Banana Wine

First time

In season January to December · makes 4.5 L · target OG 1.090

Cheap all year, and it teaches the one check that keeps bottles from exploding — the stable-gravity test — instead of guessing from the airlock.

You will need

1
Sanitise. Peel and slice the bananas (over-ripe, spotty ones are ideal and often reduced-price).
2
Simmer them gently in 2.5 L water for about 20 minutes, then strain the liquor — do NOT push the mush through, or the wine will never clear. Bananas give body, not much flavour; the result is a smooth, faintly fruity 'country white'.
3
Add the sugar dissolved warm and the lemon juice; top to 4.5 L; pitch woken yeast and nutrient.
4
This wine's lesson is KNOWING WHEN IT IS FINISHED. Bubbles slowing down is a hint, not proof. The real test is your hydrometer: take a reading, wait three days, take another. When TWO readings a few days apart are the SAME — and low, near 0.995 or below — fermentation has genuinely stopped. Bottling a wine that is only pausing is how corks get pushed and bottles burst.
5
Once you have two matching low readings, rack it, let it clear, and bottle.
6
Ages into something smooth and sherry-like; give it a year.

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An original MakeWine recipe.