My first Banana Wine-Help please.

[WorkingWithBurt]

So I'm going to make my first Banana Wine tomorrow and I'm really excited about it...

However, what's up the raisins? Why add the raisin and according to the recipe...it seems the raisins are not added until the 2nd month?

I plan on boiling my bananas without the skins...I don't want any chemicals in there so I'm guessing that will be OK since some recipes are without the skin.

I also want to try and make this without ANY chemicals...so my only ingredients will be:

Bananas
Sugar
cup of tea for Tannin
Water
Yeast
Raisins (don't know why)

Also the recipes says...to stir daily for 7 days...
what is the purpose for stirring it? I thought I was NOT suppose
to let it get much air? So do I stir it gently or aggressively to aerate it?

I would love some feedback and guidance so I don't mess up...
forgive me for the questions...but I'm new, I'm new and I don't know what to do! Lol

Thanks
Burt

 

[gratus fermentatio]

At the beginning of fermentation yeast actually require oxygen, hence the stirring. Also, most fruit tends to float in the beginning, so to avoid any mold growth on exposed fruit, you need to "punch the cap." Which means to push the fruit down into the must & stir it up a bit. The raisins do a couple of things. I use them to add body & a bit of fermentable sugar to a wine must, which is a common thing when making non-grape wines. They also add a wee bit of nutrient for the yeast.

You'll likely need more nutrient for the yeast though. I'd add yeast nutrient/energizer and DAP (diammonium phosphate) to the must, but if you're set on staying chemical free, you could just boil some bread yeast (to kill it) and when it cools, add it to the must. The wine yeast will eat the dead yeast. I'd go with about 1/2 a teaspoon per gallon of must volume. Not sure why you would wait to add the raisins, I'd run those raisins through a food processor & chop them up so the yeast can get at them better. I don't see any reason why you'd wait 2 months to add the raisins. I'd add them at the beginning.
Regards, GF.

 

[WorkingWithBurt]

Thanks GF for that DETAILED reply...really what I needed.

I don't know why I would wait 2 months either...other than the recipes said it???

Thanks for the alternative to DAP...I really want to keep it completely chemical free...

I have all my stuff sterilized and ready to start this morning.

Enjoy this awesome day!
Burt

 

[TexasWine]

Quick Q. Is your sanitation process chemical free? If so, how are you sanitizing everything (bucket, carboy, hoses, siphon, etc)? I'm especially curious about the large items that you can't steam or items you can't put in the oven because of size or material of construction.

 

[WorkingWithBurt]

Quick Q. Is your sanitation process chemical free? If so, how are you sanitizing everything (bucket, carboy, hoses, siphon, etc)? I'm especially curious about the large items that you can't steam or items you can't put in the oven because of size or material of construction.

I'm sanitizing everything with a bleach and water solution...then I rinse everything with WATER....to get all the chemicals off...

I'd use something else if I could...however, since I'm in Costa Rica..
Bleach was the only thing I could find.

Anything to big to soak...I clean the best I can and then spray the bleach/water mixture and rinse before using.

THanks,
Burt

 

[gratus fermentatio]

I'm sanitizing everything with a bleach and water solution...then I rinse everything with WATER....to get all the chemicals off...

I'd use something else if I could...however, since I'm in Costa Rica..
Bleach was the only thing I could find.

Anything to big to soak...I clean the best I can and then spray the bleach/water mixture and rinse before using.

THanks,
Burt

When you rinse with water, you're risking recontamination of your equipment. You could still use water to rinse, but it should be boiled & cooled first. Most of us use a no rinse sanitizer, like Starsan. You could also use sulfites to sanitize.
Regards, GF.

 

[WorkingWithBurt]

Thanks G.F.

I'll look into getting some of that.

 

[WorkingWithBurt]

It's been about 1 1/2 months since I poured my Banana Wine from the Primary container to the Secondary Container.

It's been sitting since 7/7/14 and now has a Gravity of 0.990

Surprisingly...it's already a beautiful golden color and you can smell just a hint of banana. It smells great! The wine itself..of course taste very strong like taking a shot of moonshine. However, I'm sure in time it will smooth out.

I was surprised at how much dead yeast was at the bottom of my secondary containers. LOTS more than I thought I might have.

I started out with 12 gallons and I threw out 3 gallons of YUCK.

However the 9 or 10 gallons that I've racked LOOKS GREAT!

