Going to do a Robust Porter this weekend. Decided I’m going to split batch and do a vanilla porter with half. Wanted to run something by you folks.
1 vanilla bean for 2.5 gallons of porter?
Cut long ways, scrape out all the inside, chop it up and throw it all in?
That seems to be a summary of everything I’ve read.
Thoughts?
you got it! it might be a lot of vanilla though. what’s the OG?
So 1/2 to 3/4 maybe? OG should be in the 1.063 to 1.065 range. Depends if my efficiency cooperates 
I would use 1/2 for 2.5 gallons. You can always add the other half later if you think it needs more.
Put it in the fermenter after fermentation has finished.
You have it right. 2 beans for 5 gallons for 11 days equals 1 bean for 2.5 gallons.
I won first place out of 28 entries in the competition in Milwaukee with my Oatmeal Vanilla Stout I used 2 1/2 beans in 5 gallons my OG was 1.060.
I can put them in anytime during secondary right? I typically don’t secondary any ales and just let sit for 3 weeks. So with this, was thinking of splitting batch around day 10 and adding vanilla bean then and let it sit another 10-11 days.
Yup.
The number of beans you use and the length of time you leave them in the fermenter will vary depending on the quality of your beans.
I was thinking about going to whole foods and buying them fresh.
I was thinking about going to whole foods and buying them fresh.[/quote]
That’s not a bad idea, but there’s still no way to know how fresh or potent those beans will be. The best thing to do is start taking samples after about 3 days and see how it’s going. You may want to have the vanilla a bit stringer than you think you want since it fades fairly quickly.
I was thinking about going to whole foods and buying them fresh.[/quote]
That’s not a bad idea, but there’s still no way to know how fresh or potent those beans will be. The best thing to do is start taking samples after about 3 days and see how it’s going. You may want to have the vanilla a bit stringer than you think you want since it fades fairly quickly.[/quote]
Denny, how much bean do you suggest to start with before I start the samples?
I find commercial vanilla beers to be over powering. For me, 1 bean in 5 gallons for 3-4 days give the flavor/aroma I like.
[quote=“raspsu1”]
Denny, how much bean do you suggest to start with before I start the samples?[/quote]
If they’re soft and “juicy” (relatively speaking) start with one. If they seem hard and dry, go for 2.
Do I put the bean and contents in a muslin bag or just chuck it right in? No clue if that stuff floats or sinks.
I used real vanilla extract, my thought was that if the beer had too much or two little vanilla flavor it would be much easier to adjust for future beers. One ounce of Watkins Vanilla will always be one ounce of Watkins Vanilla, on the other hand one vanilla bean won’t always be the same depending on size. variety, freshness, etc.
Mike
Chuck the vanilla bean and scrapings right in. No bag required. I heard that vanilla extract doesn’t work so well.
Thanks for suggestion but extracts scare me. I’ve used them before and I think they have tasted fake. Some of them gave off “alcohol” like properties.
+1 Same method that I use and it works great.
FWIW I use the Madagascar Beans from
. Very high quality beans.
So, a related question. If too much vanilla is added, how long will it take before it fades enough to be drinkable?
I’ve been following the method Denny discribed in this thread, but recently I bought some beans for 5 gallons of a strong (OG=1.087) malty british-style beer that I was going to turn into a holiday beer with vanilla and a bit of cinnamon. I was origionally planning on using one bean, but what I could find was scrawny looking, and didn’t smell very strong when I cut it open, so I used two. After two weeks in secondary, the vanilla flavor and aroma was overpowering.
