Banana Wine

[dannyhawkins]

Ok guys its been done and fermenting for a week now, I've got to rack to gallon jugs and let it sit and clear.



Here are the ones I used, the sat out for about a week until I felt they were just a day past edible. There were a few very soft spots but still banana texture overall. They darkened a bit in the freezer as well.



Here is the setup, I ended up boiling in two pots and did 10 minute increments for 40 total between them.



I used a potato masher to really work the bananas over and extract as much as possible.
Here it is, truly disgusting looking just like all the others, but it smelled so good. The brown floating rafts are the tannin I added by the way.

 

[Agate]

Would it be a mistake to start this in a glass carboy with an airlock? Stirring wouldn't be an option, but it's fruit fly season right now and I'm not sure I could keep them out if I just cover a pot with a towel.

 

[Yooper]

Would it be a mistake to start this in a glass carboy with an airlock? Stirring wouldn't be an option, but it's fruit fly season right now and I'm not sure I could keep them out if I just cover a pot with a towel.

That may be the only way to do it, if you have lots of fruitflies!

 

[Agate]

I started a 2-gallon batch in a 3-gallon carboy, so there's lots of headspace. It's been fermenting furiously, but I'm going to put it in gallon jugs in a couple days once it settles down. There's a thick layer of floaties on top, should I try to stir it in? I can see how it's a concern in an open container, but is it a problem in a carboy with an airlock as well? Not sure which would potentially be more harmful, to disturb it by opening it up to air or just leave it alone...

 

[LabRatBrewer]

Im one day into a 1 gallon batch and I did not get the sugar dissolved very well. There is a solid 1/4 inch of sugar stuck to the bottom of the glass jug. Since I am at the Stir every day phase, would it hurt to shakee the hell out of it to release the block of sugar? o2 would be okay currently, yes?

 

[Yooper]

I started a 2-gallon batch in a 3-gallon carboy, so there's lots of headspace. It's been fermenting furiously, but I'm going to put it in gallon jugs in a couple days once it settles down. There's a thick layer of floaties on top, should I try to stir it in? I can see how it's a concern in an open container, but is it a problem in a carboy with an airlock as well? Not sure which would potentially be more harmful, to disturb it by opening it up to air or just leave it alone...

You can stir, but I wouldn't worry too much about it. I'd be more concerned about the darn fruitflies so if it's fermenting, I"d probably leave it be.

Im one day into a 1 gallon batch and I did not get the sugar dissolved very well. There is a solid 1/4 inch of sugar stuck to the bottom of the glass jug. Since I am at the Stir every day phase, would it hurt to shakee the hell out of it to release the block of sugar? o2 would be okay currently, yes?

You can shake it up. The yeast should find the sugar anyway, but you can stir/shake it up to dissolve it better as well.

 

[LabRatBrewer]

You can stir, but I wouldn't worry too much about it. I'd be more concerned about the darn fruitflies so if it's fermenting, I"d probably leave it be.




You can shake it up. The yeast should find the sugar anyway, but you can stir/shake it up to dissolve it better as well.

Thanks Yooper

 

[timcadieux]

Just realised it only says 'wine yeast'..can u be more specific?

 

[Yooper]

Just realised it only says 'wine yeast'..can u be more specific?

It doesn't really matter- just about any wine yeast will do just fine.

 

[buzzerj]

Just realised it only says 'wine yeast'..can u be more specific?

With a banana wine starting at 1.095, you are looking at about 13% ABV so a yeast like Montrachet would be a good place to start. A Côte des Blancs yeast may be fine for this also or my favorite a Lalvin ICV-D47 (Côtes-du-Rhône) to ensure the fruit flavors are best maintained. All of these yeast strains should be more than adequate to do the job and my preferences would be one of the latter two yeasts. Alternatively, you can really scour this with a strong fermenting Lalvin EC-1118 or Premiere Cuvee (Prise de Mousse) but personally I'd hold off on those choices unless I was really afraid of suffering a stuck fermentation. That notwithstanding, although I suspect Yooper may have used Montrachet, my choice would be my stand-by Lalvin D47.

 

[Agate]

I used EC-1118 in mine. Definitely overkill, but I can't believe how fast it starts. It was foaming within 10 minutes. It's only on day 5, but a lot of the yeast has dropped out and the lees are compacting, and it's surprisingly clear and showing a golden color already. Wish I had tried it in my zucchini wine, it's still a chalky mess after several weeks.

 

[timcadieux]

I've also got EC-1118 but I was thing D-47???

 

[TedLarsen]

Just like everyone says, I can't believe the swill that I started with ends up looking like this. It's liquid gold, man. I bottled it this week -- now comes the two year(ish) waiting cycle. It's very hot, right now, but I trust it will mellow nicely.

 

[Yooper]

Just like everyone says, I can't believe the swill that I started with ends up looking like this. It's liquid gold, man. I bottled it this week -- now comes the two year(ish) waiting cycle. It's very hot, right now, but I trust it will mellow nicely.

That's beautiful! Thanks for the photo.