QUESTION #1...When I rack into the Third container...if my wine does not come within a couple inches from the top of my carboy...should I top it off by adding bottled water??? What do YOU do? Is it OK to leave several inches of air space???

QUESTION #2: When should I bottle this wine? Should I rack it one more time and if so...WHEN? and then when or how do I know when to bottle the wine?

Thanks,
Burt

So I'm going to make my first Banana Wine tomorrow and I'm really excited about it...

However, what's up the raisins? Why add the raisin and according to the recipe...it seems the raisins are not added until the 2nd month?

I plan on boiling my bananas without the skins...I don't want any chemicals in there so I'm guessing that will be OK since some recipes are without the skin.

I also want to try and make this without ANY chemicals...so my only ingredients will be:

Bananas
Sugar
cup of tea for Tannin
Water
Yeast
Raisins (don't know why)

Also the recipes says...to stir daily for 7 days...
what is the purpose for stirring it? I thought I was NOT suppose
to let it get much air? So do I stir it gently or aggressively to aerate it?

I would love some feedback and guidance so I don't mess up...
forgive me for the questions...but I'm new, I'm new and I don't know what to do! Lol

Thanks
Burt

 

[jtratcliff]

Look into buffering your bleach solution with vinegar. Better than just straight bleach and water according to the maker of star san.

I'm not a wine maker, so take this info with a big grain of salt...
I believe I've read here that you should rack off the lees until you're satisfied with the clarity and not much more yeast is dropping out. You're probably at FG so now you're just clarifying.

I believe I've also read that you should top up with water or other compatible wine to minimize head space and contact with air.

 

[WorkingWithBurt]

Thanks jtratcliff,

I've heard about some people topping off with water...but HOW MUCH is TOO much water and how does that affect the taste or the wine???

And what is FG??? I'm new at this...

Thanks for the advice..

Burt

Look into buffering your bleach solution with vinegar. Better than just straight bleach and water according to the maker of star san.

I'm not a wine maker, so take this info with a big grain of salt...
I believe I've read here that you should rack off the lees until you're satisfied with the clarity and not much more yeast is dropping out. You're probably at FG so now you're just clarifying.

I believe I've also read that you should top up with water or other compatible wine to minimize head space and contact with air.

 

[jtratcliff]

If it's not too much water then it shouldn't be a big deal. Although using a similar wine is better. Some folks even make an extra gallon or so when doing the initial recipe to use for topping off.

If it's a lot of top off needed like a half gallon or something, then water will definitely be an issue, I would think. A better choice would be to rack to a smaller container, or sanitize some glass marbles and drop them in your carboy to take up space.

FG is final gravity.

 

[scumbuster]

So I'm going to make my first Banana Wine tomorrow and I'm really excited about it...

However, what's up the raisins? Why add the raisin and according to the recipe...it seems the raisins are not added until the 2nd month?

I plan on boiling my bananas without the skins...I don't want any chemicals in there so I'm guessing that will be OK since some recipes are without the skin.

I also want to try and make this without ANY chemicals...so my only ingredients will be:

Bananas
Sugar
cup of tea for Tannin
Water
Yeast
Raisins (don't know why)

Also the recipes says...to stir daily for 7 days...
what is the purpose for stirring it? I thought I was NOT suppose
to let it get much air? So do I stir it gently or aggressively to aerate it?

I would love some feedback and guidance so I don't mess up...
forgive me for the questions...but I'm new, I'm new and I don't know what to do! Lol

Thanks
Burt

Burt. I had a couple questions. one, how has the banana wine turned out.
Could you post the recipe you used with quantities. I think I may try a batch.
Are you doing the wine chemical free because you cant get the chemicals in Costa Rica?
I am an expat living just outside Bogota Colombia and its imposable to get the wine making stuff here. I have to get from the states. Can you get any stuff there?
PS. Have you tried mango wine? I love what I made here.

Doug

 

[bernardsmith]

Home brewers might use bleach to sanitize but they don't use corks to cap their brews. I would be very cautious if your corks are made of cork and are not synthetic. Bleach and cork is not a good combination as the bleach even in tiny quantities reacts with the cork in ways that can make your wine undrinkable. If this has not happened then you are lucky, but the probability of TCA contamination is very high.
I have made one batch of banana wine (about 4 lbs (2 k ) per gallon and I think it quite drinkable. Not sure that the sediment is made up of yeast as much as it it made of particles of fruit. Banana wine has a a rich mouthfeel perhaps because of the carbohydrates that remain suspended in the wine (and yet the wine I made is as clear as a bell).