Urca Vanilla Porter...Vanilla Bean Question

[shenanigans]

I just brewed the PM Dry Dock Urca Vanilla Porter yesterday and the wort sample tasted awesome.

I was wondering how people recommend adding the vanilla beans to the fermentor? The kit came with a muslin bag and I was thinking it might be for putting the vanilla beans in because I do not know what else it is for since it would be too small to hold the grains.

Also I am thinking you should not sanitize the beans because it will hinder the flavor of the beans, correct?

Lastly, upon reading reviews on the beer, I plan to have the vanilla beans sit in the fermentor for two weeks instead of the one week the recipe says. Many reviewers said the vanilla flavor was subtle and I want it to be more pronounced and let if mellow over time.

Any advice is greatly appreciated; cheers!

[dukslayer888]

I split the beans down the middle, cut them up, and then soaked them in vodka for a few days. I then dumped the entire thing into a secondary and let it sit for two weeks. Vanilla flavor was definitely there but wasn’t overpowering. If you want a significant vanilla flavor I suggest adding more beans versus more time IMO.

[dobe12]

@dukslayer888

I split the beans down the middle, cut them up, and then soaked them in vodka for a few days. I then dumped the entire thing into a secondary and let it sit for two weeks. Vanilla flavor was definitely there but wasn’t overpowering. If you want a significant vanilla flavor I suggest adding more beans versus more time IMO.

Sorry to hijack, but I’m planning on brewing a Neapolitan stout that will get vanilla beans in the secondary for the vanilla part. Just curious, how many beans did you use in your beer? The big thing I’m struggling with in my recipe is how many vanilla beans and many lbs of strawberries to use. Sounds like you have the vanilla part down… so how many did you use?

[denny]

@dukslayer888

I split the beans down the middle, cut them up, and then soaked them in vodka for a few days. I then dumped the entire thing into a secondary and let it sit for two weeks. Vanilla flavor was definitely there but wasn’t overpowering. If you want a significant vanilla flavor I suggest adding more beans versus more time IMO.

I do similarly, but I don’t soak them in vodka. I don’t care for the alcohol heat that it adds, and I’ve never found it necessary either for sanitation or flavor extraction. I split the beans lengthwise, scrape out the gunk and add gunk and beans to secondary.

[cran]

Generally, when you cook with vanilla beans, you cut them lengthwise and scrape out the seeds in the middle. Add the whole thing to the recipe. The majority of the flavor is in the seeds that is being scraped out but you don’t want to loose any flavor in the casing. They are the seed casing for an orchid species.

[dukslayer888]

@dobe12

[quote=“dukslayer888”]I split the beans down the middle, cut them up, and then soaked them in vodka for a few days. I then dumped the entire thing into a secondary and let it sit for two weeks. Vanilla flavor was definitely there but wasn’t overpowering. If you want a significant vanilla flavor I suggest adding more beans versus more time IMO.

Sorry to hijack, but I’m planning on brewing a Neapolitan stout that will get vanilla beans in the secondary for the vanilla part. Just curious, how many beans did you use in your beer? The big thing I’m struggling with in my recipe is how many vanilla beans and many lbs of strawberries to use. Sounds like you have the vanilla part down… so how many did you use?[/quote]

I just used what came with the kit… I believe it was five whole beans…

[roffenburger]

@dukslayer888

[quote=“dobe12”][quote=“dukslayer888”]I split the beans down the middle, cut them up, and then soaked them in vodka for a few days. I then dumped the entire thing into a secondary and let it sit for two weeks. Vanilla flavor was definitely there but wasn’t overpowering. If you want a significant vanilla flavor I suggest adding more beans versus more time IMO.

Sorry to hijack, but I’m planning on brewing a Neapolitan stout that will get vanilla beans in the secondary for the vanilla part. Just curious, how many beans did you use in your beer? The big thing I’m struggling with in my recipe is how many vanilla beans and many lbs of strawberries to use. Sounds like you have the vanilla part down… so how many did you use?[/quote]

I just used what came with the kit… I believe it was five whole beans…[/quote]
That seems like a lot of vanilla beans for 5 gallons. I haven’t used vanilla alot, but when I did, I only used two beans. I suppose it really depends on the quality of the beans. I would do some periodic tasting during secondary so you don’t go overboard on the vanilla.

[shenanigans]

Thanks for all of the great information; I appreciate the advice!

I will just cut up the 5 vanilla beans like the recipes says and add them to the secondary. However, I will let them sit for two weeks to add a bit more vanilla flavor.

Brew on!

[baratone_brewer]

@Denny

I split the beans lengthwise, scrape out the gunk and add gunk and beans to secondary.

+1
Same method here.