AHS Oaked Imperial Whiskey Stout - Fermentation Vessels?

[Tomcat0304]

Hey guys, got a quick question for you. I have the PM AHS Oaked Imperial Whiskey Stout and will be brewing on Saturday. Below is the recipe:

5# Dark LME
5# Munich LME
1# 2-Row Malt
1# Munich Malt
8 oz. Brown Malt
8 oz. Coffee Malt
4 oz. Black Patent Malt
8 oz. Flaked Barley
2 oz. Nugget hops (60 min)
1 oz. Cluster hops (30 min)
1 0z. Willamette hops (15 min)
2.5 oz. Light Toast Whiskey Barrel Oak Chips
375 mL. Maker's Mark Whisky
Wyeast 1084 Irish Ale (Made starter to make 300 billion buddies)

OG: 1.087
FG: 1.020
Ferment in 62*-64*

With a whopping 3 brews under my belt, my questions are about the fermentation vessels. Revvy, and others here, have convinced me that it is best to leave it in the primary through the duration of the fermentation and not secondary.

My plan is to wait until fermentation has completed (checking hydro reading for 3 consistent days), or 14 days whichever is longer. Then add the whisky and soaked chips. From what I understand it is only necessary to secondary if a secondary fermentation will take place, but I have seen several comments that others would secondary to add the chips & whisky. Would secondary be necessary of can I just add them to the primary to finish their time in there?

Also, would I secondary to condition or bottle (the recipe calls for 3 months storage)? My concern with conditioning in the secondary is (1) there's a good chance I'll be moving within 3 months (2) oxidation.

Cheers, and Many Thanks to you all!

Jarod

 

[HolyDiver]

I have read on these forums that aging with oak chips should be done off the yeast. I don't know if this is true. But when I oak age I play it safe and secondary.

It sounds like the 3 months storage means conditioning with the oak. But you should get the flavor your looking for sooner than that. A month conditioning with oak and whiskey goes a long way.

 

[amazinglarry]

Most people use a secondary for post fermentation additions because prolonged aging (over 1 month) on top of your original trub can produce off flavors. In addition, its usually less of mess since the additions can kick up the trub or add to it with matter of their own.

 

[Tomcat0304]

Thanks HolyDiver, but I didn't give complete details on the instructions. They say to leave in secondary "to clear" for 5-7 days and then bottle. But, as we all know/are learning, don't follow the supplied instructions, and instead listen to what the beer says. So maybe a tertiary if I don't add the chips to the primary? By then it would be easier to bottle though...

 

[dcHokie]

Thanks HolyDiver, but I didn't give complete details on the instructions. They say to leave in secondary "to clear" for 5-7 days and then bottle. But, as we all know/are learning, don't follow the supplied instructions, and instead listen to what the beer says. So maybe a tertiary if I don't add the chips to the primary? By then it would be easier to bottle though...

Tomcat, with a high gravity stout you'd be well served by keeping this in primary for 3-4 weeks or longer. Especially with a big beer like this, you can safely leave the beer in primary for a few months, the yeast will finish fermenting but keep cleaning up. Also, there is no harm in adding the oak to the primary either, unless you are adding that entire 375 mL of bourbon directly to the beer, in which case you may want to secondary. Oak chips will impart flavor much quicker than oak cubes (think weeks vs months). I'd recommend erring on the side of less transferring/racking. Sounds like a tasty recipe, I really like Nugget in stouts.

 

[Tomcat0304]

Thanks again everyone. Maybe I'd be better off quoting the whole recipe on here though . The recipe calls to add the whisky along with the chips. Will the whisky affect the yeast if added to primary?

 

[helibrewer]

Thanks again everyone. Maybe I'd be better off quoting the whole recipe on here though . The recipe calls to add the whisky along with the chips. Will the whisky affect the yeast if added to primary?

I made the Midwest version of this using oak cubes which I soaked in Bushmills. I used 2 oz of oak and would cut that back to 1 oz next time. I also racked onto the oak in a secondary and left them for about a month, it's a little too oaky which is why I would cut back to 1 oz next time. I did not add any whiskey at all, just the whiskey soaked cubes (soaked for 2 weeks).

Using chips be very careful how long you leave them in, chips work fast!!