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Vanilla beans for mead

Once again I have been gifted a gift that I can hardly believe.  I have received 9 full length vanilla beans for my dried cherry-vanilla mead.  Now of course, I won't be using them all in the mead but was wondering how a straight vanilla mead would taste?  I will probably only use 1 in the cherry-vanilla mead.  Has anyone here every made a straight vanilla mead?

Why so many gifts of honey, vanilla beans and such, you might ask?  I have found the more generous I am with my mead, the more "gifts" I receive.  Everybody seems to want to donate something to a new batch.  Then when the first bottle of mead makes it debut, credit is given where credit is due and everybody gets to ohhhh and ahhhh over the generousity of the giver and the mazer.  Win-win situation for everyone.



 

Haven't made a straight vanilla mead, but I understand those puppies pack some punch. 
How do you plan on introducing the beans?

 

Everyone this is Mr Vanilla bean........

That's how I would introduce him  smile

ID

 

I made a vanilla bean and cinnamon mead. it is my best work. I used madagascar vanilla beans I used 3 for a 4 gallon batch and split them the length and cut them in half, then racked the mead right onto them.  I just kept sampling once a week until I had the desired vanilla flavor. It was difficult work sampling the mead but someone had to do it. I left them in for 1 month and transfered.

good luck

BT



 

I am not sure Brewski, I am just starting to think about this one.  They are madagascar beans and very potent.  They were in a ziplock freezer bag and eveybody could still smell them. 

That vanilla/cinnamon mead sounds tempting.  I did however decide to make another batch of the Ancient Orange at the same time as the Cherry/Vanilla.  That last batch of AO went fast, only a few bottles left.  I could pop a small piece of vanilla bean in that also.  Maybe it would taste like a DreamSicle?  smile

 

I made a 5-gallon batch of vanilla mead with orange blossom honey.  I had 4 Madagascar beans.  Used 2 in the boil and 2 in secondary.  Unfortunately when my home was robbed, the thieves poured out the 2-year old mead all over the apartment so I'll never know how well it would have completed.  I did taste each time I racked and the vanilla was nice.

 

Wild, that just plain sucks!  Bad karma for them, may nary a drop of mead ever cross their lips! 

I put my vanilla beans to good use this Memorial Day weekend.  Started my dried cherry-vanilla mead and an JAOM with vanilla bean as well.  I took the advice and started out with 1 lb of dried cherries hydrated overnight and 1/2 a vanilla bean for the C-V mead.  I made the JAOM according to recipe except that I only had mixed dried fruits (no raisins) and added the remainder of the vanilla bean to it.  Both are bubblying quite happily at this point.  I'll put the second pound of dried cherries in the secondary, I want some good strong cherry flavor in the finished bottle.

 

Update on the Dried Cherry/Vanilla Mead:

Just doesn't have quite the wow factor I was looking for.  Put the last 1/2 lb of dried cherries in the secondary about 2 weeks ago but still no definite cherry flavor and it is a bit dry for my taste.  I have a large can of sweet cherry puree that I am thinking about adding this weekend.  Thinking it might sweeten it up a bit and give it that well rounded flavor that I am looking for. 

The orange vanilla mead (JAOM with a vanilla bean added) is looking wonderful.  Fruit is almost all on the bottom and it is clear as a bell.  Haven't tasted it yet but thinking this is the weekend for it!

 

If you try this again I have found some fruits come through in taste right away others you have to age your mead from 6 months to 3 yrs to get a distinct Flavor from most about a yr....Puree the cherries or juice them seems to speed up the flavor coming through....Some fruits when heated not Boiled will also break down faster making the flavor come out....Peaches is good example of this.....Vanilla is strong a little goes along ways unless ya want to wait for ever for it to mellow out with age to much will mellow to something you can drink....

 

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