Thinking of adding some vanilla as an ingredient:

Just looking for your opinions on vanilla in general?

does it work well with beer or does give a funny flavor--

Im personally thinking on using some in my stout for a dark/light flavor.

any thoughts?

it works real well in dark beers, but the flavor fades with time.

z987k said:

it works real well in dark beers, but the flavor fades with time.

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tutu-how long would you say b4 it loses its flavor? because that stuff is rather expensive

in a oatmeal stout i made a few months ago I added wintergreen (.5oz 15minutes) and sarsaparilla (1oz 60 minutes) and it worked perfectly with the creamy texture and flavor. vanilla might be nice in an oatmeal stout or something similar. Im not sure if it would be good in a porter with the drier roasted flavors it might not work.

There are several vanilla beers out on the market you can try. The one commercial one I immediately think of is Breckenridge Vanilla Porter. Its quite good!!

It softens the beer by that I mean the bitterness is not as profound after you swallow. It seems to add some balance to a well hopped beer.

A friend of mine makes a Vanilla Wheat that is outright awesome.

He uses the Northern Brewer Extract Version - American Wheat & about 4 tablespoons of Penzy single strength Vanilla. This particular Vanilla is much stronger than ordinary Vanilla. You can add as much as 4 oz for the ordinary type. (At bottling or in the 2ndary)

http://www.northernbrewer.com/docs/kis-html/1261.html

Our local brewery (Thornbridge) makes a fantastic vanilla stout, so I think your idea sounds great.

I made a vanilla porter that was well received by my friends.