Wanting to brew an Orange Creamsicle Ale

OK, so I grew up with fond memories of licking an orange creamsicle on a hot day. I found several recipes on line, but none of them in particular sounded like what I wanted. So, I decided to pick from few and came up with what I feel is a "keeper".

I have a couple of questions, but I'll save them for after the recipe:

9# American 2 Row base malt
1/2oz flaked maize
1/2oz Crystal 10L
8oz Carapils
NOTE: I already bought the 9# 2 Row & Carapils. Other two were already on hand.

8oz Lactose sugar
Zest from Swt Orange Peel
Vanilla Extract

1/2oz Centennial 60min
1/2oz Styrian 30min
1/2oz Styrian 10min
1/2oz Centennial 00min

Safale 05 yeast
1oz Vanilla Extract

In looking at all the recipes, someone had used 1# of flaked oatmeal for creaminess. Not sure if that is really needed as I was told at the LHBS that the Lactose sugar would do that. Suggestions?

Another added 1 tsp of Irish Moss. I've always understood IM to help with clarification and not sure what role it would play in a creamy beer.

Vanilla - I do have one Vanilla Bean, it's several years old, but been sealed in a zip lock bag. If I just go with the extract when and where do I put it? Is 1oz enough?

Lastly, the zest from an orange. One brewer suggested that Mandarin were the best to use. So how many oranges? Should they go in near the end of the boil? Possibly additional zest in fermenter (soaked in Vodka first!)?

So, here it is. I appreciate any and all help I can get on this. Would like to brew it next weekend.

Dan

Looks like a pretty solid recipe. I'd love to hear how this comes out.
1 vanilla bean might be good for primary or secondary fermentation but probably not enough. You could always add some extract at bottling. And I would use the zest of 2 oranges at around 5 minutes left in the boil and then another 2 in secondary (in vodka like you plan) to get really good orange flavor.
Don't use the Irish moss.
And you could add some oat or wheat flake to add some creaminess. The lactose will mostly add sweetness, not creaminess, and 8 ounces is about the minimum for a 5 gallon batch.
Good luck! I'm subscribing.

I am guessing the 1/2 oz of flaked maize and crystal was supposed to be 1/2#? I brewed the hella vanilla cream ale and used 2oz of vanilla beans soaked in vodka and added to the secondary. I like the sound of this recipe and will probably brew it adding 1/2oz of orange zest @ 5 minutes and add 1-2ounces of orange zest to 2 oz of vanilla beans split lengthways and soaked in vodka while it sits in primary for 8 days then add the orange/vanilla vodka when racking to secondary and let it sit for 8 days before kegging. On the vanilla cream ale I did, the vanilla flavor was prominent but not overpowering ( I like vanilla so YMMV) at first but by the end of the keg was pretty much gone. I would be curious to hear your tasting thoughts to compare

The last time I made a vanilla stout I used 4oz of vanilla extract (my wife's fancy Madagascar extract, not the cheap stuff) in secondary for a week. The flavor was excellent at first, but faded away completely after only a month. The next time I use vanilla, I'm definitely using whole beans.

So... ho did this turn out?