Vanilla Bean Preperation for Mead?

[Tannin Boy]

Now that I have these little suckers in hand ( Thanks Eric ) its time to think about starting a 3 gallon batch of Peach Melomel using them

I looked up a site that sells them and this is the link to preparing them for
my first peach batch! Would anyone like to comment as to the correctness
of this link with respect to the use in mead?

http://www.organic-vanilla.com/servlet/Page?template=a-prepare

Any thoughts on the amount of them to use for 3 gallons? I am looking
for a hint of flavor, do not want to overpower the peach's...

 

[skunkboy]

You probably want to try 1/4 of bean, if looking for just a hint of flavor, and taste every couple of days.

I never both to process them as much as they do on site. I just cut them lengthwise and them maybe cut them in half. I might run a bit of vokda over the bean before tossing into the mead, if I am adding to the secondary.

 

[epetkus]

Now that I have these little suckers in hand ( Thanks Eric ) its time to think about starting a 3 gallon batch of Peach Melomel using them

I looked up a site that sells them and this is the link to preparing them for
my first peach batch! Would anyone like to comment as to the correctness
of this link with respect to the use in mead?

http://www.organic-vanilla.com/servlet/Page?template=a-prepare

Any thoughts on the amount of them to use for 3 gallons? I am looking
for a hint of flavor, do not want to overpower the peach's...

Well, my suggestion would be to sanitize the bean skin first. You could use vodka like skunkboy suggested, or simply sulfite it for a few minutes, then rinse well prior to slicing open.

As to the cutting, your link is accurate, if not overprotective for fingers!

In any case If I were doing a 3 gallon batch, I'd be using 1 to 2 beans (split with center scraped and used) in the secondary for a hint of vanilla, and double that amount for more intense vanilla aspects.

But, I also suggest doing some research. I'ver read that vanilla tends to be a fair amount "fainter/subdued" than you would expect in meads, and that can fade with time. On the other hand, these beans are pretty fresh, so maybe they will infuse a bit more vanilla than normal.

Let us know what you decide and how it turns out!

Eric