mellowing the oak flavor

How long should a whiskey soaked oak chip stout age? I have sampled a bit and it is super oaky. I am hoping with time it will mellow...

It is really up to your personal taste. Kind of like asking "how much ketchup should I put on my burger" I would say let it go at least 3months before you start sampling every month or so until you get it where you like it

Parker36 said:

It is really up to your personal taste. Kind of like asking "how much ketchup should I put on my burger" I would say let it go at least 3months before you start sampling every month or so until you get it where you like it

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+1 to this...

Like Parker said, every recipe is different as is the brewer's tastes, it's all subjective...there's not a scientific way to know these things.

I would sample a bottle every four weeks til you get it to the level you want...

so it will definitely mellow with age - cuz right now it is like eating a tree

How much did you use and for how long? Just curious because I brewed my porter yesterday that has 2oz chips soaking in bourbon in its future.

it was a 3 gallon batch - 2 oz chips and 2 oz Tullamore Dew Irish Whisky for about 2 weeks

Yes, it will definitely mellow with age.

I have brewed 30 gallons now of oak stout and each batch I have backed off a little on the oak. I think a little goes a long way. I am now using 1 ounce of light toast chips per carboy for 1 week. The batches I over did definetly mellowed. It took a month or so and I noticed it will only mellow so much. The aroma and flavor are trapped in that bottle.

Don't mean to hijack this thread, just a quick question (as this whole subject interests me...)

IF you don't souse your chips with whiskey or such, how should I sanitize them before putting them into a secondary?

One idea I read about was using a vegetable steamer for 20 minutes. Would that be adequate?

fastricky said:

Don't mean to hijack this thread, just a quick question (as this whole subject interests me...)

IF you don't souse your chips with whiskey or such, how should I sanitize them before putting them into a secondary?

One idea I read about was using a vegetable steamer for 20 minutes. Would that be adequate?

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Yep, heat always works. You could use a wet heat (steam or boil) or a dry heat in the oven.

I bake at 180-190 for 20 minutes on tin foil. When ready I just fold the tin foil over them and they are ready to go in the fermenter.

Thanks guys!

I boil some water, take off heat, add the chips, wait a minute or 2 then add to vessel. Basically I make oak tea.

Keep in mind when comparing what you used to some one else, that it's not just the weight of the chips, but the size (surface area).