Suggestions for Secondary Addition

Hi All,

I have 10 gallons of what I call Fat ESB or Bitter Tire. It's a cross between, duh, Fat Tire and an ESB. Presently, the 10 gallons are in 2 - 6.5 gallon carboys finishing out their primary. I'm interested in adding something to the secondary of one of the two but I'm not sure what I want to add. I thought oak, but I'm open to suggestions. Anything else anyone would suggest and I don't want to do a dry hop.

Thanks for the suggestions,

Mike

Medium toast oak cubes could be good... Maybe a split vanilla bean (or two)... Just drop the bean in, don't soak it in anything.

I just made the Carmel Vanilla Cream ale from Cheesefood and it came out great. I still have two vanilla beans. Good suggestion Golddiggie. How about both, the oak and the vanilla? Too much?

Do one, and let it run to completion, then decide if you want the other... Or, add one element to both parts of the brew... That way you can have one with oak, and the other with vanilla... I did add oak to a batch that also sat on a bean, but the bourbon I soaked the bean in really over-powered some of the other flavors. If you use enough oak cubes, you could get enough in there.

If you decide to do both additions to the same part of the batch, I'd do the oak first, then the beans... That way, you can pull it off the bean before it gets to be too much.

The only thing about the oak, I don't want to end up with a smoke or swartzbier feel and I think some of the darker toasts might add that complexion. Any opinions? Am I off base? Maybe go with a light toast? Or would raw oak be overwhelming?

I didn't want the heavier toasts, which is why I went with medium... I also didn't like what they described light toast as giving your brew... Medium seems to be the best of all worlds... Medium Plus being the only one that could be better, IMO...

From the Rebel Brewer site, where I got my cubes from...

"Used in wine, beer etc. to give a barrel aged character. (adds alot of flair to an IPA)

Hungarian oak has a softer, smoother character than other oak chips.
The shavings have a greater surface area which allows for fuller, faster extraction.
Medium Toast is ideal for adding classic barrel-aged flavors & aromas.
Recommended minimum contact time is 2 months.
For a six gallon batch, use 3 ounces of oak"

I'm about to put 2oz into my strong scotch ale, tomorrow... I used 3/4oz of French medium toast chips in my old ale and it came out great. So, depending on the ABV, you could use more, or less... You could start with 1/2oz and see how it is after a few weeks or a month. Then decide if you want to add more...

From what I've read, cubes will give you more oak depth than chips will. Since cubes more closely replicate what you would get from barrel aging the brew...

Thanks Golddiggie, I think I'm convinced. I think I'll try to medium toast for about three weeks, taste and see if it needs more or I want to add the vanilla.

I would suggest going with cubes over chips... Rebel Brewer has them for short money (3.50 for a 3oz package)...

Keep in mind, you can always add some more if you want... It's easier to increase an addition than to age it out/mellow it...