How long should you leave oak chips in the secondary?

[Reddheadedstepchild]

Just wondering if there is a recomended time limit for oak chips in the secondary? I brewed this recipe today and it calls for oak chips in the secondary. Im figureing that it will go to secondary ,hopefuly, just before christmas. I know I will be real busy at christmas soo I guess what Im looking for is a set amount of time for oak chips. i have read on here where some one left them in too long and the oak flavor was real strong. Whats worse is for this recipe it calls for roasted oak chips so I have a fealing that this will make the flavor stronger. I guess it might help if i gave you the style of beer it is a scotish strong ale. It supposed to be a Orkeny Skull Splitter clone. Thanks in advance guys. I need to make some brew day notes and clean up so I'll check back later.

 

[Revvy]

Well the good new is that if you over oak it, just giving it time in the bottle will fade it out, so you can't ruin a batch of beer that way. But having said that I've never gone beyond two weeks with mine...and it did need mellowing time.

 

[UncleDave]

For scotch ales, I usually soak one ounce of chips in scotch for a couple of days and then oak for about a week. But this is style that improves with cellaring, so you could probably go a little longer and still be ok if you age the beer properly. If you are in no hurry, you could use oak cubes and age the beer for 2-3 months with the wood. I've never tried this, but I understand that it imparts a smoother flavor to the beer.

 

[Reddheadedstepchild]

Thanks fellas! Im not in any hurry. Im brewing a cream ale on sat to help mw while i wait for this batch to be perfect. Depending on how long I decide to let this batch go in the bottles I might even have to brew a hefe or something after christmas. Thanks a bunch for the quik respones.

Eric.

 

[humann_brewing]

I recently oaked a porter and could smell the whiskey still on the chips which I didn't want. I put them in anyways and pulled out after 1 day because I was getting that smell.

Anyway to get oak chips that are neutral and actually come from just chopped up oak. This must be a dumb question as I have some for BBQ'ing I suppose I could just use those.

Any bad thoughts about that?

 

[Revvy]

I recently oaked a porter and could smell the whiskey still on the chips which I didn't want. I put them in anyways and pulled out after 1 day because I was getting that smell.

Anyway to get oak chips that are neutral and actually come from just chopped up oak. This must be a dumb question as I have some for BBQ'ing I suppose I could just use those.

Any bad thoughts about that?

Nope....Many of us on here have used these in beers quite often.

I just soak them in a mason jar full of more jack for two weeks to kill any buggies, then dump them bourbon and all into the secondary. And at 7 bucks for a huge bag, you get a lot of uses of them.

I got that trick from biermuncher.

 

[Reddheadedstepchild]

I dont see why not, you would have to boil them to ensure sanitation. But I dont see why you couldnt do that.

 

[Reddheadedstepchild]

Or soak them in whiskey.

 

[Reddheadedstepchild]

:rockin: Sweet I just went out to see how my lil yeasties were doing and i got a good 1 inch head of krausen on. Took a little whiff off the airlock and it smells delightful. SOOPER STOKED!

 

[maida7]

I dont see why not, you would have to boil them to ensure sanitation. But I dont see why you couldnt do that.

You can also steam them to sanitize Put them in a strainer over a pot of boiling water.

Or you can wet them and put them in the microwave. Do not put them in the microwave dry. They will light on fire. I know this from personal experience.

 

[Reddheadedstepchild]

You can also steam them to sanitize Put them in a strainer over a pot of boiling water.

Or you can wet them and put them in the microwave. Do not put them in the microwave dry. They will light on fire. I know this from personal experience.

WOW. Thanks for the heads up on that. I bet that sucked big time I hope you were watching the micro and didnt let it go to far. I think Im going to try a slightly different spin and use some Red Breast irish whisky on mine I just happen to have a bit left. Im just more curious than anything as to what kind of flavor that will leave behind.

 

[Reddheadedstepchild]

On second thought Im gonna steam them. Since I am trying a clone recipe I dont want to deviate away from the recepes instructions this time. I want to see if it is a good clone or not.