Banana Creme Ale

[TheBeerGuy]

I am thinking about making a Banana ale. I have read alot about using yeast to obtain the banana ester and also using the fruit for flavor, also there is an extract. Well I do not like extracts at all so that is out. I think that I have a good recipe here and I may try it as a 1/2 batch first but I have included the 5gal recipe below. Let me know what you think or what you would change. I will be making this one this weekend so it may be a little late for a lot of comments but I'll see what I get.

3 lb Ripe to Very Ripe Bananas
6 lb Light Liquid Malt Extract (LME)
2 lb Crystal/Caramel 15L
8 oz 2 row Pale Malt
6 oz Acidulated Malt
8 oz Lactose
1.25 oz Northern Brewer Hops
1 Whirlfloc Tablet
1 1/2 tsp Pectic Enzyme
1 pkg Wyeast 1056 American Ale

1. Puree bananas in blender.
2. Steep grains for 30 min at 155-160F.
3. Remove grains, rinsing with two quarts of hot (~170F) water.
4. Bring to boil.
5. At 45 minutes (beginning), add hops and the DME (turn off burner until dissolved to avoid scorching).
6. At 5 minutes, add half of the mashed or pureed banana, lactose and pectic enzyme.

Cool to 65-70F. Transfer wort and fruit to sanitized fermenter and add water to top off to 5 gallons. Aerate wort. Pitch yeast and ferment at 60-70F for 10 days or until fermentation subsides.

Thaw remaining banana puree, heat slowly (burns easily) to 160F. Cool for 10 mins. Add puree into primary fermenter.

Wait for fruit fermentation to subside. Rack to secondary and let clear for a week or so. Bottle and condition 2-6 weeks.

 

[microbusbrewery]

Sounds interesting but I see one issue; I believe pectic enzyme denatures above 150F (at least the package I had indicated so), so if you add it before you've chilled, it won't do anything.

 

[stpug]

To be blunt, it sounds gross - please don't do it. There are much better ways to waste your money.

 

[Texconsinite]

To be blunt, it sounds gross - please don't do it. There are much better ways to waste your money.

Think of the first person to drink fermented liquid, moldy grains or funky juice that was left out too long. Someone probably said the same thing to him/her. Good thing for us someone was crazy enough to try it.

I've heard of waaaaaay weirder stuff on this forum, so I respectfully disagree sir.

I like bananas and think its an interesting idea. Question for OP, you mentioned banana esters from yeast, why are you using american ale yeast, vs a hefeweizen yeast which would add those esters to the beer?

I have made several Bavarian Hefeweizen batches w/ Wyeast 3068 Weihenstephan, and it really tastes and smeels like bananas

I used Northern Brewers Bavarian Hefeweizen extract kit (recipe & ingredients are on their website under the kit) That might help if u decide to go wheat. Just a thought.

Good luck, keep us posted on how it turns out, especially what u learn from using the fresh bananas, I've never done that before

 

[Setesh]

To be blunt, it sounds gross - please don't do it. There are much better ways to waste your money.

IMO one of the coolest things about this hobby is being able to make crazy stuff and experiment. I guess it depends on your end goal. If you are brewing just to make beer to drink then go with a proven recipe. If the act of brewing itself is reward enough then I say go for it...crazy or not. Just my 2c.

...you mentioned banana esters from yeast, why are you using american ale yeast, vs a hefeweizen yeast which would add those esters to the beer?

I have made several Bavarian Hefeweizen batches w/ Wyeast 3068 Weihenstephan, and it really tastes and smeels like bananas

+1 to this. The banana really pops for me with that yeast. If you wanted to you could do a split batch. Do half with american and half with 3068.

You could also do a small batch of this and not be out very much money.
As mentioned above I would research a bit on the pectic enzyme use to make sure you do it properly. Please keep us posted if you end up doing it.

 

[TheBeerGuy]

Alright after looking into the Pectic Enzyme I have changed my mind a little from the first post. I think I will puree the bananas the day of brewing but leave them out and frozen (to kill the nasties you don't want in beer) and after 5 days of primary fermentation I will add 1/2 the banana with the pectic enzyme into the primary. The sweetness from the banana should kick up the fermentation again.

Texconsinite - I have fermented with 3068 before and I was not a big fan of the banana for this recipe I am attempting. I want a more forward banana flavor. I agree that it will heighten the banana flavor using that yeast but I want to get the flavor from the fruit itself.

microbusbrewery - I have done my research better now and even looked at John Palmers book (my bible at times) and I agree with you about the pectic enzyme and I was wrong (see mom I do admit when I am wrong)!

I think I will use my software to cut this down to a 1.5 gal batch and try that first to see if this is worth a 5 gal brew or will it just be an experiment.

Thanks for all the feedback so far and I LOVE this site for all you out there with your years of experience. :rockin::rockin:

 

[RhodySeth]

I love bananas and have a chocolate banana stout in secondary. So of course I say go for it. Experimentation is what makes this hobby great!