 

[timcadieux]

When to add the chopped raisins? Not in the first post.

** EDIT **

Sorry, I decided to actually read the entire first post and now I'm a little less stupid. Thx

 

[Yooper]

When to add the chopped raisins? Not in the first post.

** EDIT **

Sorry, I decided to actually read the entire first post and now I'm a little less stupid. Thx

LOL at "a little less stupid".

I wish I could be a little less stupid that easily!

 

[Stovetop535]

I see the original recipe was posted in 2007, anyone have any bottles that old? This wine is cheap enough to make, and if I am going to invest 2 years I want to have plenty to bottle and age. I just picked up some 13 gallon food grade buckets and I think this would be a great way to fill one of them.

 

[rowan57]

So I just bought the Bananas to make a 5gal batch of this next weekend. The only quick question I have is, I have a plastic wine fermenter 25L Wide Neck Fermenter and was wondering if I can use this as a secondary? I have a 5 Gal primary but don't have a 5 Gal Glass Carboy (they are quite expensive here).

 

[buzzerj]

I'm a real proponent of using a secondary fermenter with as little head space as possible. So I have a range of sizes of carboys including a lot of 1 gallon jugs (empty Carlo Rossi ones are the best). I know here that the PETG Better Bottles (http://www.better-bottle.com) are less expensive than glass carboys. They come in a range of sizes and they are expressly meant for fermentations. The website showed 6 different Better Bottle distributors in the UK. I presently have glass carboys but I used to have a 5 Gallon Better Bottle that I used for a secondary for batches of beer. I personally think they are great containers for secondary fermentations. Although you need to handle them a bit differently than glass carboys as the walls are not as rigid so there are tricks you need to do to move them around. I do like the versatility of having one gallon glass jugs for secondaries for different size batches.

 

[rowan57]

With the 5 Gal fermenter I would be able to manage the headspace appropriately. Appreciate that BetterBottles are popular (none of the places mentioned I think actually sell 'The BetterBottle', they all sell a UK version) but they are also very expensive at around ⅔ the price of new Glass.

That being said, can I use my fermenter? I do I need to take the plunge and buy glass? Bearing in mind that the Banana wine may need a good bit of ageing in the secondary.

 

[bojacked]

Please forgive my lazy drunken self... I even searched though the thread for "yeast" but couldnt find if anyone had done experiments with this recipe to find if one yeast works better than another. If I'm gonna wait for 2 years I'd really like to have the best possible results ;]

If nobody has done this maybe ill do a split batch for science.

 

[Leadgolem]

With the 5 Gal fermenter I would be able to manage the headspace appropriately. Appreciate that BetterBottles are popular (none of the places mentioned I think actually sell 'The BetterBottle', they all sell a UK version) but they are also very expensive at around ⅔ the price of new Glass.

That being said, can I use my fermenter? I do I need to take the plunge and buy glass? Bearing in mind that the Banana wine may need a good bit of ageing in the secondary.

I personally wouldn't age in plastic. It's fine for short term storage, but everything I've had to leave in plastic has gotten "cardboard" flavor after a while. Over about a year, that tends to turn to a "dish soap" flavor.

 

[TNGabe]

I personally wouldn't age in plastic. It's fine for short term storage, but everything I've had to leave in plastic has gotten "cardboard" flavor after a while. Over about a year, that tends to turn to a "dish soap" flavor.

You're not using better bottles then. Long term aging in BBs is fine. I have several beers approaching a year in them with no off flavors.

 

[TedLarsen]

You're not using better bottles then. Long term aging in BBs is fine. I have several beers approaching a year in them with no off flavors.

I recently bulk-aged a mead in a Better Bottle for a year, and it was magnificent tasting. No worries with the BB.

 

[rowan57]

I personally wouldn't age in plastic. It's fine for short term storage, but everything I've had to leave in plastic has gotten "cardboard" flavor after a while. Over about a year, that tends to turn to a "dish soap" flavor.

Thanks! Took the plunge and bought a 5 Gal glass Carboy.

 

[buzzerj]

Happy fermenting in your new glass carboy. Now get that banana wine going and get it in there. Better Bottles work fine too. The PETG is very inert.

 

[rowan57]

Thanks! The PET bottles are still ⅔ the price of glass so may as well go with glass overall.

On another topic, YEAST.

I have Gervins GV10, GV5 & Lalvin EC-1118, whaddya reckon?

 

[buzzerj]

My plan was always Lalvin EC-1118 or Red Star Premier Cuvee (Prise de Mousse). All the best!

 

[Leadgolem]

You're not using better bottles then. Long term aging in BBs is fine. I have several beers approaching a year in them with no off flavors.

True. PET bottle, but not a BB.

 

[rowan57]

I now have 5 Gal bubbling away nicely in my new Carboy (using EC-1118) and a further 1 Gal in a 1 Gal Demijohn for topping up etc. It is clearing very nicely, I used 1kg muscavado sugar and the clearing wine is a Rosé colour. A couple of accidental gluts yesterday when siphoning from the ale pails and it tastes good.