hints for a sweeter brew with a hint of vanilla?

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BeerLuvnGrl

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Looking to brew something with a bit of sweetness to it with a hint of vanilla.. i tend to like the lighter ales.. id prefer a lager but we are not set up to lager yet so going with the ale variation..

im not one to like a high hops taste.. im far from a hop-head...and i dont really like a strong bitter bite..

currently are brewing a honey pale ale with the other half of my "brew team" :) however im excited and ready for it to get into the second fermentor so i can start on my batch...

doing a partial mash brew next that will have a light color and sweet flavor..not too sweet but i like the sweetness..using crystal malt, corn maize, carmel grains...

any suggestions?

thanks!!!
 
I don't know how vanilla would marry with the body and composition of an ale. I know a great many porter and stout recipes that use vanilla to sweeten it and add some complexity, especially against a sometimes malty-sweet profile.

Good luck and let me know how it turns out if you brew a vanilla ale!
 
Yeah I made that carmel vanilla cream ale. I am not too excited about it like the Cheesefood. If i were to do it i would use half of the amount of vanilla. I believe the Cheese man used 8 oz and so did I, too much vanilla flavor for me. The lactose leaves some residual sweetness.
If you are looking for a malty, i.e. sweet, beer with a low hop rate try a recipie for a marzen, which I believe is a lager beer. Just substitute a clean ale yeast and ferment cool and you will have a pretty close match.
 
BeerLuvnGrl said:
Looking to brew something with a bit of sweetness to it with a hint of vanilla.. i tend to like the lighter ales..

i brewed up cheeze's https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=2435

and used half the vanilla and lactose. this might be what you are looking for. it's only been bottled for two and half weeks and I'm already finished with half of it. :drunk:

i'm going to do another one this weekend, with a few changes for comparison.
 
Malts
3 pounds extra light DME
3 pounds light wheat DME
1 pound Briess Caramel 60L (steeped for 45 minutes at 150'-165')

Hops
1oz Cascade for bittering (60 minutes)
1oz Saaz for flavor (20 minutes)
1oz Hallertau for aroma (5 minutes)
All hops are whole hops from Freshops

Yeast
Wyeast German Ale

Extras
1 tsp Irish Moss (10 minutes)
4oz Lactose @ 15 minutes
2 oz real vanilla extract (too damned expensive to use more)
~ 1/4 cup Malto Dextrine

Priming
4oz vanilla
2 oz Makers Mark Bourbon
.5 cups light DME
.25 cups honey

If you're not a big fan of bold vanilla flavors, I'd cut the amounts I've used in half. This version has a hoppier flavor and aroma, but it balances out nicely with the sugars.

I left this in a primary for almost three months before bottling. It turned out great after 2 weeks in the bottle, which gave time for the hops to mellow. I think it needs a little more aging still before it'll be perfect.
 
Cheesefood said:
Malts
3 pounds extra light DME
3 pounds light wheat DME
1 pound Briess Caramel 60L (steeped for 45 minutes at 150'-165')

Hops
1oz Cascade for bittering (60 minutes)
1oz Saaz for flavor (20 minutes)
1oz Hallertau for aroma (5 minutes)
All hops are whole hops from Freshops

Yeast
Wyeast German Ale

Extras
1 tsp Irish Moss (10 minutes)
4oz Lactose @ 15 minutes
2 oz real vanilla extract (too damned expensive to use more)
~ 1/4 cup Malto Dextrine

Priming
4oz vanilla
2 oz Makers Mark Bourbon
.5 cups light DME
.25 cups honey

If you're not a big fan of bold vanilla flavors, I'd cut the amounts I've used in half. This version has a hoppier flavor and aroma, but it balances out nicely with the sugars.

I left this in a primary for almost three months before bottling. It turned out great after 2 weeks in the bottle, which gave time for the hops to mellow. I think it needs a little more aging still before it'll be perfect.

This must be the version 2 i was looking for!

quick question

when i brewed the first recipe i had to use an irish ale yeast instead of the german ale...do you think the results would be much different between these two used on the same recipe?
 
fruit_cake said:
This must be the version 2 i was looking for!

quick question

when i brewed the first recipe i had to use an irish ale yeast instead of the german ale...do you think the results would be much different between these two used on the same recipe?

Probably a dryer, crisper taste than the fruity tastes from German.

