Greetings! New brewer here - picked up a Pico a month or so back and now that things have settled down post-holidays, I actually have some time to try it out. Picked out a recipe I'd like to try (https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/445683/beer-geek-vanilla-shake), and I've got nearly everything ready to go. But, had a question re: vanilla measurements - 4g seems like a tiny amount (that's less than a pod) unless the brewer meant paste / seed weight? Anyway, I don't see any way to directly ask the brewer who posted this (the wording around the comment section made it sound like it was intended for reviews) - is there a way, or does anyone have thoughts on which weight I should use?
Question about recipe
- Thread starter bendicott
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It's virtually never perfect first time, so expect to get it right a few iterations later. Especially with things like vanilla pods.
Though it does seem pretty small (maybe it was 4 pods). An alternative is to not add anything to the fermenter and wait until it's ready to package. Then use some decent vanilla extract and dose a sample of the beer to work out how much to add to the bottling bucket. Bit pricier than vanilla pods, but so much easier.
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I recently brewed a Cranberry Chocolate Stout. Here is how I determine the amount of Cranberry juice and cocoa powder to add. I purchased a couple cans of a robust stout and added measured amounts to a measured amount of beer. When I got the flavor I was looking for I did the math to determine the amounts to add to the recipe. My flavors were late boil additions, so not the same situation, but Marks advice to add vanilla extract to taste at packaging is a good call.
Good luck, let is know what you do, and how it turns out.
Cheers
Good luck, let is know what you do, and how it turns out.
Cheers
As it turns out, I'm an idiot - when trying to figure out how many pods I needed, I was referencing a site that converted pods to fluid ounces, for some reason. 4 (weight) ounces of pods is actually a hell of a lot of vanilla, so I think I got my answer. I'll definitely let you know how it goes - I'm very excited to start this, regardless of how it turns out!
