Brewers, My daughter has sent me 3 different types of vanilla beans. They are extract grade Tahitian, extract Bourbon Planifolia grown in Madagascar andextract grade, grown in Indonesia. Any thought on which is best, or better and should I make extratr or just scrap the bean into the beer. This will be my first vanilla beer.
I'd make an extract of each, taste each, and then use the extract you think would work best in the beer you brewed at packaging.
Tahitian are fruity and more fragrant, while Madagascar is my Favorite and tend to be chocolatey, I can't speak to the Indonesian ones I prefer to make extract but it takes quite a bit of time to make (longer = better depth of flavor) I usually soak about 1/4lb of beans in 1-1.5L of alcohol (depending on bean quality) for roughly 2 months minimum, at this point I start to use it though i allow the beans to continue to soak
I make my own extract, and it's basically 10 beans/cup (insert spirit of choice) and generally takes 3 months before it's ready to use...and 6 months before it's really ready. Anyway, I find they basically taste as they smell. My latest batch is 70% Madagascar, 20% Indian, and 10% Tongan.
