Bananas Foster Creamy Ale (All Grain) **pic intensive**

[ArkotRamathorn]

the OP recipe shows two split vanilla beans at 20 minutes. But others are saying secondary. Which is best?

After trying a stout with 4 beans in secondary for 4 weeks next time I do a vanilla beer I'm going with both. 2 beans (probably actually gonna do more like 10 instead of 20 minutes) then 2 beans in secondary. The vanilla aroma might just be playing second fiddle in my stout but, I would've expected more considering 4 beans for 4 weeks.

 

[BrewmeisterSmith]

a buddy of mine just made this and only put 1 bean in the keg when racking it. I didnt notice much vanilla, but more banana than anything. It was good though.

 

[Konichiwhat]

This beer looks beautiful!! Unfortunately I'm kind of a nube. Can you explain the mash/sparge process?

 

[Hello]

This beer looks beautiful!! Unfortunately I'm kind of a nube. Can you explain the mash/sparge process?

Well, this is a 2-year old thread. In truth, I think if you want to learn about mashing/sparging then your best bet is to start reading this:
http://www.howtobrew.com/intro.html

This is version 1, it is free. I think version 3 is the newest and it offers more up to date info, but the free version will do. Supporting the cause and all, buying the book isn't the worst thing you could do.

Good luck.

 

[Ike]

First batch is cooling as we speak. A question for past-brewers:

Is the vanilla bean (which I'm planning on using in both the boil and secondary, as some have suggested here) evident in the taste of the finished product? Or does it get lost in all the other flavors and end up being a mouthfeel addition only?

Thanks;

Ike

 

[LLBeanJ]

I can taste the vanilla. I never added it to the boil, though. I always added two beans to an ounce or so of the rum and let it soak for 3-4 weeks.

 

[Ike]

Racked onto the bananas/rum/vanilla mix today.

I tasted a bit of the banana/rum mix. It tasted like a banana daiquiri that a viking would drink from the skull of his vanquished enemy, if vikings ever drank . Pure awesomeness. The base ale tastes good enough, no weird off flavors or anything. SO, all in all, a good day.

One concern though: I went with US-05 for the yeast, my final gravity was only down to 1.02. That comes out to about 71% attenuation, which seems a bit on the low side for what I expected (reading on HBT that I should expect closer to 75%). BUT even with that I'm already 6.7% ABV, 7.7% after the rum (only did a 2.5 gallon batch but used the full 8oz of Kraken, because it tastes like heaven). SO, I guess if I'm gonna have a batch that ends up a little on the sweet side, this is one where I won't mind so much?

 

[MindenMan]

After sufficient bottle conditioning, the overt sweetness will fade away and smooth out any roughness that may be left over from it currently being young.

 

[Ike]

Bottled my batch today. Things I noted:

1.) No issues with the rum stunting secondary fermentation. It kicked right back off in secondary, so much so that I ended up placing a blow-off, though it never made it to the tube. In the beginning, the banana mash floated on the top, and sort of held the CO2 down, rising with the bubbles instead of letting it pass. I would shake the carboy to get the whole thing to settle as needed.

2.) TRUB LOSSES ARE HUGE on this one. I had over 2.5 gallons in secondary, and barely got 13 16oz bottles out of it (so about 1.6 gallons). The banana settles to the bottom as it ferments, but never really compacts like a yeast cake will. I ended up using the "hop bag over the racking cane" trick to keep from sucking banana into the bottling bucket. But even with pushing for every drop, that's all I got. If you think you're going to like this one, go for a full batch. If you really want to just do a partial, make sure you account for the loss.

3.) FG was 1.015 @ 67F, so no complaints there. I know this tells me absolutely nothing about actual alcohol content. The warm feeling in my belly from the SG sample is telling me something, though... I'm guessing we're close to 9% after the banana addition.

4.) TASTE: speaking of the SG sample... at 67 degrees and uncarbonated, it is interesting. The nose is 100% bananas, the taste has a banana finish but is a bit strong on the rum. I'm going to do what folks say and let it age and carb until Turkey Day then see how it's doing.


<-- perfect emoticon for this thread


Ike

 

[Ike]

What kind are people seeing this recipe needs to bottle carb?

I had a great primary and secondary fermentation, but since bottling 10 days ago, almost no carbonation. It tastes great otherwise.

Thanks!

 

[sweetcell]

What kind are people seeing this recipe needs to bottle carb?

i'm going to guess that this was posted after a long day of drinking...

 

[Ike]

i'm going to guess that this was posted after a long day of drinking...

Actually only one beer. SO, to reiterate:

What kind of TIME are people seeing this recipe needs to bottle carbonate?

OR, how long in the bottle before you saw bubbles?

 

[corycorycory09]

For anyone who has made this,

Did you use 5 'peeled' pounds of bananas, or 5 'unpeeled' pounds of bananas?

 

[LLBeanJ]

I used 5 lbs of peeled naners. I seem to recall that requiring about 7+ lbs unpeeled.

 

[jrbeery]

this is the second beer i've tried to make.

unfortunately i forgot the 2 cups of brown sugar during the boil.

should i add some portion of this to the secondary along with the 8oz rum and bananas?

 

[LLBeanJ]

Yes, you can boil the brown sugar in a little water, cool, and add to secondary along with the bananas.

 

[corycorycory09]

Ok, so I did 1 week primary and 3 weeks secondary. After 3 days in the keg it seems carbed up, BUT...

