IPA Oak chips in primary, no secondary?

[chainsmoke]

Hey All,

I brewed an I.P.A. kit I got at the LHBS this weekend. I followed the directions and tossed the Oak chips in the primary. In case it matters, I steamed the wood chips for 15 minutes.

From what I've read after the fact, people seem to toss in the Oak chips in the secondary.

I've been reading about the month long primaries (no secondary) that a lot of people are doing.

The questions:

Would a month long primary with Oak chips create an overpowering Oak chip taste?

Should I get the wort off of the Oak chips as soon as fermentation slows?

Thanks for any tips!

 

[chainsmoke]

Also, it was 50 grams of Oak chips.

 

[BobC]

After your beer has fermented for about 3 weeks rack it into a secondary containing your oak chips. Wait a couple of weeks and taste your beer to see if the oak flavor is to your liking. The longer the Oak chips are in your beer the stronger the taste so you might want to taste often until you get it just right. Once you have the oak flavor you want all you have to do is bottle it.

 

[TyTanium]

Hey All,

I brewed an I.P.A. kit I got at the LHBS this weekend. I followed the directions and tossed the Oak chips in the primary. In case it matters, I steamed the wood chips for 15 minutes.

From what I've read after the fact, people seem to toss in the Oak chips in the secondary.

I've been reading about the month long primaries (no secondary) that a lot of people are doing.

The questions:

Would a month long primary with Oak chips create an overpowering Oak chip taste?

Should I get the wort off of the Oak chips as soon as fermentation slows?

Thanks for any tips!

I'm pretty sure you're gonna be ok here. As fermentation slows and the yeast drop out of solution, they'll simply cover up your oak chips (which should've mostly sunk to the bottom). Oak covered in yeast means it isn't in contact with your beer which means no overpowering oak.

Active fermentation will drive off some of the more delicate oakiness, but you should still get a good presence. For the future I'd either rack to secondary, or simply drop into the primary after activity slows.

 

[unionrdr]

I'm not sure what primary fermentation is going to do to the oak flavor. Most of us do it in secondary after the beer has hit FG & settled out well.