Best Way to Add Oak Cubes

[Wreckoncile]

Quick question:

My RIS is in primary right now. The plan is to rack it to my carboy for secondary and add in some oak cubes that I have soaking in bourbon for a week. I'm just wondering how to do that. Do I add the cubes in first and then rack on top of them, do I drop the oak cubes in the carboy after I've racked into the carboy, or do I put the cubes into a hop/muslin bag and drop it into the carboy? I'm using only one ounce of cubes (toasted french oak) for ~4.5 gallons of beer, so I want to make sure I maximize the beer's exposure to the cubes. Thanks in advance for the feedback.

 

[Golddiggie]

I wouldn't bag the cubes. Let them roam free. I hope you plan on giving the oak enough time in the batch. Putting them into the carboy first isn't a bad idea. If you have CO2, I would squirt some into the carboy, and then rack the RIS under that (protecting the brew).

 

[Wreckoncile]

The plan is a month in secondary to really let the oak flavors seep in, but I'll start tasting small portions at two weeks to see how it's coming along. I don't have any CO2, so I can't do that, but the hope is that a month in the carboy won't be so long that the beer oxidizes too much and that the beer is malty enough where any oxidation flavors won't be too offputting.

 

[Golddiggie]

How much are you expecting from the oak cubes? You might want to go for 2oz in that batch. After about 6 weeks you should have maximum extraction from the cubes. I would plan on going at least that long before going to bottles. I would also be ready to add more oak if you don't get what you want, and give it more time as needed (reset the 6 week clock if you add more).