Banana and oxidation

First post. (Yay) Third batch of brew.

I brewed a Belgian strong dark ale NB The Number 8. I didn't make a starter (poured from smakpak) and I fermented at around 70 ambient.
OG 1080
FG 1014

Two issues:
1) The thing is all sweet bananas and harsh alcohol.
2) No carbonation. This is after ~3 weeks at 70.

Three questions:
1) Should the fusel alcohols subside with time?
2) If I open the bottles and attempt a transfer, will that oxidize beyond repair?
3) How many of you have drain poured an entire batch?

Welcome! Next time try to make a starter with liquid yeast, it will help. The bananas and fusel alcohols are from fermenting warm. The banana is sometimes wanted in beers like hefeweizens, but the fusels should be avoided. You can ferment warm but stop the fusels from developing by starting fermentation on the cool side and letting the temps climb gradually. Unfortunately the fusels will not subside much with time. The lack of carbonation is probably due to the high OG. Higher gravity beers take more time to carbonate fully. Store the bottles in a warmer area and give them more time. Keep trying them periodically and see if they get better. If not, yes I have dumped an entire batch. I had a similar situation to yours about 22 batches ago. By the way, how are you monitoring temps?

Well, that's a big beer, and the yeast sure would have been stressed without a starter. I don't know that it'll ever be "perfect", but it will age out into a much smoother beer. The strong alcohol should fade, and the banana should ease up. How long ago was this bottled? Only 3 weeks? I'm thinking 3-5 months should help alot.

And remember, that 70 ambient might have been 78 inside the fermenter! Get one of those "stick on" thermometers to more closely monitor temperatures.

YooperBrew said:

Well, that's a big beer, and the yeast sure would have been stressed without a starter.
<snip>
And remember, that 70 ambient might have been 78 inside the fermenter!

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I agree on both counts. The bigger the beer, the more you need to care for the yeast, and the more heat may be generated during fermentation as it will be fermenting vigorously for longer than in a lower-gravity beer.

My closest experience was accidentally fermenting an Irish Red too high (ferm temps around 78~80F). Even after a year and a half, the fusel alcohols were so overpowering I had to dump every bottle. It was my only batch that was undrinkable.

-Todd

I am not monitoring/controlling temp in any way. I've been watching out for good freezer chest deals... any suggestions on that?

In the meantime, what style of beer is best suited for a ferm temp of ~70? I'm currently doing all extract in 5 gal. batches.

Hopefully the banana will go away and the beer will carbonate with time. I'm a little excited now to see how this goes over the next few months/year.

My first hefe had the same banana characters your talking about. They're supposed to have a little but this one had way too much because I allowed it to ferment at too high a temp. You can control the temp by wrapping it in an old wet T-shirt or putting it in a water bath that you can put ice in. If you don't want to do this them just brew some pale ales.

At the very least, stick a fermometer on the side of your bucket/carboy (I have one on every vessel I own) which will give you a good idea of the temp inside (I have found it to be within 2F usually). In addition, when you are cooling your wort to pitching temps, cool it lower than you intend to ferment by about 4~5degrees. THis will give you a buffer when the fermentation starts rolling. I try to cool most of my ales to between 60 and 65F before pitching. This gives me a pretty consistent 68~70F fermentation temp.

-Todd

sorry. going to hijack the thread momentarily. i just started fermenting a hefe, and its slowly bubbling away at 61 after one day. when should i start ramping it up, and to what temperature? i'd like some banana, but my last one had similar problems to the OP - big banana and fusels. thanks.

Check my thread in the extract forum tagz. It may help.

physzac said:

First post. (Yay) Third batch of brew.

I brewed a Belgian strong dark ale NB The Number 8. I didn't make a starter (poured from smakpak) and I fermented at around 70 ambient.
OG 1080
FG 1014

Two issues:
1) The thing is all sweet bananas and harsh alcohol.
2) No carbonation. This is after ~3 weeks at 70.

Three questions:
1) Should the fusel alcohols subside with time?
2) If I open the bottles and attempt a transfer, will that oxidize beyond repair?
3) How many of you have drain poured an entire batch?

Click to expand...

1) Should but never can tell

2) Honestly I think once you open them, its game over.

3) In my first year brewing, my kitchen sink drank more than I ever did.

The biggest issue with the banana flavor is ferment temp just like everyone said. Keep your primary/secondary covered in a wet towel and try to keep someplace cool. Mine are usually in the 63-67 degree range and I have zero issues with esters now and I do a lot of wheats. I know its desirable in some but personally, I don't care for the banana but I digress.

Oh and hello fellow Hoosier! I'm up in Westfield!

Use ice baths in the future. I used one on my german ale and it was kept cooler. My american wheat has a little banana flavor because I fermented warm. It should subside with time.

Will all yeast give off the banana esters if fermented warm? Or is it just the heffe/belgium varieties? Lets say specifically wyeast 1056.