1084 Irish Ale Yeast.
Probable Origin: Dublin, Ireland
Beer Styles: Dry Stout, Milk Stout, Oatmeal Stout, and Porter
Commercial examples may include: Guinness, Beamish Stout, and Murphy's Stout
Unique properties: This yeast ferments extremely well in dark roast worts. Beers fermented in the lower temperature range produce dry and crisp beers to fruity beers with nice complexity in the upper range. Ester production is enhanced and rich with fermentation temperatures above 64º F, (18º C). Flocculation is low to moderate with filtration typically required. Alcohol tolerance is approximately 10-11% ABV. Flocculation - medium; apparent attenuation 71-75%. (62-72° F, 16-22° C)

1007 German Ale Yeast.
Probable origin: Dusseldorf, Germany
Beer Style: Alt beer, American style wheat beers
Commercial examples may include: St. Stan Alt, Schlosser Alt, Frankenheim Alt, and Pinkus Alt
Unique properties - True top cropping yeast, low ester formation, broad temperature range affects styles. Will ferment cold; 55° F range, (13° C) producing lager characteristics including sulfur production. Style is noted for dry, crisp characteristics. Fermentation at higher temperatures (70-75° F, 21-24° C) may produce some mild fruitiness. Extremely poor flocculating yeast, generally remains significantly in suspension without treatment or filtration. Pad filtration is often difficult. Brewer's benefit from DE filtration or centrifuging. Maturation: Beers mature fairly rapid, even when cold fermentation is used. Low or no detectable diacetyl, alcohol tolerance approximately 11% ABV. Flocculation - low; apparent attenuation 73-77%. (55-68° F, 13-20° C)
 
Forgot to mention.

Walker had asked about autolysis from keeping it in the primary for 3 months. There was no detectable autolysis, but even more interesting is that the gas factor is a lot lower.

Typically, homebrew gives me wind that will blow the covers off of me, but not this batch. I think that giving the wort extra time to ferment means that the yeast ate up all the fartables.
 
I think I need to try this one. If I were to do an all-grain version, I think the grain bill would be something like:

7-8 lbs of 2-row
2-3 lbs of wheat
1 lb Caramel 60L

Does that sound about right? I think that wheat DME is blended 60/40 wheat/barley, not just pure wheat.

Any ideas about a good dry yeast that would work well?
 
I know this thread is ancient, but I would like to revive it with a few questions. I just bought the ingredients for this one, it looks great (less sweet than the original, plus bourbon which rules). If you have brewed this and can help, I'd really appreciate it.

1) Did you ferment for the full 3 months in 1 carboy/bucket? I don't mind waiting, I just wanted to make sure.

2) If I use a bucket, I won't have a blowoff tube. Will this present a problem? (boomboom).

I am going to use Basil Haydens bourbon as opposed to MM, as it's my favorite bourbon. Thanks for the help (especially on the 2nd part, I don't want to ruin the beer and create a royal mess).
 
Just brewed the Boom-Boom yesterday. I cut the vanilla additions in half. I am looking forward to see how this turns out.

I decided on 3 weeks in the fermenter and then 3 weeks in bottle.
 
It has been several months now, so I figured I would post my thoughts, just in case anyone wants to come along and brew this. Thank you for posting the original recipe cheese.

This was a hit with a lot of people. I was a tad bit underwhelmed. However, I think I can make some slight tweaks to make it better.

First, I only added half the vanilla it called for. Mistake. With the upped hops from the original recipe, the vanilla faded away. Yes, the vanilla is expensive, but worth it to put in the whole amount. After a month + in the bottle, it registers a good bit on the nose, but very little in the taste. Surprisingly, Williams Sonoma sells real vanilla extract and it is cheaper than anywhere else I tried.

The hops were very prevalent when the bottles were fresh. It dialed back once it was aged for awhile, which is to be expected. I liked it with that fresh hop kick on top of the vanilla caramel.

Finally, I added 2 full shots (~3 ounces) of bourbon to the beer. That was a waste. It does not register on nose or in taste whatsoever. I would at least double, if not triple, that amount.

Cheers.
 
I don't know how vanilla would marry with the body and composition of an ale. I know a great many porter and stout recipes that use vanilla to sweeten it and add some complexity, especially against a sometimes malty-sweet profile.

Good luck and let me know how it turns out if you brew a vanilla ale!

Just wanted to point out that porters and stouts are ales.
 
Typically, homebrew gives me wind that will blow the covers off of me, but not this batch. I think that giving the wort extra time to ferment means that the yeast ate up all the fartables.

I just had to mention that the term "fartables" almost simultaneously made and ruined my day.

My real question regarding the recipe will be in the beginner forum where it belongs :)
 

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