Adding vanilla to primary?

[dreamingbrewer]

Hi! This is my very first post on my second brew (first is bottle conditioning right now)

I'm putting together a chocolate stout right now (grains are steeping as I type) from kit and I have several good vanilla beans that I could add to it. When should I do this? Looking around a lot of posts say to soak the beans in vodka or bourbon (yum) and add to secondary... But I wasn't planning to secondary, was planning to leave it in primary for 3 weeks or so... is there any reason I couldn't add them to primary? or add to primary after fermentation is over? Is there something about adding them in with the yeast cake that would be a problem?

 

[carnevoodoo]

Nothing wrong with that. I think racking onto fruit makes more sense in secondary, but something like vanilla is probably ok in the primary. DO wait until after fermentation is completed. And then leave it in until you feel the flavor is appropriate and then pull it.

 

[dreamingbrewer]

Thanks

 

[steinsato]

I made a Vanilla Porter last winter using the "soak beans in vodka" method. I sent this beer in to a competition and all the judges could tell that I had made an "extract" with the beans. I usedf 3 beans and soaked them in a cup of vodka for a week. I will not be doing this method again. Judges all thought ther vanilla was overpowering and this competition was about 3 months after I hadf bottled teh beer. Next time I make this beer, I will make a more robust porter, decrease the beans to 2 and throw the beans straight into secondary. You could add to the primary when the FG has been reached I suppose.