Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Sad, Sad Foods: Banana Wine

Monkeyshine Banana Wine
[Ganked & posted verbatim (with editorial notes from Maven where noted) from Whole Wheat Radio]

For a 5-gallon carboy* (which is the only way to go, you really need to make enough!):

*ED: What's a carboy?

INGREDIENTS:

20 pounds of bananas
2 or 3 cans of 100% white grape juice concentrate (frozen kind)
10 pounds of sugar
juice from 2 or 3 lemons
approximately 1 tsp tannin
some yeast nutrient (sorry, we tend to eyeball this depending on how much we have)
1 package wine yeast (husband likes Montrachet)


PROCEDURES:

  1. Directions: Slice bananas, skins left on.
  2. Put in nylon straining bag (yes, used pantyhose are fine) [ED: However if you're using "used pantyhose," you might want to forego the yeast. I'm just sayin'.] with enough water to make 5 gallons in a very large stock pot.
  3. Bring to a boil and simmer for half an hour.
  4. Remove the pulp, and pour the hot liquor over sugar in fermenter bucket (5-gallon pickle barrel).
  5. Top off with water and add all other ingredients except for yeast.
  6. When cooled to 85 degrees or less, add the yeast (don't burn your yeasties and they'll be good to you!).
  7. Put on top of bucket and air lock. After about a week, rack it (strain) off the sediment into a glass carboy and put on an air lock (good hygiene here is important if you don't want banana vinegar).
  8. After approximately a month, rack it off again into a clean carboy and wait for it to clear (may take as much as 3-4 months). Bottle and/or drink with friends. (The friends are important!)

1 comment:

ukecanek said...

Carboy or Carbouy, also known as Demijohn is a glass container used for (home)making of wine.

Basically, it is a wine bottle after a McDonalds diet - big, fat bottom, a very narrow "neck" for a stopper and/or air lock.

Can be found in various sizes, from small, man portable, to absurd fifty liter behemots.

A moderate example can be seen
here.

Note the basket - smaller, more sane versions of a demijohn are often entwined in rope or wicker, see
here.

These are more often used for transport than the actual making of the wine, because one liter is certainly not worth the bother :-)