Please tell me if I am off. I have an imperial stout that fermented out in a week, got cocoa nibs for 4 days and will have had vanilla beans for 21 when I am ready for next step. My plan is to cold crash, then keg. Force carb at room temp for a week. Then use a bottle gun, and in a couple bottles experiment with either maple syrup, or extract, or some in different ones to compare. Any thoughts or help on this idea as a whole and then on the maple would be great. Not sure what psi to carb to at room temp or if bottling at room temp (low 60s) works either? Thanks!
This style is a good candidate for bottle conditioning. I would prime and bottle directly rather than kegging and then bottling. The packaging process you describe increases the risk of introducing oxygen. This beer, if treated properly, should improve with some aging. Oxygen will increase the likelihood that it will go stale instead of improving.