Banana beer

[Mumathomebrew]

It's sooooooo wonderpink. I hope it stays this bright. The process will be repeated exactly using the correct yeast when it arrives to compare the difference. I added adjuncts to this version and chose the aroma hop to compensate for the things that the proper yeast is meant to bring.

Mock saison-esque 4L (in 1 gallon demi) Recipe taken from a classic saison
764g Pilsner Malt
96g Vienna
47g Munich
12g Caramunch malt
Pre-boil SG 1.040

5.9g Fuggle@60' (chosen for their earthy nuances to enhance the beet)
5.9g Magnum @10' (chosen for their spicy, fruity nuances)
Irish Moss @10" (didn't want a cloudy beer even though real saisons are)
450mls beetroot juice @10' (SG 1.018)
1 orange rind finely grated onto 50g white sugar to catch the oil spray @10'
0.6g grated black pepper @10'

Used Windsor yeast after all because I wanted the banana nuances it is reported to give. I did look at the others so wasn't ignoring kind advice.
Post boil SG was a very high 1.063

Wasn't sure whether to add water to bring the SG down but haven't yet. Saisons are supposed to be quite strong aren't they?

It did smell and taste wonderful after the boil so feeling hopeful.

The other hop considered was Summit to add citrus spicy notes. We'll see what this needs. The other saison recipe had wheat malt in as well as all these here, so that will be considered after we see what happens to this one.

 

[Miraculix]

It's sooooooo wonderpink. I hope it stays this bright. The process will be repeated exactly using the correct yeast when it arrives to compare the difference. I added adjuncts to this version and chose the aroma hop to compensate for the things that the proper yeast is meant to bring.

Mock saison-esque 4L (in 1 gallon demi) Recipe taken from a classic saison
764g Pilsner Malt
96g Vienna
47g Munich
12g Caramunch malt
Pre-boil SG 1.040

5.9g Fuggle@60' (chosen for their earthy nuances to enhance the beet)
5.9g Magnum @10' (chosen for their spicy, fruity nuances)
Irish Moss @10" (didn't want a cloudy beer even though real saisons are)
450mls beetroot juice @10' (SG 1.018)
1 orange rind finely grated onto 50g white sugar to catch the oil spray @10'
0.6g grated black pepper @10'

Used Windsor yeast after all because I wanted the banana nuances it is reported to give. I did look at the others so wasn't ignoring kind advice.
Post boil SG was a very high 1.063

Wasn't sure whether to add water to bring the SG down but haven't yet. Saisons are supposed to be quite strong aren't they?

It did smell and taste wonderful after the boil so feeling hopeful.

View attachment 673833 View attachment 673834

The other hop considered was Summit to add citrus spicy notes. We'll see what this needs. The other saison recipe had wheat malt in as well as all these here, so that will be considered after we see what happens to this one.

Going to be a spiced English ale. Next time, when using a yeast like Windsor, you could replace ten percent of the malt with sugar or Lyle's golden syrup to bring the fg a bit down as Windsor is not very attenuative. The original saisons are actually low abv. Beers, but you can buy them today with all kinds of strengths.

Hopefully it won't be too sweet as Windsor does not attenuate well.

 

[Mumathomebrew]

Maybe I can put another yeast to it as well after a day or two. Plus could add more water if it's too high.

 

[Mumathomebrew]

Yay, a Mangrove Jacks French saison yeast M29 arrived this morning and the other is on it's way. It says this one can attenuate up to 14%. Goodness me. A beer as strong as wine.

 

[Mumathomebrew]

I'm not sure I ever posted a pic of this beetroot beer. It was fabulously clear, and there was nearly a family scuffle over the last bottle, but daughter had swiped it coz it had pink froth on the top.

 

[Miraculix]

I'm not sure I ever posted a pic of this beetroot beer. It was fabulously clear, and there was nearly a family scuffle over the last bottle, but daughter had swiped it coz it had pink froth on the top.

View attachment 699794

View attachment 699795

It surely looks great!!! How was the taste?

 

[Mumathomebrew]

It surely looks great!!! How was the taste?

