London Pride + Bananas = Yuk

So I made a London Pride Clone (partial mash) and clearly I botched it. A month after bottling it has a distinctly unpleasant banana taste+aroma that I have read is attributable to poor aeration and/or too high fermentation temps. Recalling the process, both may be true (details not worth repeating ). So the question is, should I dump this batch and put it down to experience, or will it improve/recover with age?

how old is it? You mention a month after bottle, but no age. Since this beer is 4.1 or 4.7abv (depending on vessel) I would say it has aged to the appropriate age to be mature if everything went well. Don't b too hasty to dump it. I doesn't hurt to let it rest and come back to it in a month or so to re-taste. If then, the taste doesn't improve, then maybe think about a dump.

beesy said:

how old is it?

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Brew day was seven weeks ago. Two weeks in primary, one in secondary then bottled four weeks ago. ABV came out to 4.4%. I guess I'll give it a few more weeks and keep my fingers crossed!

Don't dump it. Don't ever dump it.

Cook with it or something.

It's been another month, how's it coming along? Has any of the banana aged out?
I ask because I have a banana flavor in my most recent ESB as well. Not there when it's cold and fresh poured, but as it warms - BOOM goes the banana!

I think I'll hide them away for another month or so...

Did you brew with German Hefe yeast before, and could those cells still be alive in your fermenter?

My experience has been that the banana doesn't age out. Its is usually caused by high ferment temps and yeast strain. Lowering ferment temps on the next batch will help considerably. If you cant lower the temps try a more neutral yeast.

RE: Hefe yeast - Not me (at least not in that container), but maybe the OP.


I pitched onto a S-04 yeast cake from a norhtern brown that turned our really well.
Brewed 3/6/09. Primary for 3 weeks, secondary 1 week, then into bottles. Ambient temp during ferm was 60dF and the wort was at 64dF when I siphoned it onto the cake. Maybe I bottle conditioned it at too high temp or possibly just had a funky bottle. I'll have another bottle tomorrow. IF that is funky then I'll take the remaining 4 bottles of my sample 6-er out of the fridge and let them age under the stairs with the rest for another 3-4weeks and re-try....