I was asking because I am planning a Bourbon Vanilla Porter in a few days. Was thinking about brewing as normal, then racking to secondary on top of some oak chips from real bourbon barrels which have been soaked in bourbon for a week or so.
I bet the oak and bourbon place nice together in that beer?
That's sounds cool, where did you get chips made from real bourbon barrels. I have wondered how long I'd need to soak new oak chips in bourbon to remove some of the woody flavor so that when I finally put them in secondary they don't impart too much oak, I'm looking for more vanilla etc.
I soaked 2oz American white oak in about 2.5ozs Jim Beam regular bourbon in an airtight container during primary. Secondaried on a traditional stout for 7 days. Great oak & bourbon flavor. Good definition to the oak with the liquor. hope it mellows by Christmas.
I'm fermenting a robust porter now that I'm going to add vanilla to. 2 South African vanilla beans scraped & chopped in about 1.5ozs vodka. Looks like tea already. Think I'll just strain the vanilla into it before racking to the bottling bucket. The vodka should have plenty of vanilla flavoring by then.
I've used the JD chips with great success. What I actually do is dry "roast" on the stove in a skillet to increase the char level as most of the pieces are not charred. After doing this I think soak in bourbon for up to 3 months, drain off the bourbon, let the chips dry, and then I will use them. I really love the results I get with this technique and chips. That, and one of those bags lasts forever!!!
The longer you soak the chips,the more resins (IE flavor) you soak out of them. that's why I use the liquid & chips.
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