A Golden Ale with Sorachi and vanilla bean...what do you think?

[Soulshine]

So I have searched high and low and even tried contacting Uinta Brewing to get some pointers on how they make their SUM'R Ale. I know it is a light golden ale with Sorachi hops. And to me it has a creamy vanilla finish to it along with mild-medium Sorachi hop flavor.
I'm thinking of finishing with 2 oz or Sorachi (dry hopping) and 2 vanilla beans (dry hopping) for a 5 gallon batch. What do you think? I've only used vanilla bean in a porter so far.

 

[Soulshine]

Someone has to have advice. Anyone??

 

[ThreeBrothersBrewery]

Sounds interesting. Mostly just a bump to see if someone else may see this. I would be curious to know how the vanilla bean turns out. I've had the summ'r ale and it is quite tasty. Best of luck!

 

[Soulshine]

That's the one thing I'm unsure about. Don't know if they even use vanilla bean and is 2 definitely to0 much? I've had many a beer and to me I definitely taste vanilla in that beer.

 

[Soulshine]

Just brewed an IPA with Sorachi and love the hop for sure (also love Brooklyn Sorachi Ace) but Uinta must use vanilla bean also for their summer and it has to be golden ale or cream ale??...the IPA i just made with Sorachi is very hoppy and you can tell it is Sorachi for sure but Uinta must use something else because the hop alone in the beer I just brewed def doesn't give you the taste that the SUM'R ale does. The IPA I made is more along the lines of a hoppy IPA just with a noticeable Sorachi dry hop. The Uinta SUM'R has a mild Sorachi finish and definitely a vanilla hint also which I thought was from the hop but after using the Sorachi hop in my IPA I think there must have been something else like a few vanilla beans or maybe just the malts themselves gave those notes. What do you thinK? Golden ale, dry hop with Sorachi and vanilla bean? I can find just about any other recipe but not Uinta SUM'R. If I dont' get any other advice I'm gonna go with a simple golden ale. Mild Sorachi dry hop (w/ some Sorachi hop at end of boil and standard hops early on) and try some vanilla bean. Maybe dry hop with 1.5 oz Sorachi for every 5 gallons for a week or so and maybe the same with 2 vanilla beans sliced and soaked in vodka for a couple days and then throw those in to the fermenter for the last week or so. I'm just winging this...there has to be someone who used vanilla beans in a "lighter" beer before. That's the only thing I'm unsure about is how much vaniilla bean. 1? 2? Or is it just the malts that give the vanilla flavor?

 

[BBKing]

Based off of my (limited) experience with vanilla beans, I think the amount depends on the beans. Are they fat and healthy or looking just shy of freeze dried, for example.