Vanilla addition..

Ronan|Raven

I have a stout 3 weeks in primary, coopers kit + lme and cocoa powder.
I am thinking of putting it in secondary for a while to take it off the yeast cake as it could be a few more weeks before I have time to bottle.

I am thinking of adding some vanilla to it whilst in secondary. I am wondering if anyone has used vanilla extract in secondary? If so any tips on how much to add to a 20L batch?

Knifey Spoony

I didn't use extract, but used one vanilla pod in a Cooper's Stout last year and it wasn't that noticeable. I'd say one and a half or maybe two pods would do to get more flavour. I soaked the pods in 300ml of whiskey for a few weeks to extract the vanilla from the pod and also sanitise it. Could use vodka instead if you don't want a whiskey taste in the beer.

Knifey Spoony

Just thinking about this a bit more. If you want to use extract, the best way to figure out how much extract to add would be draw off 100ml of stout and then add controlled amounts of extract until you are happy with the taste. Then scale up the extract amount keeping the ratio of stout:extract the same.

Should be able to decide what flavour you want then, instead of blindly following a set amount off a website.

baron von something

i added 2 pods in my stout for about a week and i'm finding the flavour barely noticeable.i only split the pods lengthways and added them,maybe i should have scraped out the insides too.extract might be the way to go

Elbow

I added 3 to a 19L batch during the week, tapped a litre out of the fermenter and stuck it on the hob with the 3 beans split lengthways and scraped, brought it to the boil, turned off the heat and when it was down to around 25 degrees added the whole lot back into the fermenter.