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Okay, bananas give wine body .... but

Posted: Wed Jul 04, 2007 12:46 am
by thefriarandme
will someone tell me how.

I understand that ripe bananas give some fruit wines body, working from tins here guys, layman's language only!

Some say boil ripe bananas, others say they should be over ripe; should have black spots.

HEEEEEELP!

Any help you can give would be appreciated.

I have 3 tins of peaches, circa 400g each [well, 411g],. 2 in fruit juice and 1 in syrup. BTW, what is a citric acid adjuster and do I need to worry about it? I also have 3 tins, approx. 400 g each, of and 3 tins of strawberries.

I've secured recipes to say wines can be fermented from these. Thought I'd have a go. The boffins, in the sites from where/whence? I secured the recipes talk about adding bananas for body.

I really am new to this supplying your own booze lark/craft/hobby/addiction.

What do I do with the bananas?

I haven't got all the different acids. I have citric acid. Don't confuse me! :wink: I don't want to show my wines, I want wine that we can all enjoy with a wee bit of kick.

Can I ask also, my HB shop sold me pectolase. When do I use this? What is super enzyme? Pectic enzyme? And another thing called something along the lines of Amalase .

Please be gentle with me guys. I'm trying to learn so much, so fast but the biggest problem is .... I'm thick.

Best wishes,

thefriar

PS, you'd think a monk could f*****g brew, wouldn't you? :mrgreen:

Posted: Wed Jul 04, 2007 11:07 am
by the.fee.fairy
Hiya

Amelase is an emzyme. I think it breaks fruit down, but i'm not sure (i'm trying to go back to school biology lessions here...).

Pectolase works on the pectin haze. I put some in the mystery wine and its clearing nicely now.

I put a banana (amongst everythign else) in the Mystery Wine and i just juiced it. It was beyond the point of eating black (i like my bananas spotty, but this was all one spot!). I just stuck it in the blender with everything else.

Banana skins are supposed to be good for clearing wine. There's instructions in CJJ Berry's book. I#ll have a look later if you want.

Posted: Wed Jul 04, 2007 7:55 pm
by thefriarandme
Cheers the.fee.fairy. All help gratefully received :thumbright:

Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2007 1:53 pm
by the.fee.fairy
Sorry, i forgot to look., I will dig the book out. i promise!!

Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2007 7:33 pm
by chadspad
Pectolase should be used for fruit wines to help clear them. If u boil the fruit use 2 tsps otherwise 1 tsp is usually enuf.

Ive used normal yellow bananas in wines, just cut up and left in the primary (fermentation bucket) for 7 days. Ive read on more than one occasion that adding the skins can make the wine very bitter and most wine forums do not recommend it.

Its is all very confusing, Ive been there panicing on which way is the right way - try not to worry too much about it or u will never get on and do it. The best advice - ALWAYS take notes of what youre doing. I didnt take any notice of this and have kicked myself so many times for not writing it all down so I can look back on things :roll:

Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 6:02 am
by thefriarandme
Cheers chadspad.

I promised myself I'd take it nice and easy but the more I read the more I want to learn :book:

I'm a wee bit guilty of wanting to run before I can walk, but I'm so hungry to learn. Unfortunately one thing shoves out another, as it were; I suppose I'm akin to Barleyman Butterbur at the Prancing Pony in Bree (Tolkien. The Fellowship of the Ring) :lol: