Oak chips in IPA?

I racked a big-ass IPA this weekend: it had a starting gravity in the upper 60s and IBUs around 63 from Columbus, Centennial, and Cascade.

I'm going to dry-hop for about a week with Columbus but am also considering some oak chips.

I really like some of the oaked stouts I've had, and I know that originally British IPAs were often aged in oak, but I've never tried it with an IPA.

Thoughts on this, and on how much oak chips would make for a subtle but distinct oak flavor (for a 5 gallon batch)?

i made an oak tea once for an IPA...i think i used like 5 ounces, boiled for ten minutes, then strained and cooled the 'tea' and pitched into the secondary...the flavor was overpowering at first, but mellowed with age.

you can also put the beer directly onto oak chips, which would probably be more subtle. The Dude mentioned having Jack Daniel's oak barrel chips which sound like an awsome thing to try if you can get some...

just be sure to sanitize whatever your using...

You can get oak chips from the wine section of most HBS's. I put 3.5oz in a stout and found it to be too much (dropping the steamed cubes directly in the secondary). For a lighter beer, I'd be inclined to add 1oz of oak cubes to the secondary for the last week and go from there.

I just bottled an IPA that I had aged in secondary on 2oz of oak chips and it's super oaky. I'm hoping it mellows, and I've heard that it will. I boiled them for a couple minutes in just enough water to float them.

They imparted a harsh oaky tannin flavor to my beer which might be appreciated in wine, but not in stout. It's not the oaky flavor I mind, just the tannic bitterness. I'd probably do 2oz in a stout and no more than 1oz in a lighter beer next time (if I ever do it again at all).

Chairman Cheyco said:

I just bottled an IPA that I had aged in secondary on 2oz of oak chips and it's super oaky. I'm hoping it mellows, and I've heard that it will. I boiled them for a couple minutes in just enough water to float them.

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Yeah--I was thinking more like 1 oz. But I don't want ti to be so subtle that II don't learn anything about what an oaked IPA tastes like.

I'm also sure that I will try soaking oak chips in bourbon before racking onto them some time, but I think I'll save that for a stout.

I tried one ounce last time and it wasn't perceptible. It'll mellow I'm sure.
I hear you about the tannins BG, I wonder if putting them in without boiling them would help? I'm going to do that next time.

Would you really want to risk not sanitizing your chips?

Maybe soak them in vodka for a bit or something first, but no boiling to anger the tannins...

Nukem. That way you won't steep the tannins into boiling water. Careful, they can turn to charcoal internally- If they get light weight, you've just made an inverted charcoal oak mini-barrel. Maybe nuke them in a tupperware 'steamer' with a couple tablespoons of water? Or soak in Bourbon? then throw the chips into the wort, and sip the "Aged in oak for 30 minutes" bourbon. Or use the whole bottle of boubon, and refill it for later sipping? Adjunct liqour perhaps?

Thats interesting, but won't the bourbon impart a bourbon flavor to the beer? I like the idea of microwaving them with a little bit of water for steam.

SkewedAle said:

Thats interesting, but won't the bourbon impart a bourbon flavor to the beer?

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Yes, definitely.

Would steaming the oak chips be any different than boiling, as far as extracting tannins is concerned?

SkewedAle said:

Thats interesting, but won't the bourbon impart a bourbon flavor to the beer? I like the idea of microwaving them with a little bit of water for steam.

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use quality vodka. there should be very little taste at all.

Just to clarify--the only reason for using bourbon would be because you want the bourbon (and oak) flavor.

cweston said:

Would steaming the oak chips be any different than boiling, as far as extracting tannins is concerned?

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Ya, boiling them would extract the tannins where steaming would not penitrate the wood as much.

The English IPA kit that I have came with 1 oz. of oak chips. They said they could be steamed to sanitze and to add to the secondary fermentor for one week. I am not sure if I will do it yet and will make the decision when moving to the secondary after a taste.

I've got a bag of oak chips for my Imperial Hellfire and the instructions say to steam the chips for 15 to 20 minutes or bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. For beer to says to add them to the fermenter for 2 to 3 days. I've got a 4 oz bag and I'm thinking about using half of them for 3 days.
Does this sound right?

Jack Daniels shreads some of their barrels and sells them for bar-BQs. They are great to use with beers. I get my at Wally World. Beware, the bourbon comes through!

I got hickory chips that are made by the same company that makes the jack daniels ones. I'm using them with the Hellfire Ale and I think I will steam them in the microwave.

I just bottled my smoked (rauchmalt - 2 lbs) oak aged porter a week ago and it tasted great! I'll let y'all know how it tastes when I crack one open this Friday.. I just don't think I can wait a full three weeks.

Anyhow, I used medium toast french oak chips 1.25 ounces and let it sit in there for 2 weeks. The oak taste didn't seem overpowering but it was a noticeable addition to the smokiness.. kinda like drinking a campfire :rockin:

Anyhow, cubes probably will not have the same effect as chips since they have less surface area. There is also supposed to be a difference between french and american oak as well with french generally being the more desireable. I researched this a bit and found that there is no agreement on how to add the oak, some say to soak or boil the chips and add the liquid to the secondary, others say add only the chips after soaking or boiling them, some say add them without soaking or boiling, and still others say to soak or boil and add the whole mess. Do whatever seems right.

I soaked them for 24 hours as it was supposed to possibly let any astringent tastes out of the oak and lessen the tannins that make it into your beer - kinda like using a used oak barrel vs. a new one. The instructions on the bag also suggest that you soak them for 12 hrs.. I did taste the oak water and it tasted pretty good but I elected to no add it. I did steam the chips real good over their own oakey juices. I think microwaving would be fine as well. I don't know about boiling..
The people at my LBHS said sanitation wasn't much of an issue since the oak chips were dry and, like the fat girl at prom, nobody's much interested in the oak. Besides, the beer already has a good bit of alcohol in it at this point.. (I know everyone thinks those guys are generally uneducated but I do trust my guys, they seem to really know their stuff).

As for your IPA, I was browsing some archives and came across a discussion of oak in an IPA and there was some disagreement but these were the three general possibilities from a historical perspective:

1. The oak barrels were reused for each trip and so the presence of tannin flavors was unlikely. So, you should soak your chips before adding to mimic this "aged/used" effect.
2. The trip to india was a long one and the barrels were cheap so there's no reason to expect that the empties were saved and brought back to be reused. So, tannin flavors were probably present and the chips should be added without soaking or the juices should go in along with the chips.
3. the barrels were lined with pine resin (tar) - I don't think you'd want to duplicate that flavor in your IPA.

Of course, there's no reason to try to do it like they did in the old days.. do whatever sounds good/right and let us know how it turns out.

The point of saoking in bourbon was to flavor the bourbon, as well as to sterilize the chips. I mean, who wants "aged in oak" Vodka?...or maybe it would be a new 'homebrew'? or, since Bourbons is pretty much Vodka that is aged in oak, maybe you DO want to make it into 'bourbon'...

casebrew said:

...or, since Bourbon is pretty much Vodka that is aged in oak...

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GACK! Good God, man...what are you saying?!

casebrew said:

since Bourbons is pretty much Vodka that is aged in oak,

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i hope no one from Kentucky sees that!

casebrew said:

The point of saoking in bourbon was to flavor the bourbon, as well as to sterilize the chips. I mean, who wants "aged in oak" Vodka?...or maybe it would be a new 'homebrew'? or, since Bourbons is pretty much Vodka that is aged in oak, maybe you DO want to make it into 'bourbon'...

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Run, my friend...RUN!!

Not sure if I'm misunderstanding you, but the point of using vodka to sterilize the chips was that the vodka wouldn't contribute any flavors to the finished product, while bourbon would. Some people would probably like the addition of the bourbon flavor, while some would only want the oak flavors and hence might use vodka to sanitize.