Vanilla stout

[Daren]

I am currently making a vanilla stout and am ready to rack to the secondary. The recipe calls for four vanilla beans split lengthwise to give the vanilla flavor in the secondary. My problem is that when I went to the stores in my area tonight, the only vanilla beans I could find were $5 each. I really can't afford that. Has anybody ever used vanilla extract (either real or imitation) to flavor a beer? If so, how many ounces per gallon, and how did it turn out? Thanks.

[b3s]

i have not done vanilla in beer, but i am familiar cooking with the beast.

usually when a recipe calls for a pod of vanilla i substitute (from experimentation over several years) a capful of extract per pod. i would assume that this estimation would hold for beer as well.

use a quality extract...not artifcially flavored crap but real vanilla extract in alcohol. mckormicks is decent. i tend to go with the ones in glass jars as plastic is crap (which leads one to ask why i used plastic buckets at first!).

a capful tends to be 1/4 teaspoon. in your case, calling for so many beans, i would probably subtract one 1/4 teaspoon to be safe since extract will add to the liquid whereas beans will only diffuse flavor.

hth.

[batkins]

Also, if you plan of making more vanilla flavored beers, you can make you own extract. If you can find some cheaper beans, you can put 5-6 in a med. sized bottle of vodka. Let it age and you end up with vanilla extract. At least this is what my wife told me. I'm sure there are recipes online. Also, as you use it, add more vodka.......your supply is replenished.
Cheers,
Bill

[Redbird Fan]

I found vanilla beans for $2.25 each at the city market -

Planters - 816.842.3651

[Daren]

Actually, RedBird Fan and I live in the same area. I can just go to the store where he found them at that price, but I already bought the "real" vanilla extract, so I will just use it. I found a few sites on the net when I searched for "ingredient substitution." They all say 1/2 vanilla bean = 1 Tbs extract, so I think I'm gonna go with that. Thanks for the help.

[Redbird Fan]

so what did you end up using? I think you mentioned the extract, but how much?

[Daren]

The conversion was 1 Tbs extract per 1/2 vanilla bean, so I used 9 Tbs in 5 gallons. We'll see how it turns out. I realize it is no longer a beer since I have added something other than yeast, hops, barley, or water but I think I will drink it anyway.

[Redbird Fan]

Well, that's true, but I don't think you have violated the Mid-western Purity Law, so you'll probably be OK.