Beers as good (or better) than Vanilla Rye

The thing that makes Vanilla Rye stand out over the alternatives is that Bourbon County variants seem to hold up over time as well or better than any other adjunct stouts.

 

a buddy and I plan on doing a small Vanilla share . we have FO ,VR ,Madagascar and was thinking of a fourth . we have the option for MT Rum with Vanilla , BA Farminghammer Vanilla , Nooner 9 . anyone have Nooner 9 side by side to FO or VR ?

 

I would add a DIY BCBVS (drop some vanilla bean in a bottle of BCBS).

 

This is so true. Ive traded all of my bcbvs and vr bottles because of how easy it is to replicate the flavor.

 

Just a regular vanilla bean and recap it? For how long? Open the bean lengthwise before dropping in, I assume?

I've gotten rid of prop because it's super easy to put some toasted coconut and a cinnamon stick in a french press (or a chopped up mounds bar if more chocolate is your jam) but my vanilla didn't turn out right.

 

Yes, overnight (or longer, depending on how much vanilla flavor you want out of it), and yes. I've heard of good results with ~36hrs, but you can definitely play with the time.

You can also use vanilla extract if you don't want to wait, but the results won't be quite as good.

 

Use a french press. Pour beer in with a split vanilla bean and scrape the insides, french press it, fridge for an hour or 2. Good stuff.

 

how long do you let the bean and insides soak in the beer before pressing it?

 

just an hour or 2. i'm sure more time will yield different results, but scraping the bean does a lot.

 

That's what I do with the coconut and it comes out perfect. Maybe I didnt buy good enough beans or something. All they had at my local store was ugandan bourbon soaked vanilla beans or something.

 

What do you use to infuse coconut? Water? Actual Coconut? Flakes?

 

Coconut flakes like you get in a package for baking. Toast on low heat in the oven until it starts to turn yellow. Dump in french press with a full BCBS and a cinnamon stick for a couple of hours. If you want it carbed up you can mix with fresh BCBS at serving time.

Only problem is that it takes up 2 BCBS every time you do it. I make a french press full for shares now. Mounds Barr works really well too, just chop it up and let it sit. Gets the coconut flavor but also adds that fudgy, dark chocolate.

 

Thanks. Do you used sweetened or unsweetened coconut flakes?

 

Typically the sweetened, since that's all my small town grocery store has. I'm sure either is fine. Maybe the sweetened helps bring out more coconut flavor though.

 

Yes – slice the bean open lengthwise beforehand. Only one-third to one-half bean is needed if you have good vanilla.

As to how long... Usually I'd say that 3-5 days is enough, but this past weekend we opened a bottle of BCBS that had had one-third of a vanilla bean and a dozen coffee beans added to it back in April (and gotten lost at the back of the beer cooler), and it was a whole different animal – the vanilla bean had dissolved entirely, and the beer had not only vanilla and coffee but toffee and caramel overtones that aren't normally there in BCBS. Very interesting and tasty.

 

Do you not lose any carb when you open and re-cap a bottle?

 

A little, but it's hardly noticeable with something like BCBS, particularly if the bottle's cold and you do it very quickly. With practice I've gotten it down to where I can open/add/recap in 3-4 seconds.

 

When you sliced the bean open and scrape the inside, do you need to remove the black stuff inside before placing it in the bottle?

 

Noooooooooo! That's where most of your flavor is going to come from!

 

Fudge! I was brewed a oatmeal stout and added some vanilla beans. I thought you're supposed to get rid of the black stuff. Guess mine wont have any vanilla flavors lol. Thanks for letting me know!