How many oak spirals in 6gal of imperial stout?

[tyrub42]

Sorry to post ANOTHER oak thread, but this has been really tough to decide, and the internet is all over the place on it.

I have American medium-dark toast spirals (8 inches long x 1 inch diameter, 48 grams). I'll have a 9-10 percent imperial stout to oak. I'll soak the oak in bourbon for 1-2 weeks and then add it all to the beer including the bourbon for 2 weeks. One spiral gives almost exactly 2g/liter, but I've seen some people using two on big roasty beers.

Just wondering what you have all done with spirals in big stouts. I could add 1, 1.5, or 2 spirals. I'm expecting 2 weeks (plus the time in bourbon) to be sufficient for the spirals but mostly I don't want to wait an extra month to drink the beer haha.

Thanks!

 

[BrewChem]

It’s a matter of personal taste. I don’t want the oak character to be too forward so I soak the wood (I’ve used chips, cubes and spirals) in whatever spirit (whiskey, rum, port, etc) for a few days then chuck the booze.

Put the wood the the beer and give it a taste every few days. This gets rid of the harsh tannins and gives a nice oak character that doesn’t overtake the subtle, complex flavors of all those roasted malts.