Bananas

My first brew and it has been bottled for 4 weeks. It is Midwest’s Flat Tire clone. I used Wyeast 1214 smack pack and fermented at the low end of temps, 58-60F. Primary 1 week, secondary 2 weeks. I originally thought it had a medicinal flavor but upon further review by some fellow home brewers all concluded that it is a strong banana flavor and aroma.

Any ideas if this will mellow out over time? It is drinkable and I will definitely not pitch it, but bananas and beer just don’t mix for me. Any ideas on why I would get strong bananas out of it? I know the yeast description is “estery”, but wow. I thought esters came out in the higher end of fermentation, not the low end. I must have screwed up somewhere because I don’t see Midwest selling a Fat Tire clone that should be called Banana Seat bear.

I had a banana shake last night, it was pretty tasty.

But you're right low end of temperatures should keep esters down, I'm very surprised. Perhaps there was an issue with wort aeration or something like that was less than ideal for the fermentation that created the esters. I have never used that yeast before so I can't say from experience. I do see it is a Belgian Ale yeast, which are typically very fruity. Although I wouldn't think they'd sell a kit with an inappropiate yeast. Hopefully others who have used that yeast or used the kit will chime in.

OT, i know, but where in Davenport are you, I'm originally from East Moline. Still go back every now and then, like this coming weekend for example.

your problem is very likely your yeast. ive used the very same yeast and had similar results (ie bubble gum smell, raspberry smell, etc). its good to keep the fermentation temp down but ive also heard keeping it a little longer in primary and aging a little longer in secondary can help remove some of the offensive odor by esposure to the yeast longer, but i dont have solid proof of this. another method is dry hopping with a good aroma/flavor hop to help make the odor managable. i dont think the smell will go away significantly but you certainly have a good chance of reduction after 2wks to a month in my experience. and remember you also may have hard water; worth looking into.

good luck man

snoochhandytardman said:

and remember you also may have hard water; worth looking into.

good luck man

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Yes I do have hard water (213) that also contains chloramines, which is why I originally thought it was a medicine like flavor. But definately bananas. brew and learn I guess. Just wish it didn't take two months to get another batch ready.

z987k said:

where in Davenport are you,

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Northwest Davenport, over by Jeno's and the Hawkeye Tap.

I don't have experience with that particular strain of yeast either, but this still might help. I brewed up the Irish stout kit from Midwest using the WYeast liquid yeast 'upgrade'. Out of laziness I left it in the primary for 2 weeks and in the secondary for another 4 weeks. Then I brought my keg in to Midwest (sure is nice working only 5 min from there!) and had them taste it to see if I was accurate to the recipe. The guy said I did well because that particular yeast strain is known to produce a distinct banana flavor if it isn't aged enough. He said usually from 3-6 weeks conditioning is enough to let the fermentation process fully complete. I had done that by accident!

So I do think your brew will correct itself with a bit more time. RDWHAHB!

Edit: I just reread your post, you've already given it 6 weeks essentially. I also have an IPA that is just taking forever to carbonate in the bottle and stop tasting sweet. I have resolved to let it sit for 2 months before checking it again, especially since I have less than a case left after tasting so many bottles..

Thalon said:

So I do think your brew will correct itself with a bit more time. RDWHAHB!

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Thank you for that! I'm confident I didn't screw anything up too bad in the brewing process. So as long as no one is screaming "Infection" I will definately hang on to them. As a matter of fact there magazine states that there Belgium kits/yeasts benefit greatly from a longer secondary and bottle conditioning. What I expect to happen is that by the time it starts tasting "good" I will probably only have a few left. Time will tell. I have a 32oz flip top set aside to crack open after a year or so. Again, Thanks for the replies. They are much needed confidence boosters. How do people brew without HBT? I would go bananas. hehe