Help needed!

[avic-bourne]

Basically I've been experimenting with making banana beer and I've made a bit of a mistake which I'm looking for some ideas to rectify!

The situation is the first batch I made I added the banana in the initial stage in the brewing bin. It turned out that the flavour of banana took a punishing from the aggression of the fermentation.

The second (current) batch I decided to add the banana to the secondary (in an attempt to retain more of the flavour) by syphoning the beer into a new fermenting bin minus the sediment but adding the frozen then blended banana. This was then mixed to release flavour. That was yesterday. Today it started a smaller fermentation but after trying it I've realised I've made a mistake. The brew is to sweet. I did add further sugar because I wanted it a bit sweeter but also I suppose the sugar from the bananas wasn't broken down as thoroughly as the first batch.

So is there a way I can reduce the sugar content like you would add a potato to a over sweetened soup? I know the fermentation its got left will help but not sure it will reduce the sweetness to the desired amount.

Any suggestions are welcome!!

 

[Vuarra]

Really, that depends on a few things, such as how overly-sweet your brew is, and how long you plan on keeping it in secondary (that's what you did when you "syphon[ed] the beer into a new fementing bin").

I'd keep it in secondary for at least a month. Sample it again after 30 days will help you see what the final option is. It will also help you avoid bottle bombs.

 

[Captain Damage]

The sugar you added and the sugar from the bananas will ferment out. Unless you deliberately added something non-fermentable like lactose, it will all ferment out. Fruit sugars, like those in bananas, are all simple sugars, as is the table sugar or corn sugar you added. They will ferment completely dry with brewing yeast. As Vuarra said, it will take time. Think of it like this: you've made your wort into beer, now you have to make your bananas into wine - that's literally what you do when you rack your beer onto the fruit.

If after it's all fermented you feel you want to add some sweetness, use lactose. Mix a half pound with just-boiled water and add 1/4 to 1/3 of that solution to your bottling bucket when you siphon your beer in. Do not add your priming sugar yet! Stir it gently, but thoroughly and taste. After you've got it sweetened to taste, then add your priming sugar.