Mpahe Mead or Banana Sorghum Mead

[loveofrose]

Mpahe is a traditional banana based beverage made in certain areas of Africa. It is quickly becoming a historical ale due to the fact that few know how to make it anymore.

If you view the link at the bottom, you can read the traditional way to make this beverage. It involves feet. I’ve decided to bring the recipe up to modern day practices and convert it to a mead. Typically, Sorghum grain is used with banana. Here, I’m using a Sorghum Honeydew honey that carries many of the same characteristics.

1. Add 4 lbs of sliced, skin on, black spotted bananas to pot. (~10 bananas)
2. Mash with a bladed potato masher until it is a thick paste.
3. Transfer to a carboy.
4. Add 2.5 lbs Sorghum Honeydew honey.
5. Add water just shy of a gallon.
6. Add 0.4 tsp Fermaid K and 0.8 tsp Fermaid O. (Add these again in 2 days.)
7. Mix well.
8. Add a starter of Wyeast 1388.
9. Ferment at 70 F for 7-10 days.
10. Cold crash and bottle.

Specs
SG 1.140
FG 1.020
15.7% ABV
-Yes, it’s cloudy. Think wheat beer, shut up, and drink it.

Research
https://roadsandkingdoms.com/2014/on-brewing-banana-beer/

Calculations
4 lbs banana (black spots with skin on)
-100 calories per banana; 1 banana adds 4 points per gallon. 4 lbs is 10 bananas or 40 points.

 

[loveofrose]

At Day 6, this mead is dry and extremely sour. I kept adding sugar until it tasted balanced. It took a LOT!

Added 2.5 lbs of honey and 1 lb of bourbon barrel aged Maple syrup.

 

[Blacksmith1]

It better be really tasty to invest 5lbs of honey + a lb of maple.

Edited due to stupidity.

 

[AkTom]

What does it taste like?

 

[loveofrose]

Fermentation is near complete. Before it finishes, I wanted to filter it. I had to press every drop of it through a fine mesh strainer as so:

It took some work, but not terribly difficult.

It’s cloudy now with some trace sediment. Nothing that won’t settle out quickly. The flavor cleaned up nicely. Before sweetening it was super sour with some fusel type flavor. After sweetening, it became pure banana with that off flavor fusel. Now it’s pure banana with some alcohol burn. Fusel flavor must have come from the skins. Once the final sediment drops, I imagine this will be pure banana bliss with some background butterscotch from the maple syrup.

I’ll begin cold crash tomorrow and bottle Friday. I want some residual sugar for bottle carbonation. I’m very much doing this the traditional African way...educated guess!

 

[loveofrose]

Cold crashed this for a few days to further clear it. It is very Banana. Also, it’s really high ABV. Impossible to know for sure, but I would guess 18+ ABV. Hits like a truck.

As I said, full on banana. I think I will repeat this with 1 lb of coffee per gallon and fortify with Bumbu rum for caramel flavor. Banana fosters coffee mead anyone? Barrel age it too. Why not?