Banana Nut Bread Ale

[Mase]

source: homebrewtalk forums, 2008 from Deathbrewer.

I've been trying to come up with a good banana beer and this one caught my eye.

As I have not formulated any of my own recipes, I have no idea how this might turn out. Will it, can it be a good beer? Who knows. But I trust the members of this forum to weigh in on the recipe and provide some feedback/insight whether this is a disaster waiting to happen, or it might just turn out as we hope. Below is the copy/paste excerpt from the homebrewtalk forum where I found this recipe. Let me know your thoughts:....and am I going to need rice hills to avoid a stuck Sparge?

Banana Bread Ale

A ProMash Recipe Report

BJCP Style and Style Guidelines
-------------------------------

15-B German Wheat and Rye Beer, Dunkelweizen

Min OG: 1.044 Max OG: 1.056
Min IBU: 10 Max IBU: 18
Min Clr: 14 Max Clr: 23 Color in SRM, Lovibond

Recipe Specifics
----------------

Batch Size (Gal): 5.50 Wort Size (Gal): 5.50
Total Grain (Lbs): 11.75
Anticipated OG: 1.055 Plato: 13.63
Anticipated SRM: 15.8
Anticipated IBU: 19.0
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70 %
Wort Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Pre-Boil Amounts
----------------

Evaporation Rate: 15.00 Percent Per Hour
Pre-Boil Wort Size: 6.47 Gal
Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.047 SG 11.67 Plato


Grain/Extract/Sugar

% Amount Name Origin Potential SRM
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
51.1 6.00 lbs. Wheat Malt America 1.038 2
34.0 4.00 lbs. Munich Malt Great Britain 1.037 6
8.5 1.00 lbs. Flaked Oats America 1.033 2
2.1 0.25 lbs. Cara-Pils Dextrine Malt 1.033 2
2.1 0.25 lbs. Crystal 55L Great Britian 1.034 55
2.1 0.25 lbs. Chocolate Malt Great Britain 1.034 475

Potential represented as SG per pound per gallon.


Hops

Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.00 oz. Styrian Goldings Pellet 1.90 16.6 60 min.
0.75 oz. Goldings - E.K. Pellet 4.50 2.5 5 min.


Yeast
-----

White Labs WLP300 Hefeweizen Ale


Mash Schedule
-------------

Mash Type: Single Step

Grain Lbs: 11.75
Water Qts: 13.00 - Before Additional Infusions
Water Gal: 3.25 - Before Additional Infusions

Qts Water Per Lbs Grain: 1.11 - Before Additional Infusions

Saccharification Rest Temp : 154 Time: 60
Mash-out Rest Temp : 0 Time: 0
Sparge Temp : 170 Time: 10


Total Mash Volume Gal: 4.19 - Dough-In Infusion Only

All temperature measurements are degrees Fahrenheit.

 

[GFHomebrew]

So it's a Hefe so the yeast are contributing the banana flavours I've not done a Hefe yet but I've not seen one with chocolate malt. An interesting grist none the less it'll be plenty malty plenty cloudy with by the looks of it a great foaming head. The wheat should provide plenty of body and foam stability as will the oats contributing plenty of haze. So up to you f you want to add the dextrin malt.

I'm pretty sure your fermentation temp with this yeast will yield different flavours.

 

[Mase]

Should have no problem keeping the fermentation temps in the range to yield the banana profile I’m looking for. Does anyone see a “stuck” sparge and should I add some rice hulls? Say 1 lb?

 

[Nosybear]

Rice hulls can't hurt, put 'em in! You want the clove flavors too, so do a rest at 110 degrees for about 30 minutes (Ferulic acid rest) to bring out the clove. And why not some real nuts? Get some walnuts, toast them lightly several times and pat the oil off of them, then mash them with the rest. Walnut extract tastes a bit artificial so I wouldn't use it.

 

[Mase]

Rice hulls can't hurt, put 'em in! You want the clove flavors too, so do a rest at 110 degrees for about 30 minutes (Ferulic acid rest) to bring out the clove. And why not some real nuts? Get some walnuts, toast them lightly several times and pat the oil off of them, then mash them with the rest. Walnut extract tastes a bit artificial so I wouldn't use it.

Thanks Nosy.... will try both (110 rest and walnuts)!

