Vanilla Cream Stout

[JayBirde]

Hello Everybody,
Just a quick question. Was able to buy Lawson Creek Vanilla Cream Stout in my area from Kroger until recently. It seems that their contract with Gruek Brewery is cancelled and I can no longer buy that beer:mad:
Was wondering if anyone had a recipe for Vanilla Cream Stout. I figured I would just brew a stout beer and add vanilla extract or beans and cream, but don't know what kind of ratio. Probably will brew a 5 gallon batch to try.
Any help would be appreciated! Thank You!!

[BigWilley]

The easy way and the cheap way would be to brew up a cream stout then on bottling day pull off a pint or two and start experimenting with different amounts of extract until you get what your looking for then simply scale up the amount for the rest of the batch. You should probably start at 5 mls per liter or so. It would be a good idea to make a dilution of the vanilla to make it easier to measure such small amounts. If your lazy simply stir in a Tbs of extract into your bottling bucket and taste, then keep adding till you get what you want. Vannila beans are great but very pricey and I imagine you would want to boil them to extract as much flavor as possible or maybe steep them at the end of the boil or even use them as a dry hop. You could buy a sixpack of stout and experiment with that beforehand. Good luck.

[blazingstar]

We make a great vanilla stout at Brew it up in Sacramento. I'd try 1-1.5 ounces of vanilla extract with 1/4-1/2 pounds of lactose.
Cheers

[Greenbrewmonkey]

Just call me old fashioned, but whole Vanilla Beans are the way to go! Extract tastes like extract, and beans taste like vanilla. When the weather gets cold and blustery, and we feel in need of a little comfort, we always cask off a few vanilla porters and stouts. We usually just take our regular robust porter, or Irish stout add three whole beans per firkin (10.8 US gal) and age two to four weeks at cellar temp for a super silken smooth vanilla flavor. Sometimes I'd go two, but four is much too much. Having recently (last few years) developed lactose intolerance, I usually skip on the lactose, the real vanilla adds quite a bit of creaminess all on its own. But sometimes you need the straight dope, and 1/2 to 1 lb of lactose per firkin will give you a creamy milky delight!

Aloha,

[blazingstar]

I agree that vanilla beans are best, but it can be alot easier to get your hands on extract. If you have the choice go beans.
Cheers
Blazingstar