banana flovouring in beer

[Ross]

As Ben pointed out, this beer was either loved or hated. you could smell the bananas across the room as it was being poured. Personally i loved it & it was in a whisker of winning best of show in the State comp (took out the fruit beer class though) - beaten by an outstanding Wit made by a good friend.
I use a small banana addition in a lot of wheat beers these days - I use the WB-06 dried yeast which is a typical German clovey style yeast without the banana esters of the Bavarian style. Addition of 1 or 2 bananas just before flame out, gives it a lovely lift

bananabread bitter is in the fermenter as we speak.

Edit; I hate the banana essence, doesn't smell like real bananas at all to me & has a synthetic taste, though maybe you have a better product in the UK. Generally I freeze the pulp & defrost before adding to primary as ferment finishes. For the BB Bitter, I've tried boiling the fresh bananas & just adding the strained liquid. The boiled bananas have a very different aroma (more like banana cake) so hoping this will go better in the bitter - time will tell.

cheers Ross

[sparky Paul]

Well's Banana Bread is certainly distinctive, just like yours.

It would be great to hear how this works out Ross, keep us updated!

[eskimobob]

Generally I freeze the pulp & defrost before adding to primary as ferment finishes.

Thanks for that. I have a few questions:

1) You have 1tsp of table salt in the recipe - is that for yeast nutrient??
2) How do you pulp the bananas? - I'm thinking of pressing through a sieve.
3) You freeze the pulp - is there a reason for freezing - does it break down better?
4) How do you go about adding the pulp to the primary? - do you stir it in or just leave it on top?

Cheers
Edit - Well done on almost winning the comp with it by the way

[Ross]

Generally I freeze the pulp & defrost before adding to primary as ferment finishes.

Thanks for that. I have a few questions:

1) You have 1tsp of table salt in the recipe - is that for yeast nutrient??
No just seasoning - brings out the flavour of the beer
2) How do you pulp the bananas? - I'm thinking of pressing through a sieve.
I just freeze in a plastic bag - when you defrost them, they basically turn to liquid.
3) You freeze the pulp - is there a reason for freezing - does it break down better?
Yes, as above, the cell structure breaks down & gives easy access to the yeast
4) How do you go about adding the pulp to the primary? - do you stir it in or just leave it on top?
I give any solid lumps a squish inside the bag with my fingers, cut the corner & pour straight into the fermenter. i add as primary ferment subsides. if you prefer, you could always add to secondary, but as there is no colour in the banana, there is no benefit from clearing the brew first (yeast will absorb your fruit colour, so when looking for colour, add to a clear brew). no need to stir, you can almost see the yeast hooking into the bananas like piranhas..

Cheers
Edit - Well done on almost winning the comp with it by the way

Cheers Ross

[eskimobob]

Thanks Ross

Think I am sorted now. I'll be doing 19 litre so more like 3kg of banana to go in - wow that sounds a lot!

Oh, one more point - do you let the bananas ripen to the point where the skins are getting brown spots before freezing - I don't usually like eating them when they are like that as taste overly sweet to me (SWMBO loves them like that though) but presumably the yeasties will like them like that.

[Ross]

your missus has it spot on i reckon - they need to be fully ripe for my tastes.
there again, if you prefer the greener flavour, go for it.
for the bananabread bitter I tried boiling the bananas instead of freezing - i thought they would melt, but they didn't - I ended up with this white pulp & strained the (grey) liquid through a sieve. the smell was definately more "banana cake' like, & time will tell if this has worked or not.

cheers ross

[Ross]

Nice to see you around again Ross

(the double posting problem is our end, we think it might be the host running back ups).

thanks DaaB for clearing that up...& the welcome back. Haven't meant to be a stranger, but the business since the new site went live in November has been nothing short of crazy...

cheers ross

[eskimobob]

since the new site went live in November has been nothing short of crazy...

Great looking site - The UK HB sites could learn a thing or two from it.

Like the look of the peristaltic pump - I've been planning on making one but have so far not had time
The Keg Parka's look great too

[Martin the fish]

Love the site Ross. I'm just over the pond from you so will be giving you a call shortly with lots of Q's and a decent order.

I find it weird that banana's are used in a beer as nothing makes other fruits or veg go off like banana's do. They used to be banned from sea voyages and are generally bad juju to have on a boat even nowadays because of the legacy they left behind.
Taste great though and i love them. We always have banana's in the house. Kept away from the kitchen though...

[edit1now]

There is a UK source for inexpensive peristaltic pumps - I got one for sparging.

pump head

but you'll need one of these as well:

housing

If anyone wants a spare

connection block

they come in packets of 10, so I could share some of the packet I got. The tubing is food-grade!

[eskimobob]

Well I followed the instructions Ross specified and everything seemed to go well however I went to keg it tonight and it's gone bad

The beer was fine before I added the banana pulp so my only guess is that there was something in the banana pulp that caused a problem. I didn't attempt to sanitise the banana pulp in any way - I thought the bananas straight out of their skins would be pretty clean so froze those.

What a shame - doubt I'll try again unless anyone has any suggestions

[Aleman]

add the bananas just as primary ferment is finishing.

Its just plain wrong

[Martin the fish]

Banana's make food go off. Simple plain fact.

Why would you want banana flavour beer anyway? If you want banana flavour have a banana milkshake.

[JohnJeye]

Wells banana bread beer !!

[Aleman]

Banana's make food go off. Simple plain fact.

Technically its the ethene gas given off by bananas that make fruit ripen faster than they would normally do . . . Of course the step between ripe and past its best is a difficult one to judge. Having discovered this many fruit producers now use a quick burst of ethene to ensure that the fruit that gets delivered tot he shops is 'ripe' even if it was under ripe when picked.