# banana wine sucks



## wood1954 (Aug 20, 2013)

After reading many posts on banana wine i decided to try some. I just tasted it after it's been sitting on the fine lees for a month. i started it on 7/6/13. 
here's the recipe. maybe someone can point out what i may have done wrong or else i just have to wait for a year, i thought it might be half way reasonable now so i tasted it just to see where it was headed.
15# bananas with peels
2.5 gal water
1 tsp acid blend
1.5 tsp tannin
1/2 tsp yeast nutrient
1 can welch's frozen white grape concentrate
1 tsp bentonite
7 lbs sugar
3 tsp pectic enzyme
1 tsp amalyze enzyme
23 grams tartaric acid
71b-1122 yeast
I mashed it all up and let everything sit with a dose of SO2 for 24 hours. After 24 hours of fermenting i skimmed off all the solids that floated to the top. after 36 hours i strained the juice. Once it hit SG 1020 i put it under airlock and let it sit until 7/18/13 and then i racked/degassed it under CO2 back and forth four times using the vacuum pump. At that time i added SO2 and 1/2 tsp gelatin. The PH was 3.6 and the SG was .994
It smells like bananas and is crystal clear now but tastes bad. hopefully it's just young. I'm waiting for it to turn into a Chardonnay style wine!! it only cost me $22 to make 3 gallons.


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## jamesngalveston (Aug 20, 2013)

well, you just talked me out of making some...
you could add just a little banana liquer.


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## Rivenin (Aug 20, 2013)

i have some going right now, and supposedly it takes 6ish months to be drinkable but gets better after a year or more


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## wineforfun (Aug 20, 2013)

Are you going to backsweeten it? Maybe it needs a little sugar.


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## andy123 (Aug 20, 2013)

I made one with bananas and peels and it was absolutely awful and a year later it was awful. I eventually dumped it in my garden.


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## robie (Aug 20, 2013)

Can't say for sure, since I have never made a banana wine, but letting it set on the fine lees (a process called surlee) for a month is going to give the wine a yeastie taste. I'm not sure that would be good for a banana wine or if that's what you wanted. If not, you should rack it off and give it some time before you decide its worth.


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## Deezil (Aug 20, 2013)

I believe the secret to a successful Banana wine, is using over-ripe bananas.

I didnt use the peels myself, as at that stage there isn't much left in them (physically, or nutritionally).

At any given time (pre-, during & post-ferment) this wine has both smelled and tasted of bananas, intensely.


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## dralarms (Aug 20, 2013)

1. No peels
2. More bananas
3. NO water ( or very little)
4 if you follow the above, let it age 6 months min. or it is stout.


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## wood1954 (Aug 20, 2013)

no water? Do you just mash them up and add pectic enzyme and yeast?


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## jamesngalveston (Aug 20, 2013)

mashed up bananas with no water...you would need 100 lbs per gallon.
they do not have much juice in them....
i agree with deezil...over ripe would be best. 
banana pie,pudding,foster,bread is always better with over ripe, why not wine./


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## comeauch (Aug 20, 2013)

I currently have one in secondary fermentation (didn't taste it yet, ha!), but most recipes I found involved boiling the bananas for 20-30 minutes and then using the water they boiled in. I guess boiling or not would make quite a difference...


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## sjo (Aug 20, 2013)

I have had a batch in a carboy for over 4 years. Tastes like bananas and never cleared. I try some kind if clearifier every 6 months or so and still it is cloudy. It has turned into more of an experiment as I do not think it will ever taste good by itself. 
I did blend some into a gooseberry wine I made and was pretty good however it clouded up the gooseberry. That said it's time is probably coming to an end very soon. I need the carboy as the vineyard we took over is doing pretty good and I will need all available carboys. Just bottled 6 batches and that is the only one left.
Scott


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## Deezil (Aug 20, 2013)

sjo said:


> I have had a batch in a carboy for over 4 years. Tastes like bananas and never cleared. I try some kind if clearifier every 6 months or so and still it is cloudy. It has turned into more of an experiment as I do not think it will ever taste good by itself.
> I did blend some into a gooseberry wine I made and was pretty good however it clouded up the gooseberry. That said it's time is probably coming to an end very soon. I need the carboy as the vineyard we took over is doing pretty good and I will need all available carboys. Just bottled 6 batches and that is the only one left.
> Scott



Have you tried Amylase?
Bananas are notorious for starch, if not over-ripe
Amylase is about the only thing that'll knock out a starch haze.


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## Downwards (Aug 20, 2013)

Deezil said:


> Have you tried Amylase?
> Bananas are notorious for starch, if not over-ripe
> Amylase is about the only thing that'll knock out a starch haze.



And if it is starch and you want to test it before you buy amylase, just spit in a glass a whole bunch. Spit has amylase in it, first part of your digestion, lol.


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## dralarms (Aug 20, 2013)

Well, I said no water, but looking at my receipe it turns out I used just enough to cover the banana mash. Course there was36 lbs of bananas (weight after peeling) inthge bucket. Didn't have a problem clearing.


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## sjo (Aug 20, 2013)

Deezil said:


> Have you tried Amylase?
> Bananas are notorious for starch, if not over-ripe
> Amylase is about the only thing that'll knock out a starch haze.



Yes I did try Amylase. I did not test for starch but did try Amylase.
Scott


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## BernardSmith (Aug 20, 2013)

I started a gallon of banana wine on June 30 and it cleared completely. Very ripe bananas - 4 lbs, but no peel. Added pectic enzyme and about 24 hours later heated the mashed fruit for 45 minutes with enough water to produce 1 gallon of must with SG of 1.100. Added acid blend to result in a pH of about 3.0. The wine has been at a gravity of .090 since July 14 when I racked it and added K meta. Just tasted it and it has a subtle banana flavor with good mouth-feel but certainly not overpoweringly banana flavored. Even without any back sweetening it is quite drinkable.


