how much vanilla in 50gal of stout?

[Nyg215]

I will be brewing an Oaked vanilla bourbon stout over my Christmas break. 10 gallons everyday. Let it ferment then fill my bourbon barrel that I got from Victory with it. I was wondering if you think 1lb of vanilla beans would be good for 50 gallons? The stout will have an OG around 1.090.

 

[sheeshomatic]

I think a lb of vanilla beans would be a LOT. WAY too much. Vanilla is potent stuff. Don't forget you're going to extract vanillin from the bourbon barrel too. How long are you going to be conditioning it for in the barrel? I've made a couple of VBPs and I've used 2 whole beans per 5 gallons, and that was more than enough. They need to be removed when you've reached the vanilla level you want. I would certainly cut and bag the beans, then hang them from the bung and test for vanilla levels after a couple of weeks.

 

[Nyg215]

I plan to take 5 gallons off at 3 months, 6 months and 9 months. Depending on how they taste over that period will determine when i remove all of it from the barrel. So i would need 20 beans for this...

 

[sheeshomatic]

I plan to take 5 gallons off at 3 months, 6 months and 9 months. Depending on how they taste over that period will determine when i remove all of it from the barrel. So i would need 20 beans for this...

Good plan. Yeah, and likely less if you want to leave them in there the entire time.