Banana peels ONLY mead? Comparing peels to fruits for maximum flavor

[@TL50-r9f]

Banana wine is awesome especially if aged for 1 year. The banana peel has more nutrients for the yeast to feast. I use whole frozen bananas frozen after the bananas have dark spots and dice them up and peel 1/3 for just the fruit. I add 1/2 teaspoon of Himalayan sea salt per 2 gallons must for the 80 minerals to aid the yeast metabolism of sugar to EtOh and Co2. Pectic enzyme also. Lalvin 72B yielded 17% ABV much higher than 14% expected. I used brown and some table sugar and it looks like root beer in color and taste like a banana brandy wine. City steading brews is where I got the recipe.

[@Johnny76624]

I can agree. Maybe the best country wine I've done. It became good after 9-10 months in the bottle., before that it was very rough. I did equal fruit and peel, but next time I'll definitely use more fruit and lower abv

[@96driver]

I would have guessed the peels would have had more flavor. I've made Banana wine with the whole banana and it was horrible at first. A year later, WOW, it was so good. What a difference.

[@DointheMost]

Yeah, I’m frustrated I was wrong, but glad the taste tests helped us hone in on doing banana peels by some kind of ratio. Fun stuff!

[@KD9ZHF]

⁠​⁠@@DointheMost at the end of the video you were so giggly - what was the ABV? 20%?

[@erniewjr]

I have always thought that when the explorers brought bananas back to Europe the first comment might have been "Wow this tastes like hefeweizen."

[@derstadtwolf]

I just love that you can tell that this was not the first tasting of that recording day - Great job guys, I have paused brewing for over half a year due to personal stuff, but seeing you having fun together makes me wanna dust off the fermenters 🤗

[@kjdevault]

I’m totally having an, ‘ooooohhhhhh fuuuxx,’ moment. I’ve got a roasted banana, vanilla, and brown sugar wine going trying for a warm, heavy banana bread wine. A regular banana and white sugar, for a light, fresh, fruity, summer white wine. Lastly, like 50 -60 lbs in a 20 gallon batch for a banana brandy. All contain both fruit AND peels! 🙈

[@FaewoodMead]

This was a really fun test! So happy to of taken part in it

[@DointheMost]

I’m glad you were available to help!

[@TheSilentWonder]

One point that I would look into for a further test: Was the weight of fruit equal to the weight of peel? Might be worth doing another test with the same weight of peels as fruit...

[@EdmundLuong]

Great video and experiment! Very interesting the peels-only mead was less flavorful since most information I've found online suggested that all the banana flavors/essence are locked away in the peels. I'd be interested to see how this experiment would change with overripe bananas or bananas that have been caramelized in the oven. I've been experimenting with bananas lately so I made a banana bochet (banana caramel seemed like a great flavor profile to try for) and I ended up using 3lbs of overripe banana fruit and kept the ripen peels. I threw the fruit and the peels on an oven tray and baked at 300F for 30 minutes to caramelize the bananas and attempt to break the starches down. While I was bocheting the honey, I decided to grab the baked, ripen peels and boil them in a pot to create a banana peel tea before mixing it in with the bocheted honey. I didn't ferment with the peels in the mixture however but put the fruit in the brew bag for primary fermentation. It's been a couple months but it's got a nice banana flavor at least early on, excited to see it progress. Would love to see more experiments with bananas in the future!! Great content.

[@DointheMost]

My pal Texas Longhouse Mead has been doing some similar experiments with bananas and caramelization. Sounds like something I want to explore at some point. This banana peel tea idea is super interesting!

[@straaths]

it really was a contribution, thank you. i ll try a splash of peels only next time for sure. I used to add all together with all the peels.

[@martinmclean5985]

I add one whole, sliced banana, per gallon, to most of my meads. I feel it adds smoothness and silkiness to the mouthfeel, without affecting the flavor profile of the mead.

[@DointheMost]

That’s super interesting! Any meads you don’t do that with?

[@glenncombs3471]

Very informative. These kinds of videos really help mead and wine makers, as learning what not to do, and the limitations involved, are golden information. Thanks for posting.

[@DointheMost]

Cheers, friend! 🍻

[@hubrisdebris4879]

Thank you for doing this! I've always wondered, and it's really nice to see you all talk about them separately. I have a good feeling about what I would now if I were to make a banana mead! Appreciate your commitment to getting us all good information!

[@DointheMost]

This was a really fun one to tackle. And you’re right, it’s something I’ve always been curious about, but never had the thought to test independently.

