Oak aging- short term vs. long term

I'm getting ready to do an imperial stout that I'm planning to oak age. I've read a handful of threads here about oaking, but I'd really like to get some input on how long I should let the beer sit on the cubes.

My impression is that short term is a "taste it and see when it's done" kind of thing, and that once it's good, you bottle it and that's that. So does this mean that long-term (like the people who suggest 6 months, etc) is basically going way over that point, then mellowing to a tasty finish?

If that's the case, what are the differences in the finished product? I guess my options are:

1. Oak age for a week or two in the secondary, bottle it.
2. Oak age for a week or two in the secondary, then transfer to a clean carboy for longer-term aging off the wood.
3. Oak age for long-term, 6 or 7 months, then bottle.

Which of these methods do you recommend, and what's likely to be the difference in the final product?

Thanks for your input!

If you're oaking with cubes or chips, it usually is enough after a few weeks. Once they give up their flavor, it doesn't get much stronger unless you add fresh cubes. I will say that even just oaking on one ounce chips (in three gallons) for two weeks was plenty for me. It took about 4 months to mellow in the bottle into a nice smooth beer. Before that, it was too oaky.

bump

Anyone else wanna chime in on this?

I recently oaked a dark amber and there was enough oak flavor after 4 days. I used 1 oz of french oak chips for 5 gal. I then bottled and will probably age in bottles for a few months. There's less chance of oxidation in bottles than in a carboy. Oak cubes will take longer than chips to get flavor. Just keep tasting to see because you can't un-oak. You should download jamil show podcast and brew strong podcast on oak aging , they give some really good info on both these shows.

Chips are done in about a week and give a straight, up front flavor. Cubes are more mellow and will slowly does your beer over 6-8 months. This is my preferred method, and the one that will best replicate aging in a barrel. The oak will mellow over time, but I don't think it should be something you plan on.

We have a nice article on using oak in beer, it may help you understand more of what you are looking for: http://morebeer.com/content/using_oak_in_beer

Good luck!