DavesNotHere
Member
Hello all. I started home brewing about 3 weeks ago. I started off with an Irish Red Ale. Before I started doing anything, I read as much as I could on many forums. So...I put the Red into the carboy, and let it sit for 2 weeks. Took a gravity reading 3 times over 8 days. It was stable. I let it sit for another week, and then bottled it two days ago.
Now I'm working on an English IPA. A local store has ingredient kits. This was one of them. This kit came with Oak chips, commonly used in wines, I guess...(from the description on the package). The Instructions that came with the kit said to add the chips to the secondary fermenter. However, I've read that the use of a secondary fermenter is not advisable unless doing and actual secondary fermentation (i.e. fruits, more yeast, etc).
Now... I haven't been able to determine if the oak chips will cause a fermentation, or just add flavor. Given that it's not a yeast, or sugar, I don't think it will cause a fermentation... But still wondering if this is a good use of a secondary, or if I can just add the oak chips to the primary.
Thanks!
Now I'm working on an English IPA. A local store has ingredient kits. This was one of them. This kit came with Oak chips, commonly used in wines, I guess...(from the description on the package). The Instructions that came with the kit said to add the chips to the secondary fermenter. However, I've read that the use of a secondary fermenter is not advisable unless doing and actual secondary fermentation (i.e. fruits, more yeast, etc).
Now... I haven't been able to determine if the oak chips will cause a fermentation, or just add flavor. Given that it's not a yeast, or sugar, I don't think it will cause a fermentation... But still wondering if this is a good use of a secondary, or if I can just add the oak chips to the primary.
Thanks!