Hello out there. I am planning to make a stout with vanilla beans and cocoa nibs and have a few doubts. I want to add bourbon to the mix, and I thought I could kill two birds with one stone: by soaking the nibs in a little(ish) Buffalo Trace I can kill any bacteria and impart bourbon flavor. The recipe I am following says to add the nibs after fermentation is done. Can I add the excess bourbon from the nibs then as well? How long would you soak the nibs? It also says to add one vanilla bean (2, but I am making a half batch - 2.5 gallons). I have read on other forums here that 8 beans for a 5 gallon match would be too much, but is one for 2.5 not enough? Thanks in advance.
You can definitely do it that way. Holy $hit. In my experience 3 potent beans in 5 gallons of stout makes a borderline vanilla bomb. I can't imagine 8. I use beans from Beanilla. YMMV.
In most cases for me 2 is borderline too much in 5 gallons, need something like a stout to support it. So this is probably a good place to start if you haven’t used them before. Typically if I’m storing additions in an alcohol, I make this approximately on brew day in a sealed jar and add in after primary is done. I don’t know if there’s a magic amount of time. This is just what works for me for my taste in most cases.
Cool. Will try it like this. I threw a cinnamon stick and some cloves in about 3 shots of rum for a pumpkin beer and then added it on bottling day. None of these flavors really came through for me. I definitely want to add more and add it earlier.
The quality of the vanilla bean would make a difference too. 1 bean should be plenty if it’s a good one. Soaking the vanilla bean is good practice too. Then you can just add the amount of bourbon to suit your taste after the soak. Also, be sure and slice the beans open.
I made vanilla Tinkture using 10 oz of vodka and 3 vanilla beans split open. Left it for 1 month and now use the Tinkture in the bottleing bucket, usually around 2 oz per 5 gallons. For me, thanks plenty of vanilla.
