Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer None More Black Vanilla Stout

[mdbrewer1]

Im gonna guess that you will lose some of the flavor and aroma from the bourbonand vanilla during the vigourous primary fermentation.
Instead, how bout putting the vanilla beans and boubon in a mason jar in thefridge now, then at the 12 day mark, rack to secondary and add or at kegging day, rack to the keg and add?


"Sometimes Im right half of the time ...."

I forgot to mention that I've had the vanilla beans and innards soaking in bourbon for about a week now. The brew has been sitting in primary since last Saturday.

I guess I was just hung up on the 2 weeks for primary. Tomorrow is day 12 so I'll just plan on racking to the BB with the vanilla bourbon concoction. As a bonus, I'll be able to save some of the yeast like I had been hoping to do.

 

[TrustyOlJohnson]

Personally, if kegging, Id leave it in primary til the day before, rack it to the keg and add boubon vanilla to taste, and pressurize overnight at about 35 psi.


"Sometimes Im right half of the time ...."

 

[mdbrewer1]

Personally, if kegging, Id leave it in primary til the day before, rack it to the keg and add boubon vanilla to taste, and pressurize overnight at about 35 psi.


"Sometimes Im right half of the time ...."

I'm still bottling, but hope to move to kegs within the next year or so. I'll keep that in mind for next time.

I went through the thread again and I think I'll give it the full 2 weeks in primary and then rack to secondary with the bourbon/vanilla. It will still have 5 days to sit in secondary before I bottle it the day before my trip. Considering the beans have been soaking for almost a week already, that seems like it would be plenty of time for the flavors to distribute.

 

[TrustyOlJohnson]

I think that'll work perfect!!


"Sometimes Im right half of the time ...."

 

[mdbrewer1]

Nice. I'm super excited to get this bottled and carbed up.

Would taking the FG reading after adding the vanilla/bourbon mix have a big impact on the reading? I'd love to get a sneak peak of the taste on Saturday.

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[TrustyOlJohnson]

If you take the FG reading before adding the bourbon, you will have an accurate number to calculate ABV (assuming you have the OG). Then you can adjust your ABV based on the amount and proof of bourbon that you add to the bucket. However, it will have surprisingly little affect on ABV.


"Sometimes Im right half of the time ...."

 

[mdbrewer1]

Well, everything is in the BB now. I forgot to take the hydro sample prior to adding the beer to the vanilla/bourbon, so that probably messed that aspect up. The reading was 1.020.

The sample was good, but I couldn't detect any vanilla. I'm hoping the flavor just hadn't spread throughout yet since I used my thief to pull the hydro sample off the top and the vanilla/bourbon mix started at the bottom. I tasted some of the seeds that had clung to the bowl they were soaking in and there was no vanilla flavor left at all. Hopefully all of that flavor got soaked up by the bourbon and is spreading throughout the beer as I type.

 

[mdbrewer1]

I was down earlier checking on the beer and it has started bubbling again and there were scattered bubbles on the top. I counted about 5 bubbles a minute. Is that to be expected?

 

[johnsnownw]

I was down earlier checking on the beer and it has started bubbling again and there were scattered bubbles on the top. I counted about 5 bubbles a minute. Is that to be expected?

It could still be fermenting a bit, or it's just Co2 coming out of solution. Normal either way.

 

[mdbrewer1]

It could still be fermenting a bit, or it's just Co2 coming out of solution. Normal either way.

Thanks.

It was down to less than 1 bubble per minute last night, so I'm hoping to bottle tonight when I get home. The plan is to add some vanilla extract to the bucket if the vanilla flavor isn't quite there.

 

[johnsnownw]

Thanks.

It was down to less than 1 bubble per minute last night, so I'm hoping to bottle tonight when I get home. The plan is to add some vanilla extract to the bucket if the vanilla flavor isn't quite there.

If you're unsure if it's still fermenting...do not bottle. You are just asking for bottle bombs. If your next gravity sample is less than the last one you took, do not bottle. Air-lock activity isn't a good indicator of fermentation.

 

[mdbrewer1]

If you're unsure if it's still fermenting...do not bottle. You are just asking for bottle bombs. If your next gravity sample is less than the last one you took, do not bottle. Air-lock activity isn't a good indicator of fermentation.

It's been fermenting for 17 days which I thought would have been plenty for this beer.

 

[mdbrewer1]

I pulled a hydro sample and it is still the same as when I did it 5 days ago. It is still bubbling a fair bit so I'm going to wait until tomorrow and see how things look then.

 

[mdbrewer1]

Is offgassing the same as fermenting? I'm still getting bubbles every 30 seconds or so right now. It was hardly bubbling at all before I lugged it upstairs. Is it possible I put some yeast back in suspension while carrying it up the steps?

 

[johnsnownw]

Is offgassing the same as fermenting? I'm still getting bubbles every 30 seconds or so right now. It was hardly bubbling at all before I lugged it upstairs. Is it possible I put some yeast back in suspension while carrying it up the steps?

Off-gassing is not the same as fermentation. Lots of factors can cause off-gassing, including changes in pressure and temperature, but also disturbing the carboy/bucket.

That was my concern though, when you transferred you put yeast back in suspension and they started up again. However, if your hydro sample was the same after 3 or 4 days in secondary it's probably not fermenting. I'd check one last time, and if the hydro sample hasn't changed...go ahead and bottle.

 

[mdbrewer1]

Thanks for the feedback. I'll pull another sample tonight and see what it says. It is about 5 degrees warmer upstairs, plus I had to put pressure on the BB when I picked it up and put it down.