Honestly it is pretty gross at this point. Pretty sweet, and not much banana flavor.

Does it get better with age?

 

[Nickbtag]

Ok, so I did 1 week primary and 3 weeks secondary. After 3 days in the keg it seems carbed up, BUT...

Honestly it is pretty gross at this point. Pretty sweet, and not much banana flavor.

Does it get better with age?

From what others say, it sounds like it definitely gets better with age. The banana flavors become more evident and any residual sweetness and sharpness from the rum tend to balance out. Give it some time.

 

[Nickbtag]

Just found this thread a few days ago after searching for banana beer recipe ideas. My brother-in-law gave me the idea after asking what I thought about a beer made with vanilla and beer and viola! Up pops this awesome thread! He is also a big fan of rum so this is right up his alley. My wife and I are planning to brew this up early next week as a surprise for him. Really excited for this!

I know this is an older thread but I had a quick question. It sounds like this does better with some age. I was leaning toward bottling this but has anyone proffered this kegged? Any feelings toward kegging? Thanks all for the great thread!

 

[LLBeanJ]

I've brewed this recipe twice and kegged it both times. It's an interesting beer and I've found that most folks like it, but some don't. Due to the bananas, it does produce a lot of trub, though, so if you want a full keg, I'd suggest doing a 7 gal batch to end up with 5 gal @ packaging. Also, just to note, I didn't find that much aging was needed, but I did dial back the OG to 1.065-1.070 both times I brewed it. I didn't see much need for this to be 8%+ brew, especially since I knew it would be kegged and we'd be pulling drafts left and right. If I were doing a small batch and bottling in bombers, I'd go bigger. Of course, that was just my own logic, you can do whatever floats your boat. I think I'll add this one to my brew schedule for late summer, as it's been a few years while since I last brewed it.

 

[Nickbtag]

Very good to know. Thanks for all the helpful info. I'll let you know how it goes. I feel like this will be a good one to start off spring and I'll be brewing it up early next week.

 

[Schlenkerla]

Was reading about banana beers, found this read.... wow lots to read... still on page 15.

I brewed a banana beer very much like this earlier this week with a fat tire beer base, pale malt, crystal 60L and biscuit malt, 5.3 lbs of banana and 2 cans of Oregon Tart Cherries. 1.075 OG.

Dubbed it Donkey Kong.

I made an extract banana beer 8 years back it was a pre-hopped amber LME extract, 30 IBU with 5lbs banana. I never had carbonation or foam retention issues. I primed with Muntons Kreamy-X, 2 oz of Lactose and added 2-3 oz of Mexican extract at bottling.

I still have to figure how I'm gonna package this one. I think I will keg, then bottle. Jury is out on vanilla addition.

 

[Schlenkerla]

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned before as I didn't read all 17 pages, but has anyone tried zesting the banana peel to get the banana flavor? I don't know if this works the same as orange peel zest does but thought it might be worth a try. And should take up a lot less space in the fermenters.

I know this been awhile, anybody interested in doing this, adding peel, banana meat, or both to the boil is key.

I read "Extreme Brewing" by Sam Calagione. Owner Dogfishhead.

He said to get fruit flavor into the beer it has to be boiled. It's just like hops. His recommendation is the last 10 minutes to breakdown the fruit fibers too. If you puree the fruit then, do 20 minutes post boil steep.

In my latest beer I did both.

For the hell of it grab a banana. Peel and eat it. Save the peel for about 8-10oz boil in water for 10 minutes. If you want add teaspoon of cinnamon. Then drink/taste the tea.

Supposedly this is a good sleep aide due to the tryptophan in the peel. The peel also has more potassium than the meat. Save for hangover concoction. It's supposed to boost your depleted potassium.

Anyhow only made it to page 16... Working on the rest.

 

[TheHairyHop]

the peel really doesn't have flavor in it

 

[Schlenkerla]

the peel really doesn't have flavor in it

That's not correct. Raw it's like eating pith on an orange, lemon or lime. Boiled it's different.

I know for a fact. I made banana peel tea. Boiled, the liquid tastes like banana. I never ate the peel though.

I just wanted to know how the water would be effected....or wort.



FYI.....

http://www.eatclean.com/recipes-how-to/banana-skin-recipes

http://www.davidwolfe.com/banana-cinnamon-tea-deep-sleep/

http://metro.co.uk/2015/09/30/this-is-why-you-should-be-eating-your-banana-peel-5414205/

http://www.doctoroz.com/recipe/banana-tea

http://m.wikihow.com/Make-Banana-Peel-Tea

 

[Schlenkerla]

I will say that the ripeness changes how it discolored in the boil. The greener turns green the riper peel turns black.

Riper is sweeter. The ones I did were green. Once cooked its not bitter, but not sweet either.

It's like using whole hops. The hop cone or banana peel is not going to be in the beer once it goes to a keg or bottle.

 

[Blackhawkmech06]

Subscribed!

 

[thawk86]

I've got my mash going right now. I'm entering it into the Peterson AFB Annual Homebrew Competition in Feb. I'll keep you all posted starting from brew day to the awards ceremony. Wish me Luck!

 

[LLBeanJ]

Good luck!

 

[Cavpilot2000]

Resurrecting this zombie - I think I'm going to brew it this week fo r****s & giggles. If it turns out well, my GF should love it!
And I agree with a recent poster, that I will keep this at or below 1.070. Bigger is not always better.