oak chips

[Jrbetz]

I want to add oak chips to my imperial Stout I'm going to brew. Should I add them to secondary? And what luck have you guys had? And what chips are you using?

 

[harrymanback92]

Yup add 'em to secondary.

You can sanitize by boiling for a bit or soaking in the highest proof alcohol you have.

I use medium toast american oak cubes and untoasted French oak chips.

Chips will extract a less balanced complexity quickly where as cubes will impart a more balanced complexity slower.

Add your oak and taste it once a week until the oak is where you like it.

 

[jjbrew]

I use American Oak cubes about 2oz per batch of 5 gallons. I soak the cubes in Knob Creek for a week then poor of the left over liquor and add the cubes to secondary for usually a week. I do agree with the tasting if you want check what kind of change it makes to your beer. I seen some post here that guys have left them on for much longer. Good luck . I have some Kentucky Breakfast Stout going right now. Can't wait till it gets kegged.

 

[Jrbetz]

What do you guys think about soaking in Pendleton whiskey or crown? I'm not a knob Creek fan

 

[SagamoreAle]

I use the cubes. Depending on the brew it's american oak or french. I can't seem to find english oak...probably because they blew all their oak on their (former) navy.

Depending on the style, I'll soak them in bourbon for a few days, or boil them. If you boil, dump the water and oak into the secondary.

If you oak in the primary, the cubes will get covered in trub and are much less effective.

 

[SagamoreAle]

What do you guys think about soaking in Pendleton whiskey or crown? I'm not a knob Creek fan

Soak in a flavor that matches the style you are brewing. For example, if you believe your brew would have been stored in old bourbon barrels, use bourbon.

 

[harrymanback92]

I like to use only bourbon for two reasons, one its the only whiskey I like, two bourbon adds more oakyness.

It's your palate and your beer. Do what you think tastes good. What I did the first time I added whiskey/oak was to taste my beer with tablespoons of whiskey added to the pint to find the ratio I liked

 

[Jrbetz]

Do I drop them in after I rack to secondary or put them in first before I rack?

 

[SagamoreAle]

Do I drop them in after I rack to secondary or put them in first before I rack?

In the secondary. You are basically simulating storage in oak barrels.

Besides, in the primary they will either float in the krausen or eventually sink and be lost in the trub. The bubbling of the yeast will probably inhibit flavor extraction. The list goes on...

 

[jjbrew]

What ever Flavor you like it can't make that big of a difference in a Imperial Stout. It will be good no matter what you use.

 

[Longrange2]

Glad you asked this question. I am getting ready to do a Firestone Walker DBA clone that calls for oak chips and I was wondering how best to go about that.

 

[h0psnobery]

In the secondary. You are basically simulating storage in oak barrels.

Besides, in the primary they will either float in the krausen or eventually sink and be lost in the trub. The bubbling of the yeast will probably inhibit flavor extraction. The list goes on...

He didn't ask whether to add them to the primary or the secondary. He asked whether he should put them in the secondary and rack on top of them OR rack to the secondary and THEN add the chips/cubes. I'm also interested in this because I have a Goose Island Sofie clone in the primary waiting for some oak.

 

[jhall4]

He didn't ask whether to add them to the primary or the secondary. He asked whether he should put them in the secondary and rack on top of them OR rack to the secondary and THEN add the chips/cubes. I'm also interested in this because I have a Goose Island Sofie clone in the primary waiting for some oak.

Rule of thumb is to put whatever adjuncts you want into your secondary and rack on top of them. This minimizes splashing which in turn minimizes oxidation.

 

[smiller]

What ever Flavor you like it can't make that big of a difference in a Imperial Stout.

Absolutely untrue. Try doing a side-by-side tasting of something like the Mikkeller Barrel-Aged Black Hole series. Each aged in a different barrel, each with DISTINCTLY different flavors.

 

[SagamoreAle]

He didn't ask whether to add them to the primary or the secondary. He asked whether he should put them in the secondary and rack on top of them OR rack to the secondary and THEN add the chips/cubes. I'm also interested in this because I have a Goose Island Sofie clone in the primary waiting for some oak.

Having reread the original post I see you are correct.

I add material into the secondary, then rack onto it, for the simple reason that it's difficult to jam floating items such as wood or whole hops into the cramped headspace of a full carboy.

If you're concerned about oxidation then flush the secondary with CO2 before racking. If you don't have a kegging system, you can use the seltzer chargers from LHBS.