Oaking?

I have 5.5 gallon batch of 7.8% ABV brown ale sitting in the secondary and I was thinking of adding some oak flavor. Searching through old posts I have seen others recommend 1oz medium toasted american chips for 7-10 days, pulling the chips or racking once the desired oak flavor is reached. Does the oak flavor mellow over time like hops so if I over-oak I can wait it out a bit and hope it mellows?

I have also heard that cubes give a more complex taste but take longer.

I have both chips and cubes, my brew has been sitting in the secondary for one week, anyone have any recommendations regarding which type of oak to use, and how long to secondary after I pull the oak?

Thanks

Theis said:

I have 5.5 gallon batch of 7.8% ABV brown ale sitting in the secondary and I was thinking of adding some oak flavor. Searching through old posts I have seen others recommend 1oz medium toasted american chips for 7-10 days, pulling the chips or racking once the desired oak flavor is reached. Does the oak flavor mellow over time like hops so if I over-oak I can wait it out a bit and hope it mellows?

I have also heard that cubes give a more complex taste but take longer.

I have both chips and cubes, my brew has been sitting in the secondary for one week, anyone have any recommendations regarding which type of oak to use, and how long to secondary after I pull the oak?

Thanks

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I like the idea of American chips- light to medium toast- and I use 1 ounce per 3 gallons. I made an "Imperial Amber Ale" with 1 ounce of oak chips for 3 gallons, and it was great. However, it tasted overoaked for about 3 months until it mellowed. Oaking will definitely fade and mellow with time.

I'd suggest oaking it, and tasting in 7 days to see how it is. If it needs a bit more, then try it again in a few more days. If it's tasting like a tiny bit too much oak, then it's ready to rack off of the chips!

I've never used oak cubes in beer, only in wine, so I have no real experience with oak cubes or spirals in beer except to say it'll take a bit longer since there is less exposed oak area in cubes or sprials while chips give up their flavor fast.

Any suggestions out there for using oak cubes with beer?

I've done a few Double Barrel Ale clones and similar batches and used about 1oz in secondary for a week with great results.

(Cubes, that is. Never used chips).

Wanted to bump this and check in on the results? I've got a big 1.094 brown that's been conditioning since February. I was considering an oz for a month, then bottling in August. Medium American cubes. Any suggestions?

I used the medium toast oak chips (Amercian) for 10 days in the secondary then bottled. Great oak flavor for 2 months and then it faded noticeably over the next few months. I have heard that cubes take longer to give off oak flavor but I'm not sure if they would impart the oak flavor for a longer period. I was very satisfied with the flavor of the chips but they were a royal pain to clean out of my secondary, next time I'm going to put them in a hop bag.