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## vernsgal (Aug 21, 2013)

I made mine- 20 lbs bananas sliced, added to water,brought to boil and simmered 30 minutes. Added lemon juice and raisons. when it was done it was perfectly clear. added an f-pak of apple concentrate and also a vanilla bean.It's aged 6 months now and is starting to taste like a chardonnay.I'll give it another 6 months and taste again.I think it'll be a keeper  "Patience and time is everything in wine"


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## midnightsolace (Aug 21, 2013)

Funny timing. We are just about to start a batch of banana wine, ourselves. The recipe I have though does not use banana peels, and like others have also said, it calls for boiling before mashing. This recipe also says it needs to age for at least 6 months to a year.


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## BernardSmith (Aug 21, 2013)

Midnightsolace, I wonder whether boiling as opposed to simply gently heating might create problems with residual pectins and the difficulty others in the forum say they have had with clearing their wine.


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## Stressbaby (Aug 21, 2013)

My batch of Dwarf Namwah banana wine cleared with no trouble, and I boiled them. I used no amylase.
It is very good, but not very banana-ish. I have a gelatin-filtered banana extract in the works to fix that. Stay toon as Joe says.


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## wood1954 (Aug 21, 2013)

thanks for all the input. I think I'll backsweeten a little and let it age. Maybe the Welchs is what is giving it the harshness, oh and i almost forgot, i figured i added too much sugar so i added EC-1118 yeast, i think that may be the problem as well , it's probably 17% alcohol. It's good to have experiments like this.


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## saramc (Aug 21, 2013)

I made a Banana Port, thread somewhere, started on 10/1/12 and it is amazing! Have not even fortified it YET, may just leave as is. I used D47, OG 1.122

Wood...age it before you decide to backsweeten. You get a better final result.


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## midnightsolace (Aug 21, 2013)

BernardSmith said:


> Midnightsolace, I wonder whether boiling as opposed to simply gently heating might create problems with residual pectins and the difficulty others in the forum say they have had with clearing their wine.



I'm not sure, but I'm curious to find out. I just looked at the recipe I have again... Bring to boil and then simmer for 20 minutes. I may look at other recipes and get an average or baseline or something, but the last time I tried that (with the blueberry wine we just started) I found so many different recipes that I just picked one that made the most sense to me and ran with it. I suppose that's the beauty of keeping a wine making log. If it ends up horrific, I won't use it again.


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## wineon4 (Aug 21, 2013)

I make Banana wine at least 3 batches a year and it is always great. I do not use the peels, others I know have made it with the peel and it does not turn out as good.


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## flyrodkid (Aug 24, 2013)

*Banana wine*

I made a 3 gallon batch of banana wine a couple of years ago without the peels. It took 15 lbs of bananas (before peeling) and I added a couple of pounds of white sugar. All of the bananas were put into a fine mesh grain bag to help contain some of the solids and brought the bananas just to boiling before adding to some cold water in the primary. A little pectic enzyme was added to break down the pectins. It cleared beautifully after the second racking and was bottled after a couple of months. At 4 months, it was indistinguishable from a nice chardonnay. You can only tell that it is banana if you are really looking for a banana nose in the aroma. My only complaint was that I needed to rack it 4 times to get it off of all of the solids which tended to be 'fluffy' and easily disturbed.


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## vernsgal (Aug 25, 2013)

I have to say, I made 5 gal. last year, bottled in January. It cleared totally clear. I am so looking forward to taking a taste this Christmas ( I am one who totally agrees with everyone who has said "give it time")


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## jamesngalveston (Aug 25, 2013)

stressbaby, could i get your banana recipe...


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## Stressbaby (Aug 25, 2013)

jamesngalveston said:


> stressbaby, could i get your banana recipe...



Sure James, I used this one, but subbed one can Welch's for the raisins:
http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/f2/banana-wine-recipe-2-a-3629/


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## wood1954 (Aug 30, 2013)

A little humble pie is in order, i racked off the lees, degassed and added the appropriate SO2, potassium sorbate and a little sugar to get to SG 1000 and guess what? It actually tasted pretty good. I think in a year or so it will be quite good. good enough to try another batch without the peels.


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## wood1954 (Oct 9, 2013)

thought i'd add a picture of how clear this turned out.


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## Sammyk (Oct 9, 2013)

*wood1954* Looks great! How does it taste?


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## wood1954 (Oct 11, 2013)

surprisingly good. some banana hint and otherwise you would think it's a nice crisp white grape wine. I'll probably try a bottle around thanksgiving day, otherwise i'll let it sit for a year. Definitely going to make another batch this winter.


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## Sammyk (Oct 11, 2013)

That is great from "banana wine sucks" to surprisingly good! Great job!


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## Noontime (Oct 14, 2013)

I'm happy to see the positive progression as well! I have some banana wine I made a few months ago, and I am not impressed with it. I'm probably not going to try it again for another year.


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## wood1954 (Jul 10, 2014)

*another update*

Had a bottle the other day. it has almost too much body, otherwise it tastes good chilled not much banana taste tho. I think i will make it again someday but will definitely use bananas to add body to other wines.


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## Noontime (Jul 11, 2014)

I have also noticed the heavy body wood1954... mine's almost sticky. I think I'll cut down on the bananas next time (lbs/gal). I used to put bananas in most of my non-grape wines for body and mouth-feel, but we have a friend that's deathly allergic to bananas so we don't anymore...I had no idea bananas were a serious allergen to some people.

We definitely get a huge banana aroma, but the flavor is less "bananay" and more complex with quite a bit of vegital taste.


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