[@andrewburchill5212]

Great video! As a bit of an experienced mead maker, I find these sorts of videos very useful and interesting!

[@DointheMost]

I’ve been enjoying finding relatively unexplored topics to dive into - which can be tough, given how much info is out there these days!

[@andrewburchill5212]

@@DointheMost Speaking of unexplored, have you thought about looking at mead water chemistry? We know that the mineral content/water chemistry is super important in beer brewing (e.g. sulfur -chlorine ratios in hazy IPAs, etc), and you don't traditionally ADD water to wines (water and minerals are already in the juice). Mead is often MOSTLY added water, so you'd think that water chemistry would be absolutely crucial, but through all my internet searching, i've only found ONE guy who experimented with ANY of this, and he did like one half-assed test

[@shanegrulke3236]

Great informative video! I did a Banana Acerglyn a couple of years back, and boy am I glad I did! Here was my process/notes: 15% Banana Acerglyn Started by collecting ~20 gallons of maple sap. Boiled down to 7 gallons. Added amylase enzyme and 35 pounds of ripe bananas that have been cut up to a mash. Here, I use the entire banana (peel and all). The bananas that I used were not quite as brown as using it in banana bread, but about 60-70% of the banana is still yellow and has a strong, sweet, desirable banana smell to it. Mash for about 20-25 minutes on low heat stirring constantly and never bringing to a boil. Strain through a mesh bag to collect the solids while running out the liquid. Stir in desired honey and cool. For mine, I used wildflower honey from a local apiary. Once at pitching temperature, pitch desired yeast (I used EC1118). Ferment out using TOSNA. Stabilize and add in 35 more pounds of ripe bananas (just the insides and no peel this time) to secondary. This actually ended up adding in a descent amount of sweetness. Rack off bananas to clear. Add clarifying agent. Rack again (this one was a bit stubborn to clear). Rack into bottling bucket and add pure maple syrup. Total backsweetening was about 40 points with the bananas and maple syrup. What have I learned with this and what would I recommend??? I used a lot of banana in mine just given how cheap and plentiful they are. Start with more liquid than you think you will need. It will create a lot of junk on the bottom that does not compact very well, so you will lose a bit. I am glad that I introduced some banana peels in the mix as I think it adds a bit of complexity, a different dimension, and a slight amount of desirable tannin. Ensure your bananas are ripe, but not too mushy...and no green! Make sure to chop them into pieces.

[@DointheMost]

This is great info, and definitely something I would have loved to have tasted. Got me tempted to play around with bananas and maple. Definitely a natural pancake pairing!

[@mrhappyfoot]

I'll have to add banans to my list of meads to make, thanks. I make citrus meads, lemon, grapefruit and clementines work best. I am currently making a mixed berry mead with local wild blackberries I picked and some store bought blue berries and raspberries. My most successful recipe for my taste was clementine and pomegranite. Clementime mead made with the whole fruit then stabilised and back sweetened with pomegranite molasses.

[@kimberchessmore4913]

Thank you

[@JeanPaulBaranz]

useful experiment as always. got my first buckwheat honey to brew, you were right, lovely rich taste. happy brewing

[@DointheMost]

Yessss! Love buckwheat honey.

[@MAGACOPP]

Banana is a funny fruit to ferment. It just seeps right thru the Brew bag!

[@jasonlayman8817]

The 2nd mead i made was a sack mead 22 abv banana mead that took a over a year to mellow. I used fruit and brown sugar and step feed it banana pureed with brown sugar along with some inverted sugar until no signs fermentation. i funneled off my mead and clean the contain and had add more pureed and couple of day later noticed fermentation was fairly active and once that stopped i pasteurized my mead and than once again add banana's but this time chunked in a brew bag for a week. I removed the bag and when thru clearing and than bottling it. I tried it at 3 month hot , 6 months hot and 12 months i was disappoint that it tasted like a basic white wine , until i add sugar and then it tasted way better , i could taste banana and the honey. Now my process was super long and mostly on accident but at least I don't feel like it was a waste of time. i made about 4 gallons and i have 1 magnum bottle of it and some normal 750 ml bottles that i will open for guesses with the condition that they have to try it dry first than i will add some sugar. It really is night and day difference. I really wish i could have gotten a banana wine to turn out.

[@DointheMost]

I’ve fermented bananas a few times and never been 100% in love with the final product. It’s definitely a tricky fruit to work with.

[@jasonlayman8817]

@@DointheMost hey , back sweeting the mead is the closes i've come to getting a real banana taste. I've give up on the banana wine for now.

