Flavoring Question

[BrewingRugger]

I am planning to make a Vanilla Baltic Porter. I am just not sure how I am going to flavor it. I have had an idea to put pure vanilla extract in the last few minutes of the boil, but not sure how much to use and how long to boil. I have also thought about using vanilla beans in the secondary, but again not sure of how many beans to use. Any suggestions for a fellow homebrewer?

 

[vasie]

From what have heard, If you are going to use the vanilla extract, you can add it in the secondary. Take a sample of your beer and add the extract in measured amounts until you hit your flavor target. Scale up for the full batch volume.

 

[tomq04]

As long as you have real extract (high alcohol) you're safe to add in secondary or end of primary, but I think most folks prefer secondary.

You can also do whole vanilla beans sliced up and add after primary fermentation is done. Last time my co-worker did it, 2 beans added nothing, and 8 was too much if I recall correctly. I think he was going to shoot for 5 this year.

Some folks soak the beans in bourbon with smoked wood chips for a week before adding, unsure if they add the bourbon or just the bean + woodchips.


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