 

[Mase]

It’s ifficially on deck for our next brewday. We’re brewing an Amber Ale this Sunday, so we’ll be brewing this recipe in two to 3 weeks (2 weeks if my wife wants to brew in her birthday). As I only batch sparge in a round cooler, I have a hard time stepping mash temps, so As not to miss the mash temp, I’m gonna have to forgive the great suggestion for the 110 (ferulic acid rest), but am definitely intrigued with the walnut addition. Will post photos and observations one we brew it. Thanks guys

 

[thunderwagn]

You can lower your grain/water ratio and increase temps by adding hotter liquid.
This calculator may help: https://www.brewersfriend.com/mash/
Just an thought. You'll make good beer either way

 

[Mase]

You can lower your grain/water ratio and increase temps by adding hotter liquid.
This calculator may help: https://www.brewersfriend.com/mash/
Just an thought. You'll make good beer either way

I use that calculator fo my strike water. I just can never hit the second rest temp. That being said, I base this on when I try a mashout. For example, if I have a single infusion recipe that has a mash rest at 154, then at the end of 60 minutes, I try to raise to 170 for a 10 minute mashout. I’ve went as far as 185 with sparge water and can’t get to even 162-163 even though my mash temp holds for an hour with 1 degree. Could it be that I run a thinner mash 1.50 qts/lb and that maybe a thicker mash would be able to get there easier... I dunno.

 

[thunderwagn]

If you're batch sparging, you'll most likely get all kinds of opinions on sparge temps. Personally, I'm in the camp of not worrying about the sparge water temps much. I do try to keep it under 170ish once mixed which isn't hard. I basically heat my sparge water up while mashing and use it as is. Which is in the 190 range and once added to the grains drops to the mid 160's range. There are plenty who don't heat the water at all. I do it mainly because I have the room, time during mash, and the extra kettle.
I find the priceless water calculator very handy and pretty accurate for my equipment. I'd say more so than the BF calc. It's not just for BIAB as the name may suggest.
https://pricelessbrewing.github.io/BiabCalc/#Advanced

Just thoughts. Admittedly, I don't do step mashes either on my wheats and I pick up all the esters and phenols you'd expect from a good yeast. Maybe mine would be better also if I did

 

[Mase]

Although I try to get as close to 170(f) in a theoretical attempt to keep the mash as ‘thin’ as possible (without exceeding 170(f)) to aid in washing out the flavors and sugars. But yeah, I don’t fret too much if I can only get to 164(f). But It does keep my confidence somewhat low in attaining ‘step’ temperatures beyond the strike water temp where I’m always within a degree or two of the target mash temp. Nosybear suggested (which I like the suggestion), to do a ‘step’ rest at 110(f) to get more of the clove flavors into the beer. However, after thinking on it some, my rationale for not trying it this time is that banana bread doesn’t have a clove flavor (to my recollection), and since I’m struggling with ‘step’ing, I’m gonna have to forgo that... this time anyway. I’m really looking forward to this brew, but some folks in that forum who’ve tried the recipe got some sulphur smell during fermentation. But reading the entire thread, that spans ~2 years, I wasn’t confident that the folks having sulphur notes seemed to be brewing a beer that requires a little more experience than they had (in my opinion, based on context). Keeping my fingers crossed on this one and will keep everyone informed. The recipe is shared for anyone who wants to look at, comment on it, or give a whirl. Cheers!

 

[Mase]

18 hours after pitching Wyeast 3068 and setting the temp at 73 (f) to promote the banana aroma, the yeast ripped through from a 1.063 to 1.020!

As indicated, the yeast can (and has) produced strong sulphur “aromas” that Wyeast says will dissipate.

So far, so good... ready for the banana aroma to replace the sulphur though

 

[Mase]

56 hours after yeast Pitch....activity has ceased! No banana flavor or aroma yet (getting worried). Ripped from 1.063 to 1.009 in that time frame. Attenuation range for this yeast strain is 73-77%. Currently at 85% attenuation. In 22 previous batches, I’ve never seen the yeasties (sorry Jeff ) do so much, so fast. 7.09% ABV. Even if it turns out like $hit, only the first beer will taste bad... after that, I’ll be too drunk to care.

Update: Banana flavor was fairly prominent after my wife tried a sample. Apparently, my taste buds are too critical.

 

[Head First]

56 hours after yeast Pitch....activity has ceased! No banana flavor or aroma yet (getting worried). Ripped from 1.063 to 1.009 in that time frame. Attenuation range for this yeast strain is 73-77%. Currently at 85% attenuation. In 22 previous batches, I’ve never seen the yeasties (sorry Jeff ) do so much, so fast. 7.09% ABV. Even if it turns out like $hit, only the first beer will taste bad... after that, I’ll be too drunk to care.

Update: Banana flavor was fairly prominent after my wife tried a sample. Apparently, my taste buds are too critical.

My brew partner does our tasting too. Her taste and smell is waaayyy better than mine.

 

[okoncentrerad]

My brew partner does our tasting too. Her taste and smell is waaayyy better than mine.

Yeah the ladies usually both tastes and smells better than us guys