[@TigerPat_9180]

Really Enjoyed Your Video , Thanks ! 🐯🤠

[@emilynolin9739]

This was important to me because it shows there’s a place in brewing for something that would normally be considered waste! I think it’s so cool!😂🤣 Thanks for this I really enjoyed 🍌🍻

[@natedizzy]

Awesome to watch this. I've played with bananas and peels too but haven't been able to share the awkward fun of finding the funky balance. I'm still searching for the perfect banana brown ale, haha! 🍻

[@donnybilbo8006]

This is very helpful! I want to do a strawberry banana mead soon. It’s good to know to use mostly fruit with a splash of peals!!! Lol!

[@DointheMost]

Just a splash 😂

[@beholder8467]

I recently made a banana wine, used both the fruit and the peel. It ended up with a very powerful kinda artificial banana smell/flavor, but boy it's amazing.

[@lukecope4212]

My opinion on this test, make 2 traditionals, pasteurize, then add the fruit to one and the peels in the other into secondary. That way the flavor isn't obscured by going through fermentation.

[@ADKwarriors]

This video had a great energy. Banana is on my bucket list but I feel like you would have to have access to fresh fruit not grocery store. Properly tree ripened bananas would make an amazing brew I imagine. I live in a frozen wasteland though LOL

[@DointheMost]

Yeah I really want to try it with those tiny sugary Thai bananas. 👀

[@kevin_ninja_jones2363]

I have that same ice cube shirt

[@tonyrogers5809]

Great exploration as always! What you made sounds very different from my banana mead, which is smooth, full bodied and honey character fwd. I simmer my bananas (skin-on slices) for about 45min and use the syrup (the fruit has no taste left). I forget the exact recipe, but about 4-6 very ripe whole bananas per gallon, and local wildflower honey for an OG around 1090, and manage the ferment like a trad. Comes out clean, rich, silky with very little / no fruit and tons of honey honey.

[@blakeeason3363]

Amazing experiment!! Now I feel like I don’t have to worry as much about keeping any skins in my brew for tannin

[@DointheMost]

Cheers! 🥂

[@munch15a]

what was the weight of peel next to the weight of banana tho ?

[@codymccoy9136]

My thought was that with citrus peels you want to take as much pith off as possible I wonder if removing as much pith off the banana peel would improve the flavor.

[@baghdaddy202003]

I'm going to save a bunch of banana peels and dehydrate them and grind them for a powered wine tannin. Perhaps you'd like to try some of it?

[@DointheMost]

That is a weird and fascinating idea. Sure, send some along to the post office box and I’ll be happy to mess around with it!

[@HisVirusness]

Banana has always confounded me.

[@jaker2542]

where was the 3rd comparison. fruits and peels?

[@riukrobu]

Interesting!

[@DointheMost]

🍻

[@havarfjerdingen1695]

"Banana peal science". Hahahaha

[@alexlarsen6413]

Mad banana scientist, lol! Seriously tho, great video. I do like banana mead and wine but they need to be plenty sweet...like at 1.015 minimum, preferably 1.020. I do think you're onto something, because I've done banana mead both with and without the peels and liked it better with the peels on.

[@DointheMost]

Y’all got me eager to do another set of banana trials.

[@xander9460]

Yes! I've been wondering what this would do! I always assumed the peels would impart a more bitter flavor! Let's see! Edit: 9:23 I HAVE TOO. And I know EXACTLY what he means. It has a very distinct taste. Our man shoulda bit into one at the start for comparison x) Can't harm, just not so yummy.

[@DointheMost]

Y’all wildin

[@nicholaskarako5701]

I am curious for the mead were you just used the peel of the banana did you boil them for a hour or just put the in you ferment bucket, add honey, water, yeast? I made this banana honey once from One day One recipe channel and for the most put I followed the recipe. Like using the same amount of banana peels, coconut sugar, but half the amount of water I had used was coconut water and I had used the juice and zest of a lemon. I was surprised how much banana flavor the beeless honey/ banana syrup tasted Also kind of bochet honey taste to. I thank it could make an awesome chocolate banana braggot. Made with some chocolate malts, cocoa nibs, and oats ECT.

[@infocat13]

Use both?

[@eddavanleemputten9232]

What I take away from this experiment is that when making banana mead or banana wine, a SMALL amount of peel adds to the balance. I quote: “I like the no-peel version with a splash of peels”. Makes me SO happy that the banana mead I made only had a bit of peel in it. Haven’t balanced it yet: I’m waiting to get the green light from my surgeon to start lifting stuff again after my spinal surgery. No schlepping with carboys and bottles until then! The smell is promising though!

