I am going to add some vanilla beans to a porter that I have in the primary at the moment. question being: I know normally you would rack to a secondary and add whatever adjuncts you please but, I am also going to age this beer in a Balcones whiskey barrel for about a month or two. I was trying to avoid racking twice before kegging. Is this safe to do as my fermentation is towards the end? Or is it "ok" period to add them to the primary?
Either in primary, or in the barrel would be fine. You typically get some vanilla nodes off of a barrel anyway. I'd personally toss the beans in the barrel right before you are going to package the beer.
Would it be fine to age the beer with in the barrel with the beans for the month or two? Or is that something you only want in there for a week or two (the vanilla beans)?
My somewhat limited experience with fresh vanilla beans is that they can be very potent. I'd recommend having a way to pull them when the flavor is where you want it.
good point. http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/use-of-vanilla-beans.61971/ i stumbled on this thread and it had some pretty good info on it. The longer you soak the beans, the better? That is what i am seeing to get out from the information i have found. @FATC1TY
