So I have spent a few weeks going down the banana-wine rabbit hole. So, the things that I know Older (brown) bananas have more sugar Not all sugar is fermentable Banana skins can help break down more starches into sugars Boiling the skins break's the banana skins' ability to break down starches For anyone who knows the science of this stuff, I have a few questions, if I want to make a decent banana/chocolate wine: How brown is too brown? …

I've recently made a wit and used Wyeast WLP 3944. I didn't have time to make a starter and only had one package of yeast. Beersmith estimated the package to be around 66% viable given the date on the package. I noticed that the yeast took a really long time to get going and the kraüsen lasted for a few weeks. The beer turned out great, but there's a hint of banana on the nose. I've read that under pitching …

I am planning to add bananas to a beer some time soon. There is a lot of good info in "Homebrew All-Stars" (Drew Beechum and Denny Conn) from Joe Formanek about how he uses bananas in the mash. One thing that surprised me was the large quantity required. He says that you need about 10 pounds (weight with skin on) of fruit to get a noticeable banana character in the finished beer. By my rough calculation, that seems to be …

I've been thinking about making a wheat-beer with bananas and a little bit of chocolate malt. My question is can you mash bananas in the mash-tun to convert the sugars/starches and get more banana flavor into the brew? I got the idea from my wife while I was looking at a dark wheat recipe. She was making chocolate covered frozen bananas for our girls and the wheat recipe had a little chocolate malt in it. I thought 'why not accentuate …

I am aware that esters in finished beer are usually caused by high temperatures during fermentation. This fact is not confusing to me and needs no elaboration. What has me confused is this article that another user posted recently in the comments section of this question. The article had he and I very confused.It basically says that an increase in fermentation temperature will actually decrease ethyl acetate production and lower temps actually encourage ethyl acetate production. It even sites a …

The last 2-3 batches I have made have both come out with a fruity banana flavor. They would have made wonderful heifewizen had I intended that way. All were intended to be American ale or pale ales. Both were relatively clear and I clean like crazy so I don't suspect contamination. Could it be a lack of oxygen for the yeast? Any suggestions would be great. I'm relatively new to this and trying to learn as much as I can. …

My first look into this site and a novice at brewing, at the moment I have only tinkered with replacing honey with sugars with the shop bought beer kits in the can, all the experiments have worked really well so far. I've been wondering for a while now if I can add mashed bananas in a muslin bag to the fermenter for a 1 week in the fermenter brew? if so do I need to adjust the sugars to suit? …

The Imperial Stout I recently bottled, smells a little fruity, and has a strong tart taste up front. Is this something I should be patient with, as it may go change? And, how'd it happen?

I've been brewing 6 batches of Ale and I've had problems with sweetness and banana like aroma and taste (esters probably). I think the problem is the fermentation temperature. My fermentation bucket sits in a room with a temperature ranging from 20 to 27 celsius (68-81 fahrenheit). The only brew that tasted "right" was a stout but the roasted barley might have just masked the sweetness. The sweetness is present after few days of fermentation and then gets stronger. I …