Best way to add oak/vanilla bean without using liquor?

[polamalu43]

Hello,

I'm making a foreign export strength stout with tons of body. I'd like to augment this backbone with some vanilla-y, creamy, oaky flavors. Thus, I was looking for suggestions on the best method of oak aging my beer (with two vanilla beans) without soaking them in bourbon or vodka. I want to maintain sanitation, but I cannot stand beers that taste "hot" or have much in the way of a warming alcoholic presence. Should I steam it? Toast it? I don't want to do anything to the oak that would limit its ability to add oak character to the beer. What about the vanilla bean? Again, I want as little "hot" alcohol as possible.

I've thought of soaking both the oak chips and the vanilla beans in bourbon and then straining it out. However, I still think that this would bring a little too much bourbon into the final product (or at least more than I'm looking for personally).

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Edcculus]

First off, I don't know how the rumor of soaking in burbon or vodka will sanitize. You have to use a high proof spirit for effective sanitation. It takes a prolonged contact time also.

Second, sanitizing the oak is simple. Steam them or boil them. You might loose a little flavor, but I'd say its more effective than soaking in spirits. There is a great Brew Strong episode on Wood Aging. Jamil addresses the spirits issue and how to properly sanitize chips.

For the vanilla, I'd wash the outside of the pod well, split it open and scrape out the pulp with a sanitized paring knife on a sanitized (plastic) cutting board.

 

[polamalu43]

Awesome. Tons of thanks. I plan on boiling 1-2 oz in a cup of water, cooling the water, and pitching the whole thing into my secondary.

Do I want the throw in the pods or the pulp?

 

[jamilz]

Right, the low alcohol content doesn't guarantee sanitizing. It just dissolves (along with the water) the compounds in the vanilla beans.

If you want to sanitize, just use boiling water. Chop up the vanilla bean into little pieces, then cover with a couple ounces of boiling water. Just toss the whole thing in once it cools.

 

[bronzdragon]

To tell the truth, for a good vanilla flavor in your beer, you're better off with a high quality vanilla extract. A beer does not have a high enough alcohol content to really leach the flavors out of the bean.

I've done it many different ways over the years and just found the extract is the way to go. Now, notice I said high quality extract. Also when you add it, be careful it can quickly overcome the flavor of the beer.

cheers

~r~