BertusBrew

Recipes 

I brewed a Flanders Red back in October. This is my first attempt at a sour ale. I had read in a few different places not to secondary so as of now it's still in the primary. My question is when to add oak cubes, how much, and how long to age with the oak.

badlee

Recipes 

mine has been on the oak since day one. I'm now 4 moths in.

BertusBrew

Recipes 

How much oak did you use?

BertusBrew

Recipes 

Can anybody else weigh in on this? Going to buy oak cubes but don't know how much to throw in or when to throw them in.

kingwood-kid

Recipes 

The breweries use the same oak fermenters over and over again. They don't impart a lot of oak character after multiple uses; they do allow oxygen to slowly enter the wort, and also provide a nice habitat for microbes. If you want to add oak, I'd add a small amount for a very long time.

__________________
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in the BJCP's philosophy.

bknifefight

Recipes 

Oak cubes take more time to impart the flavor than the chips, but give a better, more complex flavor in my opinion. The oakiness all comes down to personal preference, but the cubes start to give wonderful flavors after a few months. If you are unsure or how much to use, go with an ounce of the cubes. Taste it every 2 weeks or every month. Rack it off and bottle it when it gets where you want it to be.

BertusBrew

Recipes 

Great, thanks!!

dcHokie

Recipes 

For Flanders and Oud Bruins I have gone with 1 oz of medium toast cubes added just after the initial krausen subsides and left throughout the entire aging period. Tasted at about 6 months and again every 3 months or so. I also boil the cubes for about 5-10 minutes and soak in a complimentary red wine before adding to the beer.

__________________

Fermenting/Aging: Wild Ale, Repas du Matin Sour Table Beer, Flanders Red, Sour Solera, Le Batard Saison Solera, 3Brett Saison, Brett English Brown, OudBruin, Sour Solera, Lambic, Sour Stout, Barleywine Barrel
Bottled/Kegged: Brett Belgian Rye Stout, Berliner Weisse, FlandersPale, FunkyDirtyBlonde, Brett Old Ale, Dark Saison, Brett IPA, Orval clone, Funky Fig Saison, Mango BGSA, JP Bam clone, Rapture RIS, '09 RIS, '10 Oak Barleywine

badlee

Recipes 

for a one gallon batch, I believe it was about 1/4oz