Bananas foster Mead

[travisrossen]

First post on here so I thought I would share one of my experimental meads. Started with 5 gallons of a simple traditional mead.

Primary:
15 lbs clover honey
2 packet EC-1118
3 tsp yeast nutrient
Water to 5 gallons
IG:1.101

I'm going to rack 1 gallon onto the following ingredients in the hope of getting something of a "bananas foster" mead.

Secondary:
4lbs of chopped overripe bananas
1/3 cup of maple syrup
2 tablespoons of Sailor Jerry Rum
1/2 oz of pecan extract
1 cinnamon stick
1 split vanilla bean

I will keep everyone informed, and post some pictures of this experiment, in the near future!

 

[Wolfhound180]

I love bananas foster so I will be waiting for the review!

 

[madscientist451]

Its an interesting idea and definitely worth trying. I know people make banana wine but I've never tried it. Fermented banana and maple syrup aren't going to have the same flavor as before fermenting. The other issue you may have is the cinnamon stick and vanilla bean may give you more or less flavor that you want.
So if you want to emulate the flavor of bananas foster, you may want to experiment with banana flavoring and make separate vodka tinctures with a cinnamon stick and vanilla bean.
The process would be something like this:
-Let the base mead age and make any adjustments to it, then stabilize the mead so fermentation doesn't re-start when you add the maple syrup.
-Put vanilla bean and cinnamon stick in separate jars with medium quality vodka for a couple of weeks.
-Perform blending trials with measured amounts of the base mead and measured amounts of your flavor ingredients. With 6 different flavor components it may take a while to get it all dialed in to what you want.
I've never even had bananas foster but your idea sounds like something I'd like to try myself someday.

 

[travisrossen]

I went out to sea for a few weeks on short notice(In the Navy) and came back to this. Looking sort of like a lava lamp from hell. Haha

 

[Brett_Bellmore]

I've got 4 gallons of banana bochet in my closet now;
12lbs bananas, ripened, frozen, thawed and peeled
1/2 cup molasses
7 lbs cheap honey, caramelized
5 teaspoons yeast nutrient
4 campden tablets
Water to make 4 gallons.
After it had stopped fermenting vigorously, I racked what I could into a 3 gallon carboy, and the remainder into a 1 gallon jug. The 1 gallon ended up with a lot of debris. It's still going, a fairly slow ferment. When it's completely stopped I plan to rack them both into a new carboy, and then add some spices and orange zest to taste. But I understand banana wine takes a long aging, so I don't plan on bottling until next winter.

My aim here is something that tastes like bananas Foster, I figured a bochet was the way to go.


It smelled good when I racked it, anyway.

 

[travisrossen]

Bochets are amazing and that sounds great. I've only made one bochet and I was definitely one of my favorites! Attached a pic of my finished bochet.

 

[Brett_Bellmore]

Looks nice. I do kind of like the color and smell, I might try making one without bananas, the next time I have a fermenter free.

How was the residual sweetness after the ferment was done? Does it reach dry, or is some of the honey unfermentable due to being caramelized?

 

[loveofrose]

I’ve made something like this here: https://denardbrewing.com/blog/post/brays-banana/

It’s basically banana purée with no water. It’s amazingly good! Just a heads up: bananas fermented dry are more tart than limes. It takes a lot of residual sweetness to balance it. Good luck on your batch!

 

[travisrossen]

Looks nice. I do kind of like the color and smell, I might try making one without bananas, the next time I have a fermenter free.

How was the residual sweetness after the ferment was done? Does it reach dry, or is some of the honey unfermentable due to being caramelized?

The sweetness was definitely there in that caramel finish it had. But in no way was it overpowering. And I think my final ABV was like 12.3%?

 

[brianwattsturkeycalls]

I’ve made something like this here: https://denardbrewing.com/blog/post/brays-banana/

It’s basically banana purée with no water. It’s amazingly good! Just a heads up: bananas fermented dry are more tart than limes. It takes a lot of residual sweetness to balance it. Good luck on your batch!

could I use D47 or 71B yeast?

 

[loveofrose]

could I use D47 or 71B yeast?

D47 would work with temperature control. 71B would fight the flavor profile.

 

[5mooth0perator]

I would try baked plantains. I buy plantains at the market then bake them pretty much whole, until the peel splits and they slide out. When baked just right they taste almost like bananas foster without adding rum or ice cream. If not over cooked they get sort of an alcohol effervescence and a caramelized sugar flavor.

Though I haven't tried storing them, I feel like it might help stabilize the bananas that will likely continue to ripen. And also, cook some of the starches.​

 

[travisrossen]

Bottled it today. Came out to be about 12.7%. Next time I would def add the flavoring and rum at the end as opposed to at the start. Also I know I put the recipe as 4lbs of banana but I wasnt able to get anywhere near that in the fermenter. I only got about 5 bananas in it. So next time definitely needs more banana. Overall though, I'm happy!

 

[Brett_Bellmore]

Well, I racked it again, and tasted a little. Bleah, still smells OK, but the taste kind of reminds me of piss, only without the ammonia. Definitely sour.

I guess I've got the closet space to leave it in for a year, I was warned that fermented banana needs to age a LONG time to be drinkable.

Well, not every experiment can be a success.

 

[Brett_Bellmore]

I wanted to free up my bucket fermenter for some melon mead, so I racked the banana bochet into 4 gallon jugs I had lying around. Tasted a little, sweetened it, and ran it past the wife, too.

Still not ideal, but considerably better than it was in May. I now believe it might be pretty good by December.

 

[Ty520]

Bottled it today. Came out to be about 12.7%. Next time I would def add the flavoring and rum at the end as opposed to at the start. Also I know I put the recipe as 4lbs of banana but I wasnt able to get anywhere near that in the fermenter. I only got about 5 bananas in it. So next time definitely needs more banana. Overall though, I'm happy!

do you think the hit of maple in secondary was necessary to get it to an acceptable sweetness? did it restart fermentation?

 

[Ty520]

D47 would work with temperature control. 71B would fight the flavor profile.

what would you think about using a Weizen yeast in a banana mead? seems like the clove and esther properties it instills in a hef would compliment a banana based mead well, assuming it doesn't act differently in a mead?

do you think backsweetening is necessary? i've read from people who do banana wines that they are quite sweet once they mellow...although it takes longer to do so, relative to other wines