My wife just kicked a bottle of vanilla extract. She bakes a lot and buys the good stuff that comes with a bean in it. I think i want to add the bean to my double-chocolate stout that's in the secondary. Right now I have the carboy in the fridge trying to get the yeast to settle out.
If I throw the bean in now, will it have any impact, or will the low temps make it a waste of a bean? Should I throw the bean in whole, or should I chop it up, maybe scrape the caviar out and add the skin and caviar separately? Should I do anything to sanitize the bean before I add it? Soak it in vodka then add the bean & vodka?