Irish red ale with bourbon toast oak chips

[Gotthabrews]

Well I've been reading a lot about Tennessee bourbon beer and I've never added soaked oak chips to anything I've brewed is there a rule of thumb as to how much to add for 5 gal I was told for 5 gal I should add a generous hand full but when I go back and read other recipes it seems like a generous handful is a bit Excessive Any thoughts?????

 

[RainyDay]

A good starting place would be a half ounce to an ounce of oak chips and 4oz of bourbon. If you want less oak, boil the chips for a minute or 2 before soaking in bourbon. If you want more oak flavor after you've added the initial amount and have let it sit for a while, you can add more oak (boiled or not). Oak chips go a long way, but ive found that bourbon is a bit more subtle than oak. For an amber, I would do an ounce of oak chips and 4oz of bourbon (soaked for a week or two), and adjust as needed.

I recommend soaking the chips beforehand as the hotter alcohol will create better flavor compounds than just adding the chips to the beer. I have been known to just add the chips straight to the secondary to give just a little more oak flavor though.

 

[RainyDay]

Sorry, I said amber, but Id do the same amount for an Irish Red.

 

[Gotthabrews]

Thanks!!!!! I'll give it a shot I have the chips soaking now for about 24 hrs thanks again for the advice