Tasted a sample today (tuesday, after racking on to the wood on sat).
When I was soaking the 2oz oak chips I had them in just enough makers mark to cover them (6oz). When I added the chips, I added all of the bourbon too. At this point the bourbon flavor is a little stronger than I would have liked. Even still, I absolutely LOVE it. At this point I am going to leave it longer because I don't think the bourbon flavor will get stronger (any bourbon that is in there should already be integrated) but I do hope the oak shines through a bit more, and I expect it will, but I can taste it and it is gooood.
An interesting note is that when I racked/added the oak, the chips had become softer, almost spongy and pliable, so I think the bourbon really worked on them. They had soaked for something like 18 days, and next time I would probably reduce that to 7 days. Also, at this point I'd say next time I would drain off the excess bourbon (into a glass
) and just add the chips. On the other hand, I may find that serving this beer at 50 (as opposed to 72) may tone down the bourbon. Time will tell.