Adding burbon and oak technique

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
A

autonomist3k

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 5, 2013
Messages
337
Reaction score
18
I'm about to brew an imperial porter that I intend on adding burbon and oak to, I have my burbon, and I have my medium american oak chips.
Of all the reading I've done it sounds like people generally add the oak to the burbon for a while, then add either all of the burbon and oak, or just the burbon soaked oak to the beer.

My question is, since oak chips lend their character rather quickly, would it be okay to age the oak chips in the burbon for the 1 to 2 weeks that it takes to impart flavor, and then dump the burbon in the beer but discard the chips?

I've been reading a lot on this topic and have yet to find one person who has written about doing this technique, so I'm wondering if I'm missing something here.
 
The bourbon should absorb some of the oak flavor, so adding just that should add some of the flavor you are looking for. The big question is going to be, are you going to get all of the flavor you want?

I can see the benefit of what you are proposing. By adding only the bourbon, you are able to limit very easily the amount of oak that ends up in your brew. However, there will also be an upper limit.

The beauty of homebrew is, of course you can do it! Heck, do it and then if it works well, write an article about it so others know how they can use this technique. My only advice, which is probably something you were planning in anyway, is add the bourbon slowly and taste frequently. Have a sanitized wine thief with you and a sampling glass. Don't wanna over-oak.
 
Sigvaldi said:
The bourbon should absorb some of the oak flavor, so adding just that should add some of the flavor you are looking for. The big question is going to be, are you going to get all of the flavor you want?

I can see the benefit of what you are proposing. By adding only the bourbon, you are able to limit very easily the amount of oak that ends up in your brew. However, there will also be an upper limit.

The beauty of homebrew is, of course you can do it! Heck, do it and then if it works well, write an article about it so others know how they can use this technique. My only advice, which is probably something you were planning in anyway, is add the bourbon slowly and taste frequently. Have a sanitized wine thief with you and a sampling glass. Don't wanna over-oak.
Click to expand...

Wise advice here. I'm a fan of the tincture method, particularly if it's a new flavor I'm working with or something that won't fade over time. You can dump in the whole shooting match, but you can't correct if you overdo it. That said, I suspect your imperial porter might be more forgiving than, say, a run-of-the-mill stout or brown ale.
 
Thanks, I think I'll try my idea and then add a little st at time, or probably dose glasses of it to find out the optimal volume to add.
 

Similar threads

Patrick Markovics
Oaking elderberry wine?
Replies
3
Views
527
Midway Island
Midway Island
odie
"barrel ageing" with oak chips in a keg?
Replies
29
Views
3K
Civilian
Civilian
Guinjasp
Bourbon Barrel Aging with Oak Spirals and Boil Time
Replies
3
Views
444
Bobby_M
Bobby_M
A
Sanity Check My First Cyser
Replies
3
Views
617
MightyMosin
MightyMosin
MightyMosin
My B.O.B
Replies
2
Views
410
MightyMosin
MightyMosin
BrewSwag 300

Latest posts

Back
Top