Vanilla and Cinnamon - How much?

I feel like 3-4 full beans is a lot for a 5 gallon batch or even a 10 gallon batch. You have to realize real vanilla beans have a ton of flavor. I would probably lean more towards 2 unless you're doing a really huge beer that is strong enough to stand up to it. That being said I haven't tried it in beer myself so hopefully someone else can weigh in before you take the plunge.

 

Subthreshold spicing is best. I've no experience with vanilla, but usually use 2 gms cinnamon per 5 gallons.

 

How big are we talking?

I'd add the cinnamon late in the boil (5 min) rather than secondary, but I'm always concerned about contamination. Many people have used it in secondary with no issues, however. Either way, one stick is all I'd personally use.

You add all of the vanilla bean, you scrape the seeds out only to aid in extraction. Also, I make my own extract from vanilla beans and vodka. I don't actually add the beans to secondary...but there is nothing wrong with doing so. I should think 3 beans sufficient, but it really depends on how much you want the vanilla to stand out.

 

Start with 1 of each, wait a week or 2,taste it, then add more if necessary. You can always add, you can't subtract.

 

I used four beans once for a 5 gal strong ale, two in the boil and two in the secondary and it was a vanilla bomb. Seems to me the two in the secondary added much more , or just that more of the flavor remained.

I would like to add cinnamon sometime for sure but don't want to turn it into liquid red hots!

 

It really depends on how strong you want the flavours to come through. I would say 2 pods if you are adding pre-ferment, and 1 pod if you are adding post-ferment. This will give you a noticable amount of vanilla, but definitely not overpowering. If you sample it and want stronger, then you can easily add another pod post-ferment.

No personal experience with cinnamon, but i've read 2-4g per 5 gal is the guide.

 

I brewed an 8% stout this past weekend using 5 cinnamon sticks broken up in a bag with 5 minutes left in the boil (I decided on this based on different beer sites & threads recommending 1 stick per gallon. I added them at 5 minutes before the end of the boil and allowed them to steep while the beer cooled to pitching temps, which took about 45 minutes (I go slow). I'm tasting my wort now and I can say that the aroma is pronounced but not overwhelming. There's no mistaking the cinnamon in there. It's also not subtle in the flavor. It ain't liquid red hots, but you know there's cinnamon in this beer. I would not say that 5 sticks is too much, but if you're looking for a subtle flavor I'd say maybe go with 2 or 3. I'm tasting straight out of the carboy, so once kegged it may be different. Personally I'd probably only use 3 if I were to do this again.

 

As a "fairly new brewer" I would make sure that you have the ability to adequately cool your wort and control your temperature, as well as proper pitching rates for this beer. 2 reasons. 1) If you want an IMPY Stout by Christmas you want the beer to ferment properly so it tastes good in 2 months. 2) If you have a lot of "hot alcohol" bite in the beer from fermenting too hot it will pair with the cinnamon and alter its perception. Too much cinnamon and hot alcohol will create an unpleasant heat (think red hots).