[@DointheMost]

I hope you get to feeling better! Definitely seems like just a little bit of peels does some work to round out that banana flavor. 🍌

[@eddavanleemputten9232]

@@DointheMost - Thank you!

[@larryreaux1970]

Lots of banana meads in the community recently. I’m hoping the massive amount of rum I put in mine helps.

[@DointheMost]

I did a brandy fortified banana wine once. Didn’t turn out great, but the brandy definitely helped.

[@victoriashope5171]

What would happen if you baked the bananas in the oven to caramelize a bit

[@AlliePaints]

should you not have used equal *weight* of skins and fruit?

[@notaprob]

Is it possible that it is because the fruit was more weight than the peels?

[@Sleeeeepy_D]

Do you know how much fruit/peel went in by weight? I’d think more mass would be in the fruit only batch. Maybe doing something like 5 lbs fruit only and 5 lbs peels only would be a good follow up experiment?

[@MAGACOPP]

No. Peels only is just not good

[@Chefsharpener]

Make a Banana Runt Mead ? Skip the middlemen 😂

[@Chefsharpener]

You can buy a big bag of them and infuse them like tea until the outside washed off . Then strain out the now white candy cores . Add real banana for body and depth, banana flower honey. Revel in the neon yellow infusion? Maybe @manmademead would be more interested to add to his candy mead collection.

[@captainsalmonslayer]

Im wondering about the peel to fruit ratio, there is obviously a lot more fruit than peel in a given amount of bananas.

[@Subbedhunter]

I’ve made mead for seven years and never tried… banana. Guess it’s time.

[@DointheMost]

Do what must be done!

[@Calendyr]

I have to agree that banana peel tastes terrible. That is why I don't use them when I make banana wine. I have not tried banana mead yet but city brewing did a test between banana mead vs wine and they found that wine tasted better. Obviously that is a personnal taste type of thing and someone else might fight the opposite to be true. I will eventually do a banana mead because banana wine is my favorite wine out of all the 30is wine types I have done so far.

[@MisterProducts]

Should of done 3 batches, one including both

[@reneaclark7689]

I have a bocheted banana in primary. It has no banana flavor hardly. Guess I will add more to secondary. But so far not loving fermented banana either.

[@DointheMost]

Years ago, I did a really big banana wine with so many pounds of bananas. I had to ferment it in two 6 gallon buckets. Even after it was all said and done, not much banana flavor survived in the finished product. That was all bananas in primary.

[@jacobjeffcoat1978]

If you want to do a more accurate test. You could do the fruit vs peel by weight and then do one that is half and half

[@DointheMost]

I thought about maybe doing that to try and dial-in what the best ratio would be. Maybe someday!

[@comptegoogle511]

Banana peels have a malting effect on the rest of the banana starch. That's why they need to be fermented togheter.

[@l0tus4life]

👍

[@DointheMost]

🍻

[@daithiocoinnigh]

I'd say you had a few before you tasted those meads!

[@arrowstacymarusya5462]

Im wondering if the experiment was tweaked just slightly if the outcome would be different: It looks like you used bananas that were very ripe, so the majority of the sugars was already in the fruit, and I would expect the result you got. However, if you used unripe banana peels, I am wondering if the unripe banana peels would retain more sugar and banana flavor. A true one to one comparison would be between the two ingredients at their prime. When banana peels are in their prime, the fruit doesn’t taste as good and probably wouldn’t make as good a mead. When the fruit is at its prime, the peel is past its prime and would not make a good mead… Food for thought!

[@tattoolimbo]

I just watched a vid last week with a guy making banana wine, he didn't use any peels and I was thinking, now you screwed up...I was very surprised at your results! And of course there was no burn, it barely had any alcohol in it! But if I make something that isn't 13 to 15 % I feel like I failed. I mean if you are going to spend all the time and money to make it , it better give you a good BUZZZZZ! That's my story and I'm stickin to it.

[@MAGACOPP]

BC is a lightweight.

[@tasma3]

You should of had the same weight in peels vs fruit. It's not fair test when thay differs so much

[@Murlockingqc]

SCIENCE !

[@DointheMost]

S C I E N C E 🧠

[@MAGACOPP]

It much better without the Peeling. In my opinion. Peelings add complexity.

[@monkeyboy8me]

So why not use both for double the flavor😂

[@KravinMoorehead]

Boomer Sooner!!

[@Chemist1076]

Garbage bin wine...