 

[drlars]

I, too, am curious about what you come up with. I have been interested in brewing a banana beer as well. (I've already tried one with less-than-excellent results, but it was also one of the first beers that I'd tried.)
I think Wells Banana Bread Beer is pretty good, but I also think the flavor goes well with vanilla (and a little sweetness, poss courtesy of the lactose….)
The question is always one of real bananas vs. using extract, and pros and cons of both. (Wells says they use both, FWIW.)
There is a great 'Bananas Foster' threat that has recently been revived that you should make sure you check out as well.

Personally, I would like my banana beer to be a lighter beer. My previous beer was quite dark, but Im unsure if that was due to noob extract scalding or whether it was the oxidation of the bananas (which did turn quite dark). (Some of the) people in the Bananas Foster thread seemed to be getting some lighter clearer beers, even with the banana puree in the secondary.

When I do it again, I would definitely consider adding some ascorbic acid (to prevent darkening, and a little acidity is never a bad idea with fruit-based beers) as well as some pectic enzyme (for clarity). I plan to add them directly to the beer before bottling and trust in the EtOH content to protect me from infection at that point (it hasn't been an issue for me in the past).

Absolutely keep me posted about the final results!

 

[RhodySeth]

Figured this is as good a place to post it as anywhere. I recently made a chocolate banana stout and just updated my blog if you want to check it out and/or point and laugh.

 

[TheBeerGuy]

OK well since I started this thread I brewed a 1.5 gal batch, all grain, and what I have here is a WINNER in my opinion. I only got about 12 bottles out of this and the first one was a little light on the banana that I was looking for but after an additional week it was not banana on the nose and also a nice banana mouth feel. I need to let it condition a little more in bottles but it was totally worth making. I added 1# smashed bananas to the primary 5 days after I pitched the yeast and then let it finish there (about 10 days total to bottle). I mixed a standard priming solution for 1.5 gal and bottled it. I am definitely making a 5gal batch of this next weekend. It is a light beer (about 4-6 SRM and 18 IBUs and 4.1% ABV). Can post the exact recipe if anyone is interested.

 

[jwetzler]

OK well since I started this thread I brewed a 1.5 gal batch, all grain, and what I have here is a WINNER in my opinion. I only got about 12 bottles out of this and the first one was a little light on the banana that I was looking for but after an additional week it was not banana on the nose and also a nice banana mouth feel. I need to let it condition a little more in bottles but it was totally worth making. I added 1# smashed bananas to the primary 5 days after I pitched the yeast and then let it finish there (about 10 days total to bottle). I mixed a standard priming solution for 1.5 gal and bottled it. I am definitely making a 5gal batch of this next weekend. It is a light beer (about 4-6 SRM and 18 IBUs and 4.1% ABV). Can post the exact recipe if anyone is interested.

When you get a chance post the recipe! I'm a fan of the banana bread beer, and wanting to make something banana soon.

 

[techbrewie]

I threw together a test batch a couple weekends ago.

Just a Standard wheat, some specialty grains, and White Labs american hefe yeast. oh and for funsies i threw a little extra chocolate malt in there too left over from an awesome red i've got fermenting.

I I bought 40 banana's (like $1 per bunch @ costco) and let them turn completely brown, which took about as much time as my base wheat did to ferment.

Then I froze them, thawed them, then froze again to really break down the cell structure. After the Second Thaw, I removed all the banana mush from the peels, easiest way is to cut the ends off the bananas, then the rest into thirds, and peel.

After i got all the sweet mushy pulp into a sanitized bowl, I sanitized my awesome ninja blender, and blended the crap out of all the banana's. into a puree that resembled the consistancy of an italian ice because the bananas were still partially frozen, then back into the sanitized bowl.

the 40+ bananas I had yielded just over 4 quarts. so depending on size, 10-12 banana's should yield 1 quart of puree. Just a fun FYI.

So this is where brewing with me gets fun. I was about 4 beers in and decided eff it and put the whole gallon of puree in, + 5 gallons of delicious wheat beer into a 6 gallon carboy. No I didnt pastuerize. Whats a reward without a little risk? deal with it.

right now my yeast is going mad, blowoff tube be damned, krausen was like zombies in world war Z, and i had a fun little mess to clean up after work. bright side, when i left my ferm chamber open the whole apartment smelled like banana bread, so I'm doing something right.

I'll post tasting notes in a couple weeks when it's ready I'm sure flavor will be outstanding but next time I'll be trying about half as many banana's. this will 100% develop into a yearly summer beer for me.

Endeavor inspired by my random discovery of Wells Banana Bread Beer, which is amazing.

 

[techbrewie]

If you care This is the recipe I used.
AG conversion should be easy enough.

On the topic banana's I'm also working on a doppelbock recipe that will have a less distinct banana element to it, will proabably only use 1 quart of puree (10-12 bananas) as well as some sort of wood and my favorite rum.

 

[fords4life]

Any tasting updates? Trying to decide on a partial mash kit for the wife.