Effectiveness of banana additions for completion of stuck and sluggish fermentation of blueberry wine

In this study, we investigated the effect of bananas on improving of sluggish blueberry wine fermentation. The alcoholic fermentation was carried out with yeast extract, diammonium phosphate, or 2%, 4%, and 6% banana. The number of viable yeast cells gradually decreased during fermentation and the population stabilized at approximately 104 cfu/ml by the end of fermentation. The average ethanol production rate was 1.32–1.68 times faster according to the addition of banana during 20 days of fermentation. The sugar consumption rate (°Brix/day) was increased 1.30, 1.49 and 1.63-fold by 2%, 4% and 6% of banana addition, respectively. The wines supplemented with 4% and 6% banana contained 61.7 μg/l and 60.8 μg/l of ethyl carbamate, respectively, which was higher than that with 2% banana (54.5 μg/l). Thus, we concluded that 2% banana can be used as a nutritional supplement for yeast to resolve stuck and sluggish blueberry wine fermentation.