Vanilla addition

[MensBrewha]

I have been toying with the idea of adding vanilla to my beers;however, I am not sure if vanilla extract will work and if so how much to add to a 5gal batch without over doing it. Also do I need to do anything to the vanilla before addition (purification) or just add it

 

[CodeSection]

Last Fall I brewed a Holly Christmas Ale. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/holly-christmas-ale.145580/ Everyone really liked it and have been asking for more. Instead of one vanilla bean, I used two. I split the beans and scraped out their contents and then cut the beans in small pieces and added to my tea and French press. In the end, even after letting it age, I could not detect any vanilla.

This year I'm planning on following the exact same process except that I plan to add a teaspoon of REAL vanilla extract to the tea a French press in addition to the two vanilla beans. I would suggest avoiding imitation vanilla extract.

 

[Jag75]

If I were you I'd get about 4 or 5 beans and make a Tinture with the liquor of your choice . Then add right before packaging.

 

[CodeSection]

If I were you I'd get about 4 or 5 beans and make a Tinture with the liquor of your choice . Then add right before packaging.

I haven't tried making a tincture before. I'm willing to try.

From what I have read, it is a 2-4 week process. I'm guessing if you start with 4 oz of your choice of liquor covering scraped and diced vanilla beans that later gets strained, you will end up with 3-3.5 oz of tincture. I wonder if you have better flavor control using the tincture vs using real vanilla extract.

 

[histo320]

I've done both with my None More Black Vanilla Stout and I was a bit disappointed in the tincture both times I tried it. Maybe my process was off. But I always seem to get more vanilla flavor from the extract. Plus it's way cheaper.

The only issue I had with the extract was that head retention wasn't great but appearance to me and my friends doesn't matter. Now if I was entering a contest I would use a tincture.

 

[Jag75]

I had cocoa nibs as well as vanilla beans. I tossed in all the contents after fermentation was done . Then I kegged 2 weeks later. It was a chocolate milk stout. And yes vanilla beans can be pricey. Pure extract is expensive as well. Big difference in pure and imitation.

 

[Katman]

I used vanilla extract in a oatmeal stout I brewed. Added it when bottling at 1 teaspoon per gallon. It really took over the beer taste at two weeks in the bottle. Now it has been in the bottles about four to five weeks and is much less pronounced but still to much for my taste. If I try extract again it will be a quarter to half teaspoon per gallon.

 

[Dgallo]

Tincture idea is you’re best bet. You’re essentially making a fresh vanilla extract that way and will get better extraction than if you just tossed the beans in

 

[redarmy990]

I make a cream ale with Vanilla, i go the tinture route.
5 vanilla beans, diced sliced scraped and add to vodka for 3-4 weeks.
Shake once a day.
When kegging time strain tincture into keg and rack on top, always get a great vanilla flavour.

 

[AJinJacksonville]

I have made tinctures with vodka (if I recall correctly) using fresh (aka expensive) Tahitian vanilla beans. The store-bought beans you find at the local grocery stores are not the best to use in my opinion, as they are dried out and not nearly as fresh. The ones I bought (my memory escapes me the place my sister ordered them from for me) were packaged well and were still moist and plump when I received them. I let them sit for a few days and added them to secondary. Perfect vanilla undertones on the brown ale I brewed.