Bourbon Porter secondary help

Hi all, I'm in the process of brewing a Bourbon Porter and need advice about my secondary fermentation. I plan to soak Markers Mark in toasted oak chips and I'm looking for a medium aroma and flavor draw from the bourbon.
My questions..
1. How much and how long should I soak the oak chips for?
2. How long should I leave the oak chips in the secondary?
3. Any other tips or advice I should know!
Thanks!! Kyle

I made a bourbon stout in August that has turned out great. Not too strong of oak and just enough bourbon flavor. I soaked 1 oz. of oak chips in ~6 ozs. of Wild Turkey 101 for 2 weeks. Racked on top of the chips (didn't dump the bourbon in, would be too strong) and let sit in the secondary for 2 weeks. I've read that 2-3 weeks is about the limit for oak chips otherwise you could get some off flavors.

Hope this helps

1oz oak chips in how large of a batch? I was going to put 8oz in a 12 gallon batch for a week.

5 gallons. Honestly, 8 oz. sounds like a lot for 12 gallons. I think typically you want to use 1-2 oz./5 gallons.

Of course you can always taste the beer every couple of days until you get the flavor you're looking for.

The problem with soaking the chips for weeks, then dumping the liquor is you've leeched all the oaky goodness out of the chips before you use them. If you're dumping the booze, why not just dribble liquor over the chips until they won't soak any more in, them chuck 'em in immediately?

I used 4oz oak chips soaked in 8oz bourbon for 2 weeks then added it , chips and bourbon, to my beer for 1 week in a 5 gallon batch. Came out great. Personally I would like more oak flavor so a longer time on the chips might have been better but everyone else said it was perfect.

rlonardo said:

5 gallons. Honestly, 8 oz. sounds like a lot for 12 gallons. I think typically you want to use 1-2 oz./5 gallons.

Of course you can always taste the beer every couple of days until you get the flavor you're looking for.

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That was just the number that Beersmith put in for me - I'll half it, or maybe put in 6oz.

It's going to be a weird brew anyhow, porter wort, Kolsch yeast, Mt. Hood hops, and JD Oak BBQ Chips...

Thanks for the input.

rlonardo said:

I soaked 1 oz. of oak chips in ~6 ozs. of Wild Turkey 101 for 2 weeks. Racked on top of the chips (didn't dump the bourbon in, would be too strong)

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What did you do with the bourbon? I hope you didn't waste it.

timrox1212 said:

I used 4oz oak chips soaked in 8oz bourbon for 2 weeks then added it , chips and bourbon, to my beer for 1 week in a 5 gallon batch. Came out great.

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That's the way to do it!

I did this recipe from northern brewer all grain. I boiled the chips (2oz medium toast oak cubes) in water (very little water) for a few minutes, let it cool down, added 3/4 of a bottle of makers mark, soaked for half hour and then added to secondary for a month. Best beer I've made. Its boozy in the bottle after 2 weeks. It ages really well and gets better with time. Spectacular after 6 months in the bottle

1-2 oz should be enough for 5 gallons. 8oz will probably make your beer taste like a wood shop. 1 week will give a decent oak background with fresh cubes, if you've used them a few times, it can be a little longer. you just have to sample to see if you need to let if sit longer. I pour out most of the bourbon etc, before putting the cubes in because the fresh oak cubes released a lot of strong flavor. If its a second time using them its not as potent.

I put in about 2.5 oz of dry JD Barrel chips, soaked in special 100 proof, in my fermenter with 11 gallons of porter. We will see how it tastes in a week or two..

If you dump the bourbon in, will it stratify? If so, is this a problem?

I'm making a bourbon barrel tripel now, and it lookslike the bourbon is speeding up the lagering process and cleaning up the yeast.

urbanalgorithm said:

If you dump the bourbon in, will it stratify? If so, is this a problem?

I'm making a bourbon barrel tripel now, and it lookslike the bourbon is speeding up the lagering process and cleaning up the yeast.

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Not that I'm aware of - I dumped it all in and it mixed well. IMO - 2.5oz of oak wasnt too much in 12 gallons, it could've been oakier.