Hopefully I'm good to go or I'll have to wait until I get back from vacation. Would there be any problems if it sat on the vanilla and bourbon for two weeks in secondary?

 

[johnsnownw]

Thanks for the feedback. I'll pull another sample tonight and see what it says. It is about 5 degrees warmer upstairs, plus I had to put pressure on the BB when I picked it up and put it down.

Hopefully I'm good to go or I'll have to wait until I get back from vacation. Would there be any problems if it sat on the vanilla and bourbon for two weeks in secondary?

No problems at all, assuming you don't have a lot of head space. Too much head space in secondary may run you into oxidation issues.

 

[mdbrewer1]

The gravity was the same as yesterday, so I went ahead and bottled it up. I had a bit of trouble with foaming, but I lowered the bottling bucket to be closer to the bottles and tightened my hose connections and those two things helped a lot. I added 1 1/2 tbsp of vanilla extract and it still wasn't as strong as I was looking for, but I'm hoping maybe that improves once it carbs up and I didn't want to overdo it. We shall see in about two weeks.

 

[mgonbrewlab]

The last time I made this beer I waited till bottling to add the vanilla- it was basically non-existant for about 3 weeks, then good and strong, and then the couple bottles I had left at about the 2 month mark were mostly absent of the vanilla smell or taste.

Then again, I usually add chocolate malt and unmalted barley to this recipe, so those other flavors probably overpower the vanilla.

 

[mdbrewer1]

Sounds like there is a good window for inviting people over. I'm going to invite some of the new neighbors over the next time I brew early next month. That should probably work out great.

Sent from my cm_tenderloin using Home Brew mobile app

 

[mdbrewer1]

I had my first one of these after getting back from vacation two weeks ago and it was OK. The bourbon flavor was fairly strong and masked most of the vanilla. I had another last night and the bourbon had mellowed a bit and the vanilla came through better. I'll keep sampling and take notes.

I'd like to have some homebrew on hand for Labor Day and I'm not sure how these will taste. They will have been in bottles for 2 months by then. From what I've read, it sounds like the vanilla taste might be gone by then. I'm going to be making some Centennial Blonde this weekend, so that should probably be ready by then if it seems like the vanilla flavor is starting to fade on this.

It does seem to be a bit undercarbed though. I used an online calculator to try to get to 2.2 volumes and it definitely isn't to that point, at least not yet. It's been in the basement the whole time, so I might try moving it upstairs to see if that helps.

 

[johnsnownw]

I had my first one of these after getting back from vacation two weeks ago and it was OK. The bourbon flavor was fairly strong and masked most of the vanilla. I had another last night and the bourbon had mellowed a bit and the vanilla came through better. I'll keep sampling and take notes.

I'd like to have some homebrew on hand for Labor Day and I'm not sure how these will taste. They will have been in bottles for 2 months by then. From what I've read, it sounds like the vanilla taste might be gone by then. I'm going to be making some Centennial Blonde this weekend, so that should probably be ready by then if it seems like the vanilla flavor is starting to fade on this.

It does seem to be a bit undercarbed though. I used an online calculator to try to get to 2.2 volumes and it definitely isn't to that point, at least not yet. It's been in the basement the whole time, so I might try moving it upstairs to see if that helps.

2.2 volumes isn't particularly high, I bottled at 2.4. You will not have lost the vanilla at 2 months. Mine still had vanilla flavor until I had my last bottle...at something like 5 months.

 

[mdbrewer1]

2.2 volumes isn't particularly high, I bottled at 2.4. You will not have lost the vanilla at 2 months. Mine still had vanilla flavor until I had my last bottle...at something like 5 months.

I wasn't sure how high to go. 2.2 looked like a good middle ground, but I'd definitely go higher next time.

Glad to hear that the vanilla sticks around that long. I soaked 3 whole beans and added 1 1/2 Tbsp at bottling for good measure. Now I need to get some other beer in the fridge so I don't drink it all up right away.

 

[withoutink]

Going to try this today. It's my first brew ever. I hope I don't bungle it up.

 

[mdbrewer1]

Going to try this today. It's my first brew ever. I hope I don't bungle it up.

Good luck! As long as you're well prepared, you should be just fine.

Plus, as long as you follow good sanitation processes, this can be a fairly forgiving hobby/passion. You can read lots of stories about how people bungled things up and still ended up with good beer!

 

[withoutink]

Thanks! I'm cleaning my wort chiller now.

Also do I need to crush the malt and barley in this photo?

 

[mdbrewer1]

Thanks! I'm cleaning my wort chiller now.

Also do I need to crush the malt and barley in this photo?

View attachment 216588

Yes. If you don't, you won't get much of the benefit of steeping them. I always use the mill at my LHBS, but I've read at home you can use items such as a rolling pin to crush them. I imagine there are some threads on here than can give you some clear guidance on how to do it like how coarse/fine to crush them, etc.

 

[mgonbrewlab]

Another method if the rolling pin is too slow/frustrating: plastic bag + rubber mallet.

 

[withoutink]

Fermentation has appeared to stop. I started the wort last Saturday. So it's been bubbling for a week, would this pause be of concern?

 

[withoutink]

I broke out the hydrometer today, as bubbling has stopped six days after putting in the fermenter.

OG 1.060
Today 1.019

Should I keep in the fermenter another week? pitch more yeast? Move to secondary?

Thanks in advance.