I want to infuse flavor durning fermentation. Do I need to do a 2nd fermentation in another carboy or can I do it in the same one ewith yeast and all?
It really depends on how you were planning on adding the flavor.
Flavor extract, vanilla bean, coffee, a flavored alcohol, cocoa nibs? any of these(and maybe others I forget)- do it in your original fermenter.
Adding fruit? Especially large volumes of fruit? Use a secondary.
What Jim said. What is it you would like to flavor with?
I want to do a vanilla espresso imperial stout. With real vanilla beans.
Personally, I’ve never successfully added coffee flavor to my satisfaction- it always tastes like compost to me. But perhaps I’m sensitive, because I get the same taste from commercial coffee beers.
Vanilla bean- I’ve done that. Get the whole bean(s), split them. They say scrape but I don’t know why. Soak in vodka or whatever spirits you care to- to extract the flavor and sterilize. Then add to the fermenter when things start to calm down so you don’t lose all the aroma/flavor out the airlock during high krausen.
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I’ve read people boiling coffee beans the last 15 mins of boil and then adding cold brew espresso to end of primary. I worry that would be too much coffee but I’ve read aged beer with coffeee lessens with age. How many vanilla beans to taste it with coffee?.. might just need to experiment
The way i do adding flav. Before i use them during brewing. I make a sort of tea. Different kind of flav let my wife taste it. If she does like the taste. I am gonna use it during the brew. Vanilla beans i do use about 2.5 to 3. Soaked in vodka. About 7 days before. Kegging i do add them into the fermentor. Last sat i did brew a beer. With flav lemon grass. Orange peel and coriander. I did add them 20 min before end of boil. Did use a muslin bag