I'd made two. One as the lighter version with only a little in, and one going by the nut brown direction. I'll dig out the actual recipes but the nut brown one worked the best to counteract the earthiness. I loved it but my son doesn't like beetroot in the first place so he found it a little off-putting. It was full, tasty and nutty with a sweetish earthy twang. They went fast so that is testament itself. I shall definitely make it again. I adored having pink beer froth on ruby beer.

 

[z-bob]

I watched a YouTube video recently that showed the whole process of making a banana brandy or whisky (not sure which it technically was and I don't remember what he called it) The mashed bananas and water were mashed (sorry!) with alpha and beta amylase powdered enzymes, then fermented with DADY yeast and distilled in a pot still*. (I'm not proposing doing distilling and I assume the video was make somewhere like New Zealand where it's legal)

So after that introduction, what about making a beer almost entirely out of bananas? If the bananas are fully ripe, is there any need for a mash or can they just be fermented like wine? What about using Beano (alpha gal'ase) and doing a 130*F mash; would the bananas need to be boiled first to gel the starch? Or if the bananas do contain starch but not much of it, a small amount of pale malt could supply the amylase enzymes, but the question remains whether the bananas have to be cooked.

*it was interesting how he calculated how much of the "heads" to throw away to get rid of the methanol, etc, and how to throw out that much because he didn't know the yield until he was done. But although it was interesting it's not really relevant here.
Edit: almost forgot this guy:

 

[stronk]

I turn away for a mere two years and when I look back there's been the most brilliant thread hijack! All power to the vegetable beers. I admire the determination and creativity.

I've been away from brewing for a year now, as all these lockdowns have sapped my will to brew, reduced my disposable income, trapped most of my kit in a friend's garage and taken away my friends who usually drink all the beer.

But I've been dreaming of mushroom beer...

 

[Jayjay1976]

I watched a YouTube video recently that showed the whole process of making a banana brandy or whisky (not sure which it technically was and I don't remember what he called it) The mashed bananas and water were mashed (sorry!) with alpha and beta amylase powdered enzymes, then fermented with DADY yeast and distilled in a pot still*. (I'm not proposing doing distilling and I assume the video was make somewhere like New Zealand where it's legal)

So after that introduction, what about making a beer almost entirely out of bananas? If the bananas are fully ripe, is there any need for a mash or can they just be fermented like wine? What about using Beano (alpha gal'ase) and doing a 130*F mash; would the bananas need to be boiled first to gel the starch? Or if the bananas do contain starch but not much of it, a small amount of pale malt could supply the amylase enzymes, but the question remains whether the bananas have to be cooked.

*it was interesting how he calculated how much of the "heads" to throw away to get rid of the methanol, etc, and how to throw out that much because he didn't know the yield until he was done. But although it was interesting it's not really relevant here.
Edit: almost forgot this guy:

It's already a thing, and it's called banana wine. Sounds awesome to me, just don't go calling it beer.

Just wanna add, I've thought about trying it myself and your post has re-awakened my curiosity.

 

[Jayjay1976]

I turn away for a mere two years and when I look back there's been the most brilliant thread hijack! All power to the vegetable beers. I admire the determination and creativity.

I've been away from brewing for a year now, as all these lockdowns have sapped my will to brew, reduced my disposable income, trapped most of my kit in a friend's garage and taken away my friends who usually drink all the beer.

But I've been dreaming of mushroom beer...

Edit:

 

[z-bob]

It's already a thing, and it's called banana wine. Sounds awesome to me, just don't go calling it beer.

Just wanna add, I've thought about trying it myself and your post has re-awakened my curiosity.

Okay, sometime in the next few months I will try making banana wine without added sugar, but I will boil the bananas and then add generic Beano when the temperature falls to 130 and hold it there for a half hour to make sure everything is fermentable. (banana cider? )

And just to be silly,
(I think that's Christopher Guest doing a James Taylor impression) I was going to post this in the potato wine thread, but didn't want to push my luck by resurrecting two old discussions at once.

 

[Mumathomebrew]

I turn away for a mere two years and when I look back there's been the most brilliant thread hijack!

Sorry. I fully own up. Meant to stay on bananas... Just got carried away.