Banana Beer

[NegFerret]

I tried the recipe posted by Steve (I think it was Steve) and it was pretty poor, I should point out that I tried it before reading Steve's post...we must've been drawn to same recipe by Google.

Banana Bread Beer definately needs something more than just the esters produced by a Hefe yeast, they're too unstable and the taste changes massively throughout the maturation process.

I'm going to get a simple base recipe and try adding some banana. My guess is to whack it in the oven for 90 mins at a temp that'll kill the nasties.

On a side note, the lady from Matchless told my mate to "chuck in a banana" when he was discussing a lack of body. We often laugh about chucking in a banana but it may be that this anecdote at least shows bananas can be a friend of the beer...

 

[RobWalker]

I've seen banana beer made by freezing bananas in a bag too, I can't remember if they did anything else particular in that, I know they split the additions into half and half, i'll nave to find it tho.

freezing is pretty standard with any fruit, just for the record. it breaks down the cell walls so they will mash/squish/ferment and break down more thoroughly.

 

[EskiBrew]

freezing is pretty standard with any fruit, just for the record. it breaks down the cell walls so they will mash/squish/ferment and break down more thoroughly.

Agreed, that makes perfect sense. The tricky thing is how to sanitise the bananas before adding them. I've had an idea though - ideally what we want to do is raise the temperature to about say 80 degrees C for at least 10 minutes to kill bacteria - we don't want to go much higher than that because it might damage the banana flavour.

You may have heard of the posh restaurant fad of Sous-vide where raw food is sealed in a plastic bag and then cooked by placing in a hot water bath for some time. Perhaps I could use that method? - Don't want to invest in a fancy vacuum packer though so would have to give some thought as to how to seal the bag to prevent water getting in... Any ideas :hmm:

 

[Muddydisco]

Any air thats in the bag will expand and pop the bag. Can't see any easy way of doing it without a vacuum packer. :whistle: Oh which I have I can post you some ready packed banana's :lol: :rofl:

 

[snail59]

:hmm: :hmm: :hmm: :hmm: Wrap the banana in cling wrap :hmm: :hmm: :hmm: :hmm:

 

[EskiBrew]

:hmm: :hmm: :hmm: :hmm: Wrap the banana in cling wrap :hmm: :hmm: :hmm: :hmm:

Hmmm - interesting. I've read on the web about putting food in freezer bags that have the ziplock seal - several people are near hysterical about the possibility of the plasticiser leeching out of the ziplock plastic at high temperatures and contaminating the food. If I was to wrap the banana well in clingfilm before putting in the ziplock then the film would keep the banana away from any leeched ziplock plasticiser and the ziplock bag would keep the water out. This sounds like a solution :hmm:

 

[snail59]

Any air thats in the bag will expand and pop the bag. Can't see any easy way of doing it with a vacuum packer. :whistle: Oh which I have I can post you some ready packed banana's :lol: :rofl:

:hmm: Take a freezer bag (zip lock type) place cling wrapped banana into bag fill bag with hot water and then place bag into a pan of boiling water. The water in the bag is already hot so wont expand and break the seal. In theory I think this should work :hmm: :hmm:

But then you did say you couldn't see an easy way and I don't think this will be easy :lol: :lol:

 

[Cyclops]

i boil salmon in a bag sealed with the vacuum sealer and it dont burst, so cant see a banana being a problem

 

[snail59]

i boil salmon in a bag sealed with the vacuum sealer and it dont burst, so cant see a banana being a problem

I believe that Bob hasn't got a Vac Packer so Nick was worried that the fact air would be in the bag would cause the zip seal to pop open. I may be wrong I often am :lol: :lol:

 

[Muddydisco]

balls typo!! It was without not with!

 

[Cyclops]

ahh, i see now, lol. the air shouldn't make it blow if he sucks as hard as he can 1st then seal, lol

 

[RobWalker]

easy, just add a campden tab and let it sit on it for 24 hours before freezing. i would imagine freezing would kill off most of the bacteria anyway!

 

[Darcey]

Don't the bacteria just become 'dormant' at home freezer temperatures? They are still in the foodstuffs just unable to reproduce? My basic food hygiene exams are just that.. basic.. but I think I remember that reasonably clearly.

 

[EskiBrew]

Don't the bacteria just become 'dormant' at home freezer temperatures? They are still in the foodstuffs just unable to reproduce? My basic food hygiene exams are just that.. basic.. but I think I remember that reasonably clearly.

I was under that impression also :hmm: