Banana hefeweizen #2

i made a hefeweizen last year and mixed bananas into the grain. it turned out pretty good so i want to make another batch. i live in bavaria germany now so just any normal hefeweizen just won’t do. i want to use bananas again but this time i want to add some kind of spice to the mix. i was wondering if anybody had any ideas of what would go good in this and also wondering whether i should add it to the mash, during the boil or after the boil. i would also need to know how much to add for a 9lb-5gal batch.

Dude, turn your caps lock off. It’s difficult to read all caps. Well, for me anyway. I thought about this, and maybe some cinnamon & nutmeg at the end of the boil. Try 1/2 tsp each. Just my 2 cents

I don’t know about which spice but please tell more about the bananas. How much did you put in an how does it work going in the mash?

Thanks

I have to say, this is a strange way to get the banana flavor in a Hefe. Just by using the right strain of yeast at the right fermentation temperature you get banana flavor. But for adding spices, cinnamon and nutmeg probably would go well.

Bananas are sometimes used in country wines (non-grape wines) to add body without adding significant flavor. The process is the slice up bananas thinly and simmer them over low heat for a while, then add the strained liquid to the pre-fermented must. I’d guess you could do the same thing with beer, or just adding them to the mash would do the same thing, though I’d suspect it will cause problems with the sparge.

+1
The banana and clove should be easy enough with the right yeast and temp.

i only put 3 or 4 bananas in last time. like everybody is saying, hefe does have the banana flavor already but i think that actually adding them did help out a little. i think this time i will try the simmering of the banana slices.

by the way, adding the bananas to the mash didn’t cause any problems. bananas have starches in them and i hand mixed them in realy well.

cinnamon and nutmeg sounds right to me too. ganna try this soon!

Let us know how it turns out. I’ve been thinking about making a banana chocolate stout, maybe calling it a banana split stout. I’ve used fruit in my beers and mead before, but most of the time I wuss out and just use extract. I’m interested in mashing up bananas and maybe putting them in secondary with some cocoa nibs.