Banana brandy

Information about fruit/vegetable type washes.

Moderator: Site Moderator

Post Reply
bshack618
Novice
Posts: 45
Joined: Sat Apr 30, 2016 7:31 am

Banana brandy

Post by bshack618 »

I can only find recipes for banana brandy for 30 pounds Im looking to make 5 gallons. How many pounds of bananas should I use for 5 gallons
Blarney Stoned
Swill Maker
Posts: 152
Joined: Thu Jan 12, 2017 10:43 pm

Re: Banana brandy

Post by Blarney Stoned »

Divide by 6.
the_bard
Novice
Posts: 64
Joined: Sun May 29, 2011 2:21 am

Re: Banana brandy

Post by the_bard »

Ouch

Sent from my S60 using Tapatalk
User avatar
MichiganCornhusker
retired
Posts: 4527
Joined: Mon Jun 23, 2014 9:24 am

Re: Banana brandy

Post by MichiganCornhusker »

While it may seem funny at first glance, I'm not sure how dividing by 6 will help you here.

Take a look at this thread, bshack, lots of good info about using bananas.
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 38&t=58248
Shouting and shooting, I can't let them catch me...
User avatar
cuginosgrizzo
Site Donor
Site Donor
Posts: 500
Joined: Tue Oct 20, 2015 1:41 am
Location: a land of saints, poets and navigators

Re: Banana brandy

Post by cuginosgrizzo »

bshack618 wrote:I can only find recipes for banana brandy for 30 pounds Im looking to make 5 gallons. How many pounds of bananas should I use for 5 gallons
Hi bshack can you restate your question, please? You want to make 5 gallons of what? 5 gals of final product or 5 gals of must? How many gallons of "that" (must or brandy) was the original recipe for?
Pikey
Site Donor
Site Donor
Posts: 2444
Joined: Sun Oct 16, 2016 3:29 pm
Location: At the edge of the Wild Wood

Re: Banana brandy

Post by Pikey »

There's a hell of a lot of flavour in bananas.

When I used to make banana wine - I'm pretty sure it was 3lb / gallon (imperial) and there was loads of flavour in it.

It's all very well making wine out of grape juice or apple juice - but when you get to highly flavoured fruit, I'm thinking you need to use water and sugar to dilute the flavur a bit.
User avatar
NZChris
Master of Distillation
Posts: 13062
Joined: Tue Apr 23, 2013 2:42 am
Location: New Zealand

Re: Banana brandy

Post by NZChris »

If you search the forum for bananas, there are a lot of failures reported. It seems to be quite difficult to get banana flavor into the heart cut. Adding sugar doesn't help.

The only banana spirit I've tasted, you wouldn't know was made out of banana if you hadn't seen the label.
Pikey
Site Donor
Site Donor
Posts: 2444
Joined: Sun Oct 16, 2016 3:29 pm
Location: At the edge of the Wild Wood

Re: Banana brandy

Post by Pikey »

That's the same with any fruit wine though Chris. When was the last time you tasted grapes in "Grape brandy" ?

I spent a zillion efforts trying to get peach wine to taste like shop bought "Peach wine" - ie peaches. Wasn't until I started distilling that I realised the damn flavour is put in Afterwards ! :roll:
User avatar
NZChris
Master of Distillation
Posts: 13062
Joined: Tue Apr 23, 2013 2:42 am
Location: New Zealand

Re: Banana brandy

Post by NZChris »

Pikey wrote:That's the same with any fruit wine though Chris. When was the last time you tasted grapes in "Grape brandy" ?

I spent a zillion efforts trying to get peach wine to taste like shop bought "Peach wine" - ie peaches. Wasn't until I started distilling that I realised the damn flavour is put in Afterwards ! :roll:
My brandy tastes like the grapes it is made out of, so does the grappa made from the scraps, and my peach brandy tastes like peaches.
Pikey
Site Donor
Site Donor
Posts: 2444
Joined: Sun Oct 16, 2016 3:29 pm
Location: At the edge of the Wild Wood

Re: Banana brandy

Post by Pikey »

Fair enough - but Corvoisier for example, doesn't taste of grapes does it ? perhaps you can let us have a recipe please ?
User avatar
MichiganCornhusker
retired
Posts: 4527
Joined: Mon Jun 23, 2014 9:24 am

Re: Banana brandy

Post by MichiganCornhusker »

My banana brandy tastes like 60# of bananas in a bottle.
No sugar and nothing subtle about it.
Shouting and shooting, I can't let them catch me...
User avatar
NZChris
Master of Distillation
Posts: 13062
Joined: Tue Apr 23, 2013 2:42 am
Location: New Zealand

Re: Banana brandy

Post by NZChris »

Courvoisier will taste like the grapes it is made from.
Mine tastes nothing like it because my grapes are very different, but the method I use is very similar; crush, ferment, press, double distill using the Cognac method. I would do a similar method for bananas, but one secret appears to be in using the banana's own enzymes to convert their starch when preparing them for fermenting. Mushing up ripe bananas with sugar and water is a common theme in reports of disappointing results and I'm sure is the method used by the distiller who's product I tasted. He wasn't there to talk to, but there were no signs that bananas were being over ripened on the premises and there were several 25kg bags of sugar in the distillery.
User avatar
ShineonCrazyDiamond
Global moderator
Posts: 3433
Joined: Thu Feb 27, 2014 6:14 pm
Location: Look Up

Re: Banana brandy

Post by ShineonCrazyDiamond »

Same reason you don't use yellow bananas for banana bread. Flavor is in the mushy ones.
"Come on you stranger, you legend, you martyr, and shine!
You reached for the secret too soon, you cried for the moon.
Shine on you crazy diamond."
aceswired
Swill Maker
Posts: 225
Joined: Mon Sep 22, 2014 4:54 pm

Re: Banana brandy

Post by aceswired »

MichiganCornhusker wrote:My banana brandy tastes like 60# of bananas in a bottle.
No sugar and nothing subtle about it.
Ditto that. It can be done.

Sent from my SM-T320 using Tapatalk
muscashine
Swill Maker
Posts: 242
Joined: Mon Feb 09, 2015 6:33 pm

Re: Banana brandy

Post by muscashine »

I tried bananas twice with rum. I could smell the banana flavor coming out of the worm before the spirits came out, but very little or none of the 'nanner flavor made it into the product.
It's worth trying again though. I'd love to do a successful 'nanner rum.
willee
Novice
Posts: 57
Joined: Fri Jan 06, 2017 6:55 am
Location: South Texas

Re: Banana brandy

Post by willee »

Banana "flavor" is sensed thru the nose and not tasted on the tongue ... blend for the smell.
Post Reply