There is nothing like taking a sip of a nice cold traditional Hefeweizen. The soft sip and banana flavor envelopes the palette. It’s really amazing how the flavor makes you wonder if they’ve actually added banana to the beer!
There are various ways to add banana flavor to beer with the most famous being through yeast. Hefeweizens are renowned for their banana flavor and it traditionally comes from yeast. Alternatively, you can add actual banana to the beer to make a literal banana beer.
Making a banana beer can be complicated and with all the different ways of achieving a banana flavor it can be hard to decide which is best.
Below I discuss the various ways of achieving the ultimate banana profile and the benefits and weaknesses of each method.
Banana Flavor From Yeast
Hefeweizen is famous for its banana and clove flavor. But the actual banana flavor does not come from bananas.
Instead it comes from the compound isoamyl acetate. This compound is produced through the yeast eating the sugars or glucose in the wort.
Traditional Banana Beer Strengths
You can add a banana flavor to just about any style of beer. However Hefeweizen is well known for it simply because the yeast has been used to create this style for so many years.
Some of the strengths of creating a Hefeweizen banana beer with yeast is the banana flavor is balanced. Since the flavor is created through the sugars it will meld with the overall profile of the beer.
When creating a Hefewiezen it works really well since the style utilizes wheat. The wheat creates a creamier experience that likens it to the softness of the bananas.
The wheat also helps with head retention, this helps to keep the aroma intact as you drink through the entire glass.
Other Banana Beer Styles With Yeast
Some stouts also try to replicate the banana flavor through using the yeast. The trouble with this is the roasted stout flavor tends to overpower the esters of the yeast.
Banana flavor is typically very mellow so its a bit difficult to add to stronger beer styles. One method of overcoming this hurdle would be to ferment at a higher temperature to coax out more of the banana flavor.
This comes with some risks however, its important to review how your yeast reacts under specific temperatures. Higher temperatures could create a fusel taste.
Your best bet is to use yeasts that are heavy on the banana flavor overall such as:
- WLP300 (Contains the strongest banana flavor).
- WLP320 (Weaker banana flavor and ferments at lower temperatures).
The temperatures these ferment at are different so be aware.
WLP 300 ferments at a temperature at the high end of 72F. You can likely push this to 76F without any ill effects and possibly extract more banana flavor.
Problems with Yeast Induced Banana Flavor
Depending on how clear you want your beer to be yeast could be a good or bad choice to infuse banana flavor.
The biggest issue with yeast is they are low flocculators. Overall this creates a hazier beer with a lot of sediment floating around.
Hefeweizen does not hide the fact that its usually unfiltered and has a thicker haze from the use of wheat that contains heavier proteins.
Another issue is the yeast also comes with notes of clove that you may not like. This creates problems with clove alongside the banana flavor.
But there might be a way to create a delicious banana forward beer with less haze from yeast absent of clove.
And its adding actual bananas!
Banana Flavor From Bananas
Banana beer actually made from bananas is extremely rare. At least that is the case in the United States.
Where it is common though, is in small African breweries. However, its more of an unfiltered and harsh beer rather than a delicious well crafted brew.
Typically alcohol is made from whatever fruit is most abundant and bananas are very abundant in east African regions, this is why it is used to make beer.
However, even though they call it beer, it doesn’t utilize barley.
So can it even be called beer?
The closest I’ve seen is the use of sorghum, but this is what is used to make Baiju in China, so in essence African banana beer is more of a wine or liquor than a beer.
It is possible to create a banana beer, utilizing barley, with traditional fruit additions.
Bananas in Secondary Fermentation
Fruit is typically best added during secondary in order to retain the flavor and aroma best.
Bananas are a bit more difficult than some traditional fruits that you would add to a beer. Since it is really subtle you will need a lot of it. This makes it tough to keep the beer clear.
Probably the best way to utilize bananas is to use a brew bag. However, since you will likely need 5 pounds of bananas it can be tough to fit a bag into a carboy.
Preparing Bananas for Secondary Fermentation
In order to prepare the bananas for secondary fermentation you will need to make sure they are sterile.
Typically bananas that are sourced from outside the United States are sterilized upon entry to the USA. So bananas sourced from other countries are typically safe to drop in.
Fruit in secondary is notoriously prone to infection, so institute every measure in your arsenal.
To best prepare bananas you will need to to ripen them a bit and then freeze them. Once frozen wait a few days before taking them out to thaw.
Once thawed an interesting trick I learned from this amazing thread is to blend it with dark rum. This should kill any leftover contaminates.
The thread I linked to in the last paragraph also has a great recipe for creating a true banana beer.
Yeast in Actual Banana Beer
Since you don’t want to muddle up the true banana flavor you will want to use a clean yeast.
Some examples of clean yeasts you could use for brewing a banana beer are:
If you decide to make a darker ale with banana finish you could utilize a stout yeast. Just make sure the yeast doesn’t support the maltiness of the beer.
Banana in the Mash
Another method of adding banana to a beer would be to mash it. In order to do this you will need to first be an all-grain brewer but otherwise its fairly straightforward.
Check out this article if you are an extract brewer and want to go all-grain.
Just like you would with pumpkin beer you will probably want to roast, or cook the bananas before adding to the mash. This will help extract the cooked caramel flavor.
Adding bananas to the mash is also a great way to extract the starches and not waste that part of the banana profile. It will also add a ton of sugars that should increase final gravity.
Banana Flavor From Extract
One of the last ways to add banana flavor to beer is considered by a lot of brewers as a cop out. You can utilize banana flavored extract.
Banana extract is probably the easiest way to infuse banana flavor into your beer since typically a couple drops should do the trick.
Be careful when using extract though since you could quickly overwhelm the beer with banana flavor.
When using extract you will get a banana flavor but it is not truly the same.
Extract does not have the true compound responsible but rather a concoction of different compounds that simulate the flavor.
If you are curious what is inside banana flavored extract you can check out this brewers best fact sheet.
Its important as home brewers to push yourself to achieve difficult but rewarding flavors from your home brew. Using extract while easy is not a method for creating renowned beers.