Imperial Stout. Add Vanilla?

[DeBAD]

We are fermenting an Imperial Stout (only day 3). I've been really enjoying various vanilla porters and vanilla stouts lately and was wondering if anyone had an opinion on whether you think its a good or bad idea to add vanilla to our Imperial?

If so, how/when is that done?

Thanks in advance for any input!

 

[noladom]

I'd personally enjoy an imperial with vanilla flavor. If you're using vanilla beans I believe you would add them to the primary but an extract or flavoring I'm not too sure about. I know you can add fruit to the primary so I don't see why vanilla beans would be any different. Admittedly I've never worked with them though.

 

[RIC0]

My experience with vanilla has been with whole beans.

2 is plenty I think, cut and split.

I've racked to a secondary after being in primary for a month or longer then added vanilla beans to secondary and let it sit for 2 weeks.

For an imperial, I'd let it be in primary for a month. rack to secondary and let it sit another 2-3 months. Then add the vanilla for 2 weeks an take it to bottle or keg. Odds are it wouldn't hurt to age even longer after bottled to get better.

 

[SteveHeff]

Just throwing the vanilla bean in to the primary/secondary will not impart the amount of flavor you hope it will. You need to soak the bean in a vodka (or another unflavored alcohol) for a few days, at least, in order for the vanilla flavor to be extracted from the bean. Or you can put a few Tbs of extract in on bottling day.

I've done this both ways. I threw in 3 split and scraped beans that added almost no flavor whatsoever. I've had very good results using pure extract. Much easier to dial in how much you want.

 

[NivekD]

I added two sliced and scraped beans to two ounces of bourbon for two weeks and then added that to a three gal batch of Rapture RIS (in the recipe section) in the secondary for two weeks. Have only tried one so far but I can tell the vanilla is there...very tasty BTW.

 

[LoneTreeFarms]

+1 on the adding the vanilla bean to a small container of vodka it helps bring out the vanilla plus itll give your beer a small boost.

also welcome fellow iowan.

 

[RIC0]

You guys must have had old vanilla beans as I've never soaked them. I split, cut in half and scraped and added to two beans to the secondary for 2 weeks. No doubt it had vanilla, had I gone with 3 beans it would have been too much.

 

[Crito]

I used vanilla extract with good success.

 

[Shred]

We are fermenting an Imperial Stout (only day 3). I've been really enjoying various vanilla porters and vanilla stouts lately and was wondering if anyone had an opinion on whether you think its a good or bad idea to add vanilla to our Imperial?

If so, how/when is that done?

Thanks in advance for any input!

I added it to mine and it's great. I did 1 bean (cut up) for 5 minutes in the boil and 2 beans (cut up) in secondary.

 

[Ready2brew]

I've used good vanilla extract at flameout with my imperial stout and was happy with the results. I was looking for light vanilla flavors to compliment the chocolate notes. Others report benefits and flavor enhancements adding during secondary fermentation. Experiment and find what you like best.

 

[DeBAD]

also welcome fellow iowan.

Thanks! Having a TON of fun so far!

 

[DeBAD]

I have another question about my Imperial.

The directions say to leave it in the primary for 2-weeks then rack to the secondary for 1 to 3 months. What would you guys do?

Also it feels like the prevailing wisdom on the Imperial is I should rack it to a secondary. However it seems like modern home brewing discourages a secondary. Is there something different about an Imperial that makes it okay to rack to secondary?

Thanks!

 

[Shred]

There are 2 reasons they may be recommending secondary. First, they may be assuming your primary is plastic and your secondary is glass. You don't want to leave your beer in plastic for longer than maybe 6 weeks. Second, if you're doing an extended bulk aging (i.e. 3 months) it's not good to leave your beer on the yeast cake for that long.

If you're only planning on letting it go a total of maybe 6 weeks and then bottle aging you'll be fine without racking to secondary.

 

[DeBAD]

Yes my primary is plastic and my secondary is glass.

So sounds like I should move it after 2-weeks? So assuming I leave it in the secondary glass carboy for a month and I want to add vanilla extract when should I add it and how much?

Thanks!

 

[Shred]

If you're only going to leave it there for a month you're fine keeping it in the plastic bucket. I've had beers in plastic for as long as 8 weeks. I'd not recommend going beyond that, however. You can add the extract at bottling time with your priming sugar.

