I just recently developed ad started fermenting a Banana Wine recipe of my own devising. I'd appreciate any feedback that you may have. The recipe and actual brewing posts are located on my blog, but I will duplicate the recipe here for easier viewing by the community.
SOLOMONS BANANA WINE
(recipe is a work in progress)
22 pounds of RIPE bananas
Sliced thinly with skin on
5 gallons water
more or less as needed
Sugar
White or Brown, 5-15 pounds?
I will check the gravity of the mash before I add any sugar as the bananas natural sweetness can vary greatly. I wil then then taste a bit with each kind of sugar and see if it makes a difference. My goal for this is 18% ABV.
6 teaspoon acid blend
Probably, substitute 1 cup lemon juice
5 teaspoon pectin
1.25 teaspoon wine tannins
6 teaspoon yeast nutrient
4 pounds raisins
Most recipes called for golden raisins but I plan on using regular (cheaper) as these days they are the same fruit, with the goldens having been treated with sulfur dioxide to prevent them from darkening.
STEP1
Slice the bananas into thin slices, skin and all, and place them into a very large (minimum 3, prefferably 5 gallon) pot. The reason we leave the skins on is to make use some of the natural tannins contained in them in our wine.
STEP2
Fill with water leaving enough room at the top for foaming. Heat to a soft boil and hold it there for half an hour while stirring and mashing the bananas. At this point I will remove samples for measuring gravity (looking for somewhere around 1.135) and tasting sugars. Once I know what kind and how much sugar to use I will add it to the pot and boil for another 5 minutes. If I already knew how much sugar to use I would add it at the begging of the boil. Remove the pot from the heat and add the acid blend or lemon juice, yeast nutrient, and tannin. Stir well.
STEP3
Prepare a small bowl of warm, 85 degrees or so, water by adding a teaspoon of sugar and a teaspoon of the mash. Whisk this vigourosly together and sprinkle you yeast over the top. I will be using once pouch of lalvin ec-1118.
STEP4
Chop up, smash, or puree the raisins and place into a sanitized 6.5 gallon fermenting bucket. Once you think the mash has cooled enough that you can safely handle the pot pour it through a strainer into the fermenting bucket containing the raisins, add back in a large spoonfull of the strained mush. Top off with cold water or ice, to assist cooling, to the 6 gallon mark. Stir well and cover with sanitized lid and airlock to cool further.
STEP5
Once the mash has cooled to 85 degrees, no more than 90, add the yeast starter you prepared in step 3. Stir everything well and replace the lid and airlock.
STEP6
Here is where I could use some feedback. Some recipes say to leave it alone, some recipes say to stir the mash daily for at least the first week. Stiring would increase oxygen and break up any raft that may form on top, but could introduce infection. Im leaning towards not stirring after the first day.
Intersting note: This will, according to reports, look like horribly dirty,muddy water but smell like banana bread after a few days.
Wait about 4 weeks and when fermentaion has slowed rack into a 6 gallon carboy and reserve a sample for gravity measurment and tasting. Be sure to record all observations and the gravity reading. Place the carboy somewhere cool and dark for 2-3 months.
What are your thoughts?
SOLOMONS BANANA WINE
(recipe is a work in progress)
22 pounds of RIPE bananas
Sliced thinly with skin on
5 gallons water
more or less as needed
Sugar
White or Brown, 5-15 pounds?
I will check the gravity of the mash before I add any sugar as the bananas natural sweetness can vary greatly. I wil then then taste a bit with each kind of sugar and see if it makes a difference. My goal for this is 18% ABV.
6 teaspoon acid blend
Probably, substitute 1 cup lemon juice
5 teaspoon pectin
1.25 teaspoon wine tannins
6 teaspoon yeast nutrient
4 pounds raisins
Most recipes called for golden raisins but I plan on using regular (cheaper) as these days they are the same fruit, with the goldens having been treated with sulfur dioxide to prevent them from darkening.
STEP1
Slice the bananas into thin slices, skin and all, and place them into a very large (minimum 3, prefferably 5 gallon) pot. The reason we leave the skins on is to make use some of the natural tannins contained in them in our wine.
STEP2
Fill with water leaving enough room at the top for foaming. Heat to a soft boil and hold it there for half an hour while stirring and mashing the bananas. At this point I will remove samples for measuring gravity (looking for somewhere around 1.135) and tasting sugars. Once I know what kind and how much sugar to use I will add it to the pot and boil for another 5 minutes. If I already knew how much sugar to use I would add it at the begging of the boil. Remove the pot from the heat and add the acid blend or lemon juice, yeast nutrient, and tannin. Stir well.
STEP3
Prepare a small bowl of warm, 85 degrees or so, water by adding a teaspoon of sugar and a teaspoon of the mash. Whisk this vigourosly together and sprinkle you yeast over the top. I will be using once pouch of lalvin ec-1118.
STEP4
Chop up, smash, or puree the raisins and place into a sanitized 6.5 gallon fermenting bucket. Once you think the mash has cooled enough that you can safely handle the pot pour it through a strainer into the fermenting bucket containing the raisins, add back in a large spoonfull of the strained mush. Top off with cold water or ice, to assist cooling, to the 6 gallon mark. Stir well and cover with sanitized lid and airlock to cool further.
STEP5
Once the mash has cooled to 85 degrees, no more than 90, add the yeast starter you prepared in step 3. Stir everything well and replace the lid and airlock.
STEP6
Here is where I could use some feedback. Some recipes say to leave it alone, some recipes say to stir the mash daily for at least the first week. Stiring would increase oxygen and break up any raft that may form on top, but could introduce infection. Im leaning towards not stirring after the first day.
Intersting note: This will, according to reports, look like horribly dirty,muddy water but smell like banana bread after a few days.
Wait about 4 weeks and when fermentaion has slowed rack into a 6 gallon carboy and reserve a sample for gravity measurment and tasting. Be sure to record all observations and the gravity reading. Place the carboy somewhere cool and dark for 2-3 months.
What are your thoughts?
