I love to All Grain brew! Northern Brewers has a Pro Series kit called Tallgrass Buffalo Sweat. I buy the Vanilla Bean Buffalo Sweat and it’s a really good easy drinking beer. In an attempt to copy this beer, I want to make this kit and buy the Ugandan Vanilla beans and add them to the secondary fermenter. Has anyone made a vanilla bean beer with real beans? How many beans are needed in the secondary to get the vanilla flavor? Do I slice the beans?
Depending on what your tastes are…
Two beans, slit down the middle, scrape the tiny seeds out and put in the secondary.
Put the sliced bean pods in a little vodka to sanitize them…then toss into the secondary.
If two weren’t enough for you, then up the vanilla on the next batch.
I’ve got a vanilla bean bourbon porter that I just kegged.
Cheers :cheers:
I recently made a oatmeal stout w/Vanilla and Cinimmon. I usede 4 beans and it came out pretty dang stron good but strong. as the first reply stated I would start with 2 if you want a hint of vanilla.
Most the advice I’ve seen on this forum consists of slitting down the middle and scraping the beans out. I’d like to offer a different opinion.
My local spice merchant (who also happens to be a longtime homebrewer) advised that most all the flavor is in the pod itself. He recommended chopping the pod into a bunch of thin slices (like you might chop green onions) to extract the most flavor.
In my Oatmeal Vanilla Stout I found the 2 1/2 beans per 5 gallons is perfect I slice them in half then cut 2 inches pieces and put them in the secondary no scraping needed.
If one were to use Vanilla extract, does anyone know the recommended amount? I have an Oatmeal Stout in the fermenter right now and I like the notion of adding Vanilla. Thanks
:cheers:
Yes. The number of beans depends on your taste, the quality of the beans, and what you want in the beer. Here’s the recipe I use and the technique…http://wiki.homebrewersassociation.org/ … rialPorter
[quote=“Mabus”]If one were to use Vanilla extract, does anyone know the recommended amount? I have an Oatmeal Stout in the fermenter right now and I like the notion of adding Vanilla. Thanks
:cheers: [/quote]
I have a bottle of the extract I did not like it and gave the bottle to my wife to bake with it seemed to have an off flavor or a bitter flavor when I tried it.
[quote=“Mabus”]If one were to use Vanilla extract, does anyone know the recommended amount? I have an Oatmeal Stout in the fermenter right now and I like the notion of adding Vanilla. Thanks
:cheers: [/quote]
Yes, YOU do! Add to taste. You can simply add a bit at a time until you get it where you like it. My method is to pour 4 2 oz. sample of the beer and dose each with a measured amount. Taste, decide which you like best, then scale that amount up to the batch size.
Thanks Denny. I’ll have to dig out the baby Rx dropper. Should I be concerned with the flavor fading (and thus add a little more) or is that only when using whole vanilla beans?
Thanks Denny. I’ll have to dig out the baby Rx dropper. Should I be concerned with the flavor fading (and thus add a little more) or is that only when using whole vanilla beans?[/quote]
No experience, but if I had to guess I’d guess it would fade.
Thank you All, the beanilla.com web site is exactly what I needed. I watched videos on making home made vanilla extract. They soaked two beans in a cup of vodka for one month. This makes me ask: How long to I soak them in my secondary fermenter? Is one week enough time? I want a noticeable flavor , but not overpowering. Can you guys give me your opinion?
I just cracked my first bottle of a vanilla porter I bottled 3 weeks ago. Vanilla was subtle but enough==just where I wanted it. Soaked 2 beans (sliced, scraped, and chopped) in just enough vodka to cover (about 1/4 cup) for 2 weeks. Added to secondary and conditioned there for 2 weeks, then bottled. Plenty of vanilla flavor, but like a vanilla stout I have, I’m sure the vanilla will fade a little bit over time. Good luck
Ron
