Double Dessert Garbage stout

[Grod1]

brewed sept 7th
Long story short this beer has a lot going on.After coming back from camping I wanted to make a smores stout i did bunch of research and came up with a recipe.
i used SD-SLIM's Graham cracker ale recipe on top of a partial mash oatmeal cream stout kit with the addition of adjuncts to get the smore flavor.
this is my final recipe


8 lb Maris Otter Pale 30.7%
4 lb Munich - 60L 15.3%
3.5 lb Liquid Malt Extract - Light 13.4%
2 lb American - Pale 2-Row 7.7%
1 lb American - Chocolate 3.8%
1 lb American - Vienna 3.8%
1 lb Lactose 3.8%
1 lb Rice Hulls 3.8%
1 lb Roasted Barley 3.8%
0.5 lb American - Victory 1.9%
0.5 lb Flaked Oats 1.9%
0.375 lb American - Black Malt 1.4%
6 oz Cane Sugar inVV 1.4%
1.8125 lb graham crackers
26.06 lb Total
Hops
Amount Variety Type AA Use Time IBU
1 oz Glacier Pellet 5.5 Boil 60 min 13.18
1 oz Willamette Pellet 4.5 Boil 10 min 3.91
2 oz Cascade Fresh 7 Boil 30 min 23.44

Mash Guidelines
Amount Description Type Temp Time
5 gal Sparge 152 F 70 min
Other Ingredients
1.5 oz powdered Hershesys Bakers Chocolate (Unsweetened)
2.5 oz Choco Listo Instant Chocolate Drink W/vitamins And Minerals
10 mins before boil was over.
2 each Vanilla bean Flavor Primary 7 days

on top of all this i used both White Labs - Dry English Ale Yeast WLP007 in liquid form and Safale S-04 Ale Dry Yeast 11.5 gram packet to start the beer up.
the airlock started to bubble once a second within 6 hours.After12 hours the airlock bubbled about 10-12 times a second. Today is 4 days after pitching and i'm down to one bubble every 6 seconds.
i mashed at 152 for 70 mins
collect 1&1/2 gallons and rested at 170F before circulating back threw mash
boiled for 70 mins
The wort had a gravity of 1.082
After boiling my gravity was 1.120
i have pictures that was trying to upload but they are all to big and it wont let me.

 

[Grod1]

so today is 9 days after brewing and i am only getting one bubble in the airlock every 24 seconds. At 14 days i will transfer to a 3 gallon and a 1 gallon carboy because there is so much trub in the 5 gallon that i fear to much headspace in the secondary.

If i take a reading and my alcohol is lower then i would like is it okay for me to add another packet of yeast?
Also i am going to be adding vanilla beans does anyone have suggestions as to how many and how long i should leave them in secondary? or would hey have been better in primary?
i brewed a 3 gallon partigyle with the grain and its at 5% it taste very good but very generic so i hope the full beer with the adjuncts will hit the spot.

 

[jjeffers09]

Carabrown is a great graham cracker flavor malt - if this one is a little doughy from the MO/Munich/Vienna I would try substituting the Vienna for the carabrown. It is a very good idea btw... if it comes out as a smore. Straight up burnt beat sugar tastes like roasted marshmallows and just a little will do the trick. I went with the roasted marshmallow ale early this spring. It was very good, and did not last long enough. I need another batch of it this fall...

 

[Grod1]

I was reading about the burnt sugars for the marshmallow flavor but i put so much money into the recipe that i was afraid of getting that ratio wrong.I have very limited brew experience with this stout being my 3rd beer.I just dropped $30 on these fancy vanilla beans that my friend hyped me up on and that brought my total up to like $100 so basically if it sucks i ****ed up.I will surely experiment with the idea in the future. I appreciate the input. Thank you for the info on carabrown malt i didn't come across any notes on that while doing research.

 

[Grod1]

Well i'm racking my stout to a secondary today it will be 2 weeks in primary and it has cleared up a bit.The krausen has not shrank/sank at all.After two weeks in secondary i will add vanilla beans and age for another 2 weeks.
Anyone think i should add the vanilla beans for the entire time in secondary? a full 4 weeks?My original plan was to add them to primary but it was suggested to me the secondary would be better.

 

[Morrey]

Hope it turns out! This is one of those $12 pint pours.

 

[PhillyBrewDoug]

I had 1 vanilla bean soaking in my chocolate fig stout for three weeks and it did a good job just peaking through. It was only a 2.5 gallon batch so you might want to use the two beans for yours.

 

[Grod1]

so far so good!I lost a gallon to trub. So i only filled a 3 gallon carboy and a one gallon.I am very happy with the beer its only 10.5% alc.I was aiming for 12 but im fine with that.It taste incredible.I do not taste the chocolate or graham crackers but my friend who help me out said that he did. If i ever brew this again i will have to up the amount.
I put one super plump/moist vanilla bean in,in 3 weeks i will taste it.If i'm satisfied i will bottle if not add one one bean and wait a one more week.

 

[jjeffers09]

I would put the vanilla beans on the beer for a few days, not a few weeks...

 

[Xernex]

If you're looking a good - cheap way to add some toasted marshmallow flavor check out this recipe http://www.crumbblog.com/toasted-marshmallow-syrup-for-lavazzacheer/

I just used it in my sweet potato casserole and I've added it little by little to get the taste exactly where I wanted. Granted I added a little lactose and more marshmallows than this called for...but the stuff is dangerously good.

 

[Grod1]

Unfortunately i dropped the vanilla bean right in with out a hop bag so getting it out would not be the easiest task. If its a vanilla bomb its not the end of the world from what i understand its one of the first flavors to mellow out.

 

[jjeffers09]

you can always bottle up. I don't see the benefit of holding it in a secondary for that extended period of time. In a black beer you don't want to clear the beer up. At 10.5% it will still be a "green" beer for at least 5 weeks in the bottle. The longer the yeast sits the less active it will be when you go to carbing up the beer. Then you are looking at a cask/bottling yeast. The beer is more vulnerable to infections at this stage too. I have always heard that a prolonged secondary is intended for fruit and sour beers only, and it has worked for me so far.

 

[Grod1]

Even better in one week i will bottle or if not satisfied add 1 more vanilla bean until desired flavor is reached then bottle,let sit for 4-5 weeks before i give one a try.
Half of this recipe was an oatmeal milk stout kit and that said to secondary for 4 weeks.I was just going by those directions. I'm glad to know its not necessary if i'm going to bottle condition.

 

[Grod1]

so @2weeks i added a vanilla bean. i let it sit for 5 days and tatted the brew i got a hint of vanilla but i wanted more so i added 1$1/2 more vanilla beans that i have sitting in bourbon. After 2 days it hit the vanilla flavor i wanted so i bottled.
Even flat and warm its so delicious i couldn't stop drinking it.I had one gallon left in a separate carboy, today i added 1.5 oz whole coffee beans 1 vanilla bean that was in the stout that i had stored in sugar. Jamaican scotch bonnet and boiled a half cup of cinnamon in a tea bag. Its in the fridge and in two days i will taste it. when it taste right i will bottle.