Banana Smell

[Ericbene]

Took a sniff of my airlock and it seems to have a sorta banana smell
Used S-04 safeale pitched at about 68 deg ferm. temp has bee in the mid
60s. I used 7.25 lbs of light lme,13 oz of crysal 55-65 and 4 oz of chocolate malt,
Is this normal???????????

 

[Yooper]

Probably! There are all kinds of smells (some good, some not) that come out during fermentation.

One of the causes is banana aromas is a too-warm fermentation. If the wort is in the mid-60s, though, that's probably not the case. If the room temperature is in the mid-60s, the fermenting beer can be much warmer. If you have a stick-on thermometer on the fermenter, you can see the fermentation temperature.

Another cause of those fruity aromas can be the yeast strain, too. Some are just more fruity than others.

At this point, I'd consider it "normal" unless it persists into the finished beer.

 

[Ericbene]

looking at my fermometer it is reading about 68 deg right now

 

[davesrose]

I've usually had banana smells when brewing a California Common (using a lager yeast at a higher fermentation temp then its normal). If you're keeping the fermentation at the mid 60s, though, I don't think you should have problems with any ale yeast. Just enjoy those sweet smells and taste a sample when you can. My guess is that it will turn out just fine.

 

[Ericbene]

Thanks for all the help

 

[wyzazz]

S-04 can be a bit estery (think biscuity, hot, bubblegum) while it's fermenting, especially if it's fermenting at 68F. I'd let it ride out and take some gravity readings along the way, when you're getting close to your expected FG then raise the temp a couple degrees, wait a day or so and raise them again. This will ensure the yeast clean up those esters for a clean final product.

 

[Burro2882]

One of the causes is banana aromas is a too-warm fermentation... Another cause of those fruity aromas can be the yeast strain, too. Some are just more fruity than others.

These are the most common reasons from everything i've read (and experienced).

 

[NyQuil_Driver]

My nut brown had some pretty serious banana going on because of what I can only guess was a slightly warm pitch. The banana flavor persisted right on out to the 3-weeks bottled mark. It all settled out by the time the caps were on for a month. Didn't even notice it after that.

TL;DR - Give it time, see what happens. Worst case, you've got banana beer, and you drink it

 

[Ericbene]

This is only day 4 do you think racking it to seconary would help?
Or just wait a couple weeks and give it some time

 

[wyzazz]

This is only day 4 do you think racking it to seconary would help?
Or just wait a couple weeks and give it some time

STOP!!!! STEP AWAY FROM YOUR FERMENTER!!!!

Now that I've got your attention, I'll tell you why. Yeast make all kinds of stinky business when they ferment your beer, but they are clean little beasties and will do their best to clean up that stinky business if you let them. Leave that beer in the primary and on the yeast cake for 3-4 weeks to let them do their thing. Trust me, your beer will be better for it.

 

[Ericbene]

Ok you have my attention .
After 3 to 4 weeks should I just bottle and skip the secondary?
Thanks for all the help

 

[wyzazz]

No worries, that's what we're all here for right? Help!

Here's what I do, after 3 weeks I take a gravity reading... ...3 days later I take another, if it's the same as the previous I know I can bottle/keg. If I don't have the time, I wait. I've left beer on the yeast for as long as 2 months because I just didn't have the time. I don't use a secondary unless I'm bulk aging or oaking a beer, there just really isn't a need.

 

[wulfsburg]

The only time I have used a secondary is when my beer turned out the weirdest. Not infected, just not that good.

Coincidence? Maybe
Too much temp fluctuation? Yeah, probably

My hef's always have a banana taste , and after 4 weeks in the bottle and only 9 days primary, they have turned out to be my 2 fave beers I have ever done.