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Banana problem

Doomtheflame

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Heres my question

i brewed this beer


Medium body mash

5lbs pilsn
4.5lbs 2row
1lbs vienna

hop Schedule

amarillo gold .5oz 60min
amarillo gold .5oz 30min
amarillo gold .5oz 10 min

and this yeast
wyeast Northwest ale 1332
fermenting temp 68f

I get insane banana smell coming out of the bubbler

if i put an oz or 2 of amarillo has dry hop can i save my beer from the banana flavor that i dispise more than anything...
 
This usually comes from fermenting at too high temperature. 
 
I'm with Jomebrew.  Was the 68F your actual fermentation temperature, or was it the ambient temperature in the room where you fermented the beer?  Fermentation temperatures can run significantly higher than the ambient temperature.  Yeast are active little critters!
 
Northwest ale's temp range is 65-75 i was at 68 ambient how much higher does the fermenting go up

And i did think of room temp being to high probably too late but has for my question dry hopping the beer will it help attanuate or remove banana off flavor or will it worsen it with a amarabanana flavor
 
how long has it been pitched? was the yeast count high or low when you pitched it ? IE did you make a starter? as far as covering up that banana smell it depends on a lot. need more info.
 
Doomtheflame said:
Northwest ale's temp range is 65-75 i was at 68 ambient how much higher does the fermenting go up

And i did think of room temp being to high probably too late but has for my question dry hopping the beer will it help attanuate or remove banana off flavor or will it worsen it with a amarabanana flavor

Just because the packaging says that the temp range of the yeast is 65-75, doesn't mean that you should ferment anywhere within that range.  If you want banana, you can ferment higher, if you don't want it, you should ferment lower.

As far as how much higher it will go, that depends.  I've had some that only go up 1-2F, but that is a rarity.  Most of mine go up at least 4F and 6F seems to be the norm.  I think that you were probably fermenting at about 74F. 

To cool it down, you can lower the ambient temperature.  You could also put the fermenter into a tub of cold water (maybe 4" of water), dampen a towel or t-shirt and wrap it around your fermenter with the cloth hanging down into the water.  Put a fan on it.  The cloth will wick water up and stay wet.  The moving air will take heat out, as the water evaporates out of the cloth.  You can usually drop 4-6F this way.  If you want to drop it further, you could put some frozen 2 liter bottles of water in the water bath.  This will keep the water colder.  You have to keep rotating them out and refreezing them, but this might drop you down about 8F.

I'd want to ferment that beer at about 65F.  Once your gravity drops about 75% of the way down towards your FG, you can take the fermenter out of the water bath system and let it free rise up to about 72F.  This is a diacetyl rest and will allow the yeast to clean up after themselves, giving you a much cleaner, less fruity taste profile.  I leave my beer at that 72F stage for 2-3 days and then drop it back down to the low 60's to let the yeast flocculate out.  Once the beer is to the point where you have steady gravity readings for 3 consecutive days and it's nice and clear, then you can bottle it.

As far as the banana flavor is concerned, it's probably there to stay.  However, the dry hopping that you're planning may cover it up some.  The good news is that banana flavor is not the end of the world.  It's still beer!  You may actually like the banana flavor.

Let us know how it is, after it's been in the bottles about a month or so.
 
Doomtheflame said:
fermenting temp 68f
I get insane banana smell coming out of the bubbler

Two probabilities: yeast health or wort quality issues. The latter is a broad spectrum of nutrients, oxygenation, temperature, minerals and more.  The former may be how/where you purchased or if it was shipped.

what you have is an ester. They often develop by being fusel alcohols that get oxidized. This is most commonly from higher fermentation temps as described by Scott and Jomebrew. However, with a few exceptions, the oxygen scavenging abilities of yeast can reduce esters with enough time.  Not all of them, mind you, but a certain few egregious ones like banana and ripe red apple.

if i put an oz or 2 of amarillo has dry hop can i save my beer from the banana flavor that i dispise more than anything...

Nope. Not ever to your tastebuds. As a brewer, you've developed flavor preferences. No amount of "hiding" what you despise will ever erase it. Now, to your friends, family and others that taste your beer, it'll be fine.
 
When you making a batch there temperature  level of cooking is very important here.
 
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