jeremydgreat
Well-Known Member
Hey all. So, I'm set to do some brewing in a couple hours and I'm trying something new- oak chips! I'll be soaking them in some 12yr aged spiced rum (really sweet/wonderful stuff) and adding them to my secondary. Here's my plan:
Here are a few questions:
Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. This is only like my 6th batch of homebrew and until this point, I've been following pretty classic recipes.
Thanks!
~ Jeremy
- Brew porter (a standard recipe)
- Put 4 ounces of American Oak Chips (lightly toasted) into a plastic bag, and pour in 1/2 the bottle of rum. Let that sit for a week or so, while my porter ferments in primary.
- Bottle 3 gallons of my porter so I can have it as a compare/contrast baseline beer.
- In my secondary, I'll add add the oak chips and rum and then the other 3 gallons of porter.
- After 2-4 weeks I'll bottle the secondary when it tastes right.
Here are a few questions:
- Sanitizing oak chips- Since I'm pouring 40% alcohol over the chips, is this enough to sanitize them? Or should I boil them first and let them dry? Or steam them?
- Is 4oz of oak chips for 3 gallons of porter too much? If so, what's your recommendation?
- Is a zip lock baggy okay for soaking the oak chips?
- How long would you guess the porter should sit on the oak/rum for?
- When I add the chips and rum mixture, should I get rid of some (or all) of the liquid rum before putting it into the secondary carboy?
Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. This is only like my 6th batch of homebrew and until this point, I've been following pretty classic recipes.
Thanks!
~ Jeremy