it age awhile longer.
The rhubarb had good flavor also but was dry. I like dry wines so I think I will like that one.

Yooper, at what age were the last batches of banana that you were referring to that had the good flavor? I know you said it takes 2 years to come into it's own but it's getting good now.

wolverinebrewer said:

It seems odd you lost some flavor. I bottled up 1 gal. batches of banana and rhubarb today as both were 13 and 14 months. The banana was still a little hot but not bad (decent flavor). I'll let it age awhile longer.
The rhubarb had good flavor also but was dry. I like dry wines so I think I will like that one.

Yooper, at what age were the last batches of banana that you were referring to that had the good flavor? I know you said it takes 2 years to come into it's own but it's getting good now.

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I think it was best at 2 years, and didn't go downhill at all before it was gone.

So, I made this banana wine yesterday. I got it out today to stir it and it smells foul! Has this happened to anyone else? If so, any suggestions?

Titan88 said:

So, I made this banana wine yesterday. I got it out today to stir it and it smells foul! Has this happened to anyone else? If so, any suggestions?

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"Foul"? No, it shouldn't smell foul at all. That worries me. Did you make it exactly according to the directions?

I did. I'm not sure if I put too much yeast (if that's possible) or if something else was off. It was bubbling like crazy yesterday when I made it. I got up this morning and had to clean up the carboy and airlock because of the foam. I got it out a little bit ago to stir it and it smells horrible. I'm 100% it's me and nothing to do with the recipe. I just can't figure out what.

Titan88 said:

I did. I'm not sure if I put too much yeast (if that's possible) or if something else was off. It was bubbling like crazy yesterday when I made it. I got up this morning and had to clean up the carboy and airlock because of the foam. I got it out a little bit ago to stir it and it smells horrible. I'm 100% it's me and nothing to do with the recipe. I just can't figure out what.

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What's the temperature? It sounds really hot to be coming out of the airlock!

The ambient temp hovers around 69. I read that too much yeast and not enough nutrients can lead to the must being skunked. I also just checked my mead as a precaution. It's skunked too. I'm not really sure what happened, but they both stink.

Titan88 said:

The ambient temp hovers around 69. I read that too much yeast and not enough nutrients can lead to the must being skunked. I also just checked my mead as a precaution. It's skunked too. I'm not really sure what happened, but they both stink.

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Add some more nutrients to both right away! Stir it up, and see if you can get rid of some of the sulfur smell.

Should I try to aerate as well? And how much nutrient? I don't want to go overboard. I used a whole packet of EC-1118 for a gallon batch.

So, I added 1 tsp of yeast nutrient to the carboy. Decided to splash rack the must a few times to 1) aerate and 2) try to air out some of the stench. The must is back in a clean carboy with an airlock and the smell is noticeably fainter than before. I'll monitor and update the results. Thanks for the help, Yooper!

It turns out that my banana wine is still showing a little activity. There are a few things I have read about what could be happening. I read that Lalvin EC-1118 is known for fast ferments and the smell could be that the yeast ate all the sugar and are now in distress, hence the slight smell. I'm picking up a hydrometer today to check the FG. It's a little weird though because I wouldn't think that the gravity would drop from 1.095 to .990 in a couple of days. Oh well. I'll post the results of the readings later.

Titan88 said:

It turns out that my banana wine is still showing a little activity. There are a few things I have read about what could be happening. I read that Lalvin EC-1118 is known for fast ferments and the smell could be that the yeast ate all the sugar and are now in distress, hence the slight smell. I'm picking up a hydrometer today to check the FG. It's a little weird though because I wouldn't think that the gravity would drop from 1.095 to .990 in a couple of days. Oh well. I'll post the results of the readings later.

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Oh, it should go from 1.095 to .990 easily in less than five days (often 2-3), especially if it is warm. Yeast seem to love bananas, and they ferment really fast!

OK, I am not so good with remembering details and racked mine off the first time today after a week, I thought I remembered it said to add raisins right away, so I did, now I read to let sit for two months. I have added raisins in the first week or two before with no problems, and am not anticipating a big problem with it but just was wondering everyone's thoughts on this.

Well, it's only been two days. The hydrometer reading showed 1.030 It's still bubbling a little inside, but no airlock activity. I'll take another reading tomorrow to see if anything changed.

bradb521 said:

OK, I am not so good with remembering details and racked mine off the first time today after a week, I thought I remembered it said to add raisins right away, so I did, now I read to let sit for two months. I have added raisins in the first week or two before with no problems, and am not anticipating a big problem with it but just was wondering everyone's thoughts on this.

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Oh, it'll be fine! It might be advantageous anyway- I think Homer had a stuck ferment when he added the raisins later as directed- so I wouldn't worry about it!

I thought it might be fine just wondered if there was a reason to wait, it smells awesome. Gonna be hard to wait for this one.

Titan88 said:

Well, it's only been two days. The hydrometer reading showed 1.030 It's still bubbling a little inside, but no airlock activity. I'll take another reading tomorrow to see if anything changed.

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Still showing no real activity in the airlock; however, the gravity did change. I took a sample out to measure the SG: 1.024. I noticed it was really fizzy. So, I degassed the sample because I read that CO2 can affect the buoyancy of the hydrometer. The SG after degassing was 1.015. That should put it at around 10.5% ABV. Took a taste of the sample and it was sweet. There were no real off-tastes or aromas. Just a little more carbonated than I like my wine. I say tomorrow and it should be at .990. Thanks for all the help, Yooper. I can't wait for it to finish and start clearing!

Hey, Yooper....

I'm going to start 3 gallons of this right after Christmas this week....should be ready to drink by Christmas 2014(ish), I hope.....so this question might be juuuuust a bit premature. Still, I'm curious -- I assume you drink this chilled?

TedLarsen said:

Hey, Yooper....

I'm going to start 3 gallons of this right after Christmas this week....should be ready to drink by Christmas 2014(ish), I hope.....so this question might be juuuuust a bit premature. Still, I'm curious -- I assume you drink this chilled?

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Yes, I drink almost all whites chilled a bit. Not ice cold, but chilled.

I think some of my friends have enjoyed it at room temperature, though, and liked it that way.