Advice on Brown Ale modification (Banana Chips, Brown Sugar)

You can add the sugar at the beginning of the boil or near the end. I suspect the differences are minimal. Maybe if you add it towards the end, you get better hop utilization in the boil, but there is some debate on this point. Regardless of when you add the sugar make sure you don't get a big mass of undissolved sugar burning at the bottom of your kettle. Either turn the heat way down and mix it thoroughly or mix it with some hot wort in a separate container and add back to the boil. I have used two pounds Sucanat and dark candi syrup in recipes and it does contribute some noticeable flavor at these levels. I have used 1# of more refined sugars and not really tasted anything. Not sure where the flavor threshhold lies.

Temp control for high gravity worts with lots of simple sugar can be important. When I used 2#s of Sucanat with an English ale yeast in a brown ale, the fermentation developed fusel alcohols and the beer was not a joy to drink. Later, with better temp control, a Belgian strain, and 2# dark candi syrup, this was not an issue.

Aren't banana chips oily? If so, you should know that it could cause reduced head retention. Will they taste good in beer? I have no idea. I don't mind the banana esters made be some yeast strains; that would be another way to approach this, although I suspect you are motivated by the sheer insanity of mashing banana chips.

 

Store bought banana chips usually have oil, sugar and often flavoring added to them. I'm not sure that would be your best source of banana flavoring.

Also, the one time I used banana in something...a cider...it came out tasting quite sour.

Maybe consider using a yeast that is known to impart banana like flavor...Heffe yeast perhaps? Never used it in anything but a wheat beer...but you could give it a go.

 

Edit: the referenced recipes using unrefined and and more refined sugars were 5-6 gallon batches

 

Have you considered using a German Hefe yeast?

 

The banana sounds a little goofy in a Brown Ale however brew what you like to drink! For flavoring you will want to add your Dark Brown Sugar at the end of your boil. Good luck!

 

Keep in mind that sugar additions are going to cause your beer to be more fermentable than what is originally intended with the recipe/kit you have. Will lead to a boozier, thinner, drier finish - not what I would be looking for from a brown ale. If anything I would use it to prime your bottles. And you might want to check out Wells banana bread beer to see if banana flavor is something you want.

You aren't going to take this advice - I know I wouldn't when I was at your stage of homebrewing - but learn to brew a decent brown ale first before trying to "innovate" it. Most likely you will enjoy the results more and you will be better off in the long run from the experience.

 

Remember that too much(any is too much IMHO) dark brown sugar can really overwhelm the subtle flavors of a GOOD brown ale.
When I was on my 3rd or 4th batch I thought it would be a good idea to bump up the alcohol with some brown sugar in an extract porter. So I added it, probably 1/2-1 pounds, and put it in the spare bathroom to ferment. On day 2 there's an awful smell coming from the krausen all over the shower stall and the bucket was spewing brown foam all over the place. Once I bottled it I was even more disappointed, it tasted like very alcoholic brown sugar and nothing else.
Remember that brewing good beer is 90% technique an 10% recipe. With experience(good and bad) you'll learn how different ingredients react with each other to produce flavors you like or you don't like. Brown sugar and bananas may make a great desert, but is it really what you want in your beer?

 

Adding sugar instead of malt causing this, I can understand, but how is sugar going to make it thinner and drier than not adding it, as it's not as if it will finish at a lower FG than without the sugar? (serious question).

Making it boozier is, of course, true, but only if you add a large amount.


To the OP - if you can separate the batch into 2, add some brown sugar to one of them so that you can compare the difference. Some people like the BS taste, others really dislike it (tastes quite different once fermented). You don't want to make a whole batch that you don't like if you can help it!

 

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/drying-out-beer-adding-sugar-134786/

 

hmmm, thanks... some thinking & research to do.

 

Would also agree with the suggestion that you nail a solid Brown Ale recipe first and foremost, then you can use that as a base to make all sorts of great experiments. Brown Ales are very lenient when it comes to adding flavors to them, for something very unique.

 

Well, you will finish at a slightly lower gravity, because the sugar will ferment 100%, and alcohol has a lower gravity than water. But the beer will not be technically drier, i.e. it won't contain less residual sugars. That said, it will be drier than another beer with the same (higher) OG, where that OG was all from malt. So for its size, it will seem dry.

 

Ah of course... Thanks, I don't know why I didn't think of it that way.

 

I normally leave mine for an extra week or two, but that is due to time constraints. Leaving it 3 weeks instead of 2 will possibly help it, and almost definitely won't do harm.

 

I do not take anything off the yeast before 3 weeks.

 

Dude, how did this batch turn out? Considering adding some brown sugar to my next batch of brown ale.
Holla back with whatever you remember!!

 

I've never tried brown sugar, I have used raw sugar. Raw sugar can impart some sweetness over cane sugar. I used it in an english IPA that I thought it turned out amazing.
You can add sugar really at anytime, I would suggest adding the sugar why you are adding the malt (Its just harder for you to forget this way).
As far as banana, you could try a banana extract and just add it to some bottles while you drink to see if you like it. That way you don't have 5 gallons of something you are maybe unsure of.
If you want to experiment a little you could add banana after primary fermentation is mostly complete. Adding fruit to beer is a simple enough process, getting the flavor you want from a fruit might be difficult.