 

[DeBAD]

No I mean 6-weeks total (2 in Primary, 4 in secondary). Plan to age in bottle for a couple months though.

So extract in bottling bucket. Will it blend quickly enough that way? Was thinking about just adding it when I rack to secondary. Do you have suggestions on pros and cons of both approaches?

 

[Shred]

6 weeks total is safe in plastic in my experience. If you are planning to rack to secondary that's fine too. You can put the vanilla in at that time. The only cons are that racking is extra exposure to the outside world and a slightly increased risk of contamination.

When I bottle I put my priming sugar solution in the bottom of the bucket and put the hose in curved so that it mixes and creates a whirlpool. It works for even carbonation so no reason to think it wouldn't for the extract. A quick gentle stir with a sanitized spoon would ensure even distribution however.

 

[RIC0]

Big beers need to age especially a RIS.

Beer can sit in a bucket for a year without issue as long as it's a true brewing bucket as in a food grade bucket. If you have a glass carboy, hell yeah use it.

Prime it for a month, then rack it to a secondary. The reason to rack to secondary is so it's not sitting on the yeast cake for a long period of time.

I always rack to a secondary if i'm going to bulk age beer. For me depending on the beer it's either done and going to bottle at 3-4 weeks or it's racked to secondary for bulk aging. If you do plan to use vanilla beans hold off and put them in 2 weeks before you plan to bottle.

 

[DeBAD]

We racked to secondary (glass carboy) last night (15-total days in primary). Wow the color is beautiful! Tested a sample and we are right on target with a gravity of 1.028 (started at 1.09). Tasted it and WOW this is gonna be good! Heck it already is!

I'm still confused though as to how much vanilla extract to add. For now we put in 1-tablespoon. It's a 5-gallon batch. I don't want overpowering vanilla but I want to be able to taste it too.

How much do you all suggest for quantity of vanilla extract? I read somewhere 2-oz for 5-gallons. If that's the case I have only added .5-oz so far.

Thanks!

 

[Newsman]

We racked to secondary (glass carboy) last night (15-total days in primary). Wow the color is beautiful! Tested a sample and we are right on target with a gravity of 1.028 (started at 1.09). Tasted it and WOW this is gonna be good! Heck it already is!

I'm still confused though as to how much vanilla extract to add. For now we put in 1-tablespoon. It's a 5-gallon batch. I don't want overpowering vanilla but I want to be able to taste it too.

How much do you all suggest for quantity of vanilla extract? I read somewhere 2-oz for 5-gallons. If that's the case I have only added .5-oz so far.

Thanks!

Take a taste and see if it has enough vanilla flavor for you. If not, add a little more and keep tasting until it has about the right flavor for you, then add just a touch more as, in my experience, you'll lose a bit of flavor as it ages.

 

[DeBAD]

That's exactly what my local brew store guy told me. Thanks!

BTW how long does it take for the taste to adequately mix through the beer so I can test taste the vanilla extract addition? Week or so? I'm planning to leave it in the secondary for a month or more so I have plenty of time to tweak it.

 

[Newsman]

That's exactly what my local brew store guy told me. Thanks!

BTW how long does it take for the taste to adequately mix through the beer so I can test taste the vanilla extract addition? Week or so? I'm planning to leave it in the secondary for a month or more so I have plenty of time to tweak it.

Depends on if you're using extract or beans. I generally use beans soaked in the least expensive liquor I can find (usually use bourbon, myself.) If you're using liquid extract, you should be able to use a sanitized spoon to stir it in and taste it then. If you're using beans soaked in liquor, you might give it a day or two and taste it then. I found out the hard way that it'll be VERY strong vanilla initially, and that WILL fade with time.

 

[DeBAD]

Will be pouring it into the mouth of a glass carboy so can't really stir. Will it blend on its own and if so how long will it take?

 

[Newsman]

Will be pouring it into the mouth of a glass carboy so can't really stir. Will it blend on its own and if so how long will it take?

It should eventually. Wait... you said glass... I was going to say give it a shake, but after reading some of the threads on here about glass carboys breaking, that might not be a good idea. Yeah, it should blend on it's own. I'd give it a day or so, just to be safe. Then take a wine thief / turkey baster and pull a small sample to taste. If it's not flavorful